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In Today’s post we will learn some secrets to increase flowering in Hibiscus bush and also get big sizes flowers in hibiscus. We will look into some important care tips and Do’s and Dont’s on growing hibiscus plants in container gardening. Will also tell you’re the secrets to induce enormous flowering and to get big sized flowers.
Hibiscus plant needs no introduction. It is one of the most common flowering plants grown at home gardens. Generally all hibiscus plants are very much durable plants and perform well if proper care tips are followed. However if you wish to achieve maximum flowering and get big sized flowers, you need to apply some extra hacks and tricks.
Let’s now look into important points on how to take care of hibiscus plant, one by one:
8. SUNLIGHT
Hibiscus needs 6 to 8 hours DIRECT SUNLIGHT not only for its growth but also to produce flowers. Here, One very important tip on sunlight: If your plant is newly bought from a nursery or if it’s recently repotted, then you have to protect it from scorching noon sunlight like from 12 to 2 pm. Too hot sun, especially in summer at this time of the day, can cause stress on the plant. Using a Green shade net is a good idea, especially in summer.
7. WATERING
Simple rule for watering hibiscus in summer is – Daily Watering. In other seasons, especially winter, it’s always better to use the finger dip method to check the soil for moisture before watering because over-watering can kill any plant. Make sure to check drainage holes of the container. The water should freely flow out of the container while watering.
6. CHOOSING THE CONTAINER
Hibiscus actually performs well when it’s slightly root bound. So when you see this root-bound plant, do not jump into repotting it in a very large container. Prefer to choose only a slightly larger size of the container.
5. POTTING SOIL
This is very important.
a) The pH of the soil should be slightly acidic like 5.5 to 6.5 is the ideal pH for hibiscus. A simple pH testing tool like this can be very handy. If pH is on the higher side, you can alter it by adding some 10 grams of Alum per liter of water and add this to your container. You can also use white distilled vinegar about 1 to 2 teaspoons per liter of water once a month.
b) The potting soil should be well-draining. So add stuff like coco peat or peat moss, perlite, and compost in proper proportions to your garden soil. One such potting mix recipe is discussed in one of my articles.
4. FERTILIZERS TO INDUCE FLOWERING AND INCREASE THE SIZE OF THE FLOWERS
You can add 1 tablespoon of bone meal per container while making your potting mix or if it’s already potted, add this a little deeper into the container after removing the topsoil, once every 3 to 6 months. This is very important if you want your plant loaded with flowers.
Then, you can add compost like Decomposed Cow dung or vermicompost into the container once every 15 days or at least once a month after tilling or raking the topsoil.
3. PEST CONTROL
Controlling pests is a very important step to keep the plant healthy and blooming. Examine the plant closely for pests and insects including the underside of the leaves. Common pests like whiteflies, aphids, and mealybugs can be easily eliminated using neem oil 10 ml + a few drops of liquid soap in 1 liter of water. Adding oils like Clove Oil or eucalyptus oil increases the efficacy especially if it’s heavily infested. You can use neem oil spraying once every 15 days or monthly once for maintenance even if there are no pests and weekly twice for a few weeks if it’s loaded with pests.
2. FOLIAR SPRAY WITH EPSOM SALT
Once a month, foliar spray of 1 teaspoon of Epsom salt per liter of water provides magnesium needed for chlorophyll and makes your plant lush green and improves photosynthesis, overall growth, and flowering.
1. PRUNING
Pruning or trimming your plant is another important step which many of us neglect. This promotes more branching and makes it more bushy and hence more flowers. The best time to hard prune hibiscus is at the end of winter or just the beginning of spring. Also, deadheading of the flowers from time to time is the most important step for maintaining blooms. Deadheading means removing dead and dried flowers from the plant and this diverts the plant energy from seed formation to plant growth and more flowering.
Video Tutorial on Hibiscus Care Tips
Please watch video below showing you how to take care of Hibiscus plant to increase flowering.
1 comment
Hybrid hibiscous still do not flower well as comaprd to te normal hibiscous.
Suggest some more tips.