Plenty of blossoms--don't bloom anymore

Discussion in 'Hibiscus' started by desertcontainer, Jun 26, 2007.

  1. desertcontainer

    desertcontainer Member

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    Hello,

    About two months ago I transplanted a beautiful orange-bloom-producing hibiscus from it's store container to a larger container and placed it outdoors on my patio--we live in a desert area, just outside of Phoenix, Arizona, USA. The patio faces west, so the area gets full sun all afternoon, but the hibiscus is under a roof and in the afternoons, we drop a sun-filtering shade on the side that gets late sun.

    This plant produced gorgeous new blooms everyday for the first two months, until about one week ago. It's full of buds, but they turn yellowish, go limp and then drop off. Some inner leaves have begun turning yellow and dropping off, too. This seemed to happen just after I put cocoa-shell mulch on top of the plant's dirt, which may only be a coincidence. I wondered if I might have been overwatering it, so I cut back, but no change.

    Most leaves are dark green, there are five stems, all lush, all with flower buds. This is a plea for any advice you can offer that would help get this plant blooming again. Thank you.
     
  2. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    If not cultural mistake like overwatering then maybe weather-related. In future, do not cut back distressed plants as you are adding to their troubles by doing so.
     
  3. Eric La Fountaine

    Eric La Fountaine Contributor Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Sounds crazy in sunny AZ, but is it getting enough light? Hibiscus like lots of light. I wonder if you are shading it too much.
     
  4. desertcontainer

    desertcontainer Member

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    I have never cut this plant back--it came with lots of buds and still produces them, they just don't bloom anymore.

    Eric, you could be right about the light, but everytime I move it into the sun, it wilts. I'll try the early morning light only and see if that helps. Thanks!
     
  5. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    >I wondered if I might have been overwatering it, so I cut back, but no change<

    I read this as meaning the plant was cut back to compensate for overwatering, not that the watering was cut back on.
     

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