I have a tropical hibiscus I've brought indoors. I've read several CONFLICTING 'directions' on how to care for my plant over our Canadian winter. As of today, almost all the leaves have yellowed and dropped off. I've been watering as the soil dries out, and it is in a sunny west window location. Conflicting advice as to fertilize with low nitrogen, or not to feed at all; keep in above 50 degrees room, light or dark room, and even to water or not water at all. I live in southwestern Ontario, and the only thing I know for sure as to my hibiscus is to return to the outdoors in a sunny location AFTER danger of frost. Anyone who may have input on this topic would be a huge help to me!
Too dry or too wet, or maybe too dark. Plant is evergreen so if most leaves have fallen off it is in a bad way. Wants Hawaii, the more bright and humid the current situation the better it is likely to hold up.
One web site said the falling off of the leaves was 'normal'...some may be due to the shock of going from outside to inside, and that the plant does that when it is entering it's dormancy stage, that too is the website that recommended NOT to fertilize, as you should not interrupt this stage by enticing it to put forth new growth. I am a person who is enthusiastically persistant when it comes to giving up on any plant. I think I shall try some regular misting in between waterings, and maybe some artificial light in combination with the west window. Thanks for your input.
There is no dormancy of this plant, it is a tropical evergreen adapted to yearround moisture (in the lowland tropics the only thing that induces routine dormancy of kinds of plants so-adapted is annual seasonal drought).
Hibiscuses can tolerate quite a bit of outdoor cold, but of course not freezing. They (like nearly everything else in Florida) slow down during the winter dry season. I haven't tried growing hibiscus indoors for many years, so can't make any useful suggestions, other than trying additional light.
well, all I can say is: "I'm not giving up"...I keep watering it, it's in a west window, it's dropped all it's yellow leaves, but there are small buds forming new leaves, so I know it's not dead yet. It is in the warmest room of the house. As I said before, I'm not a person who throw's in the sponge too easily, especially when it comes to plant life. We will see. Thanks for everyone's input.
LOTS OF LIGHT! Thanks for the comment in the last post about the warm room. That is a good idea except for one thing! The heater really dries a room out. Your hibiscus might be very sad by the dry air. I have winterized mine twice and am going for the third. So, here's what I do - all I really do is bring them in and put them near a window. Don't keep the roots wet, that's prob the worst thing you can do, remember that they will not be using nearly as much water inside as they were in the summer. Make sure the soil is nearly dry or even dry (partially) when you water. Underwatering is better than overwatering. Florescent lights will help, if you have something to hang or set near the plant and keep light on them it will help. Now, if the room is dry, your plant (as most) is prob kinda big. I have mine in giant pots since I cannot leave them in the ground. So, that makes the tray with rocks routine kinda hard, but if you put some trays of water around the plant or on a table next to the leaves, that will raise the humidity level constantly and a little more consistantly than misting. But they love misting too! I would do both - BUT don't forget that you are not using or losing nearly as much water as when they were outside, so watch for fungus and make sure the leaves get dry. Don't mist if the leaves are wet. :D I hoped that helped. I would cry if my hibiscus died! They are very dear to me! The loss of leaves is big, but if there are new buds, there is hope - don't give up!
I am having the same sad experience. My hibiscus leaves have all yellowed and fallen off. There are buds so it's still alive but what to do? I will arrange for more (artificial) light and water less, as suggested. Should I mist when there are no leaves?
