Identification: please ID this plant

Discussion in 'Indoor and Greenhouse Plants' started by lapochka99, Jul 18, 2006.

  1. lapochka99

    lapochka99 Member

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    Location:
    Connecticut, USA
    Please ID this plant
    Please help me to identify this plant. My patient gave it to me 2 years ago - it only had 2 leaves. Now it's almost 5 ft tall, it has large dark green leaves and gorgeous huge red flowers. Does anybody know what it is?

    Marina
     

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  2. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Location:
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    Tropical hibiscus
     
  3. terrestrial_man

    terrestrial_man Active Member 10 Years

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    The scientific name is Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
    It looks to be a cultivar. Here is a link that gives general info
    on the species.
    http://www.plantoftheweek.org/week069.shtml

    I am not used to seeing such thin leaves on this particular species of Hibiscus. How are you growing this plant?
     
  4. Rima

    Rima Active Member

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    Hi, I think it might be time to repot that plant into a slightly larger pot (and at the same time you could cut back by 1/4-1/3 any old woody encircling roots that aren't otherwise supporting the foliage (with lots of little feeder roots on them). Use fast draining soil with lots of grit in it, so you can continue to water often (which they love) without worrying about root rot, and the more sun you have, the better.
     
  5. lapochka99

    lapochka99 Member

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    Thank you very much. The pictures are a couple of months old. Since then, I repotted the plant and the transformation is unbelievable - it made many more branches that are covered with new leaves. It grows in a pot indoors near the big window so it gets a lot of sun. The leaves are big but very thin - is this not normal?

    Thanks for all your help!

    Marina
     
  6. terrestrial_man

    terrestrial_man Active Member 10 Years

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    I have a small plant that is struggling outside due to neglect on my part but I have a habit of growing my plants hard. The leaves are dark and much thicker than yours which I think may be due to my feeding it more than yourself (??). It gets some direct sun for a few hours each day and then is shaded. Still cannot fathom why your leaves are so thin unless it is a genetic disposition that appeared in this plant??
     

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