Growth & flowering
Hibiscus grow very fast and can become as high as 2.5 m in ideal garden locations.
They can give flowers all year round, but ideally from October till May in the Gulf.
When you plant them in a garden in the Gulf, choose a location that does not receive full sun in the summer. Only 2-3 hours in the morning or in the afternoon will be more than enough. More direct sun than that in the summer will burn the leaves.
Don’t push your hibiscus to grow flowers all year round…give it some rest during summer.
Care
- Mix compost or manure in your soil before planting (in a garden or in a pot).
- Hibiscus can tolerate a light potting mix, for example:
50-60% potting soil – 30-40% cocopeat – 10-20% sand and some perlite.
If you have clay in your garden soil, you can add some (10-20%) and water less frequently. Light: they like very bright areas, but can’t tolerate direct sunlight in the summer. There are 2 options for that:
3. Plant them in pots and place the pots in a location with 4-5 hours of sunlight during winter, then move the pots in the summer to little sun.
If you bring your Hibiscus indoors during summer, don’t place them under the A/C current.
4. Plant them under full sun (in pots or garden) and use shading nets from May until October.Watering: let the top 4-7 cm of the soil dry before you water again (4-5 cm in the summer, 6-7 cm in the winter). This might be every 3-4 days in the winter, every day in the summer.
5. Fertilize regularly (every 4-6 weeks in a container, every 6-8 weeks in the garden) from September until June. Use a fertilizer higher in P and K. You can use vermicompost 2-3 times per year and if you make your own compost, add banana peels in it.