I obtained a Red Shield this summer that seems to be quite touchy on placement in yard. I have the 3 ft tall, 3 ft wide hibiscus potted in a 32 quart planter, and find that it quickly wilted in full sun, even in partial sun. The plant seems to do okay in very shaded areas, yet hated the recent change in the (cooler) weather in San Antonio. Outside of watering it regularly and using miracle gro fertilizer, do I need to transplant to larger pot to keep plant in better shape during hot and cold seasons?
Hi Millie, Sounds like it needs a larger pot if it's constantly wilting. Have you checked to see if it's rootbound? Newt
Thanks Newt. I had repotted plant shortly after I brought it home. I'll try to repot the plant again, but since it is winter now do I still wait to repot in the spring or proceed now?
Millie, when you repotted it the first time, did the root ball look anything like this? http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/planting/manyroots.htm If so, then I'm thinking that the center of the rootball could be so tightly bound that it can't take up water. If it did look like that you may need to take it out of the pot again and loosen the mass of roots and try to loosen the center of the rootball so water can more easily get to the center. http://www.dirtdoctor.com/view_question.php?id=70 These plants grow very quickly and that could be the problem. If it's not rootbound then it probably doesn't need a new pot. Newt
When last repotted it was not rootbound as shown in your photo, but it maybe now. It was a long hot summer in san antonio and the plant grew quite a bit since I brought it home, even trimmed it and started a few cuttings for myself and and a neighbor. I will repot it and see if helps. Thanks a lot for your help. I am stilll new to gardening, even container gardening, so thanks for your help. Millie
Millie, you are so very welcome! You are probably correct that it's rootbound now. Let us know what you find when you take a look at the roots. Newt
