Hibiscus

Nature 3 Minutes

Hibiscus tree is an annual or perennial herbaceous plant with trumpet-shaped flowers. This tropical tree grows in full sun or partial shade and does best in moist, well-drained soil. With over 200 species and many more cultivars in the genus, hibiscus flowers can reach nearly 10 inches in diameter at maturity and come in a wide range of colors from white to red, pink, yellow, and orange.

Tropical hibiscus varieties (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) are perfect if you live in a warm climate or want an impressive houseplant. For those living in cooler parts of North America, opting for a hardy variety or the shrubby rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus), which are both easier to grow and can withstand colder winter temperatures, will be the better choice. Regardless of variety, hibiscus flowers are very attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds.

While all hibiscus have similarities that go beyond appearance, they have some distinct care and growing requirements.

Hibiscus Care

The care you provide your hibiscus will vary depending on whether it is a hardy or tropical variety and whether it is grown indoors or outdoors.

Warning

You can grow most species of hibiscus without worrying about them getting out of control. However, rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) is classified as an invasive species in much of eastern North America.1

Light

Hibiscus love bright conditions. In northern climes, full sun is often best, but in the intense, dry heat of the south, filtered sunlight is better. If you find that your plant isn’t producing many blooms, move the plant to a sunnier location.

Indoor tropical hibiscus will need a bright spot near a sunny window but keep it away from strong, direct sunlight. If you are transferring your plants outdoors when the warmer weather arrives, gradually acclimate them to the brighter conditions.

Soil

All hibiscus do best in well-drained, fertile, moist, loamy soil. The hardy varieties are wetland natives and are a good choice for sites that are too wet for other plants.

Most hibiscus prefer a slightly acidic soil pH, but the rose of Sharon is tolerant of alkaline conditions. The color of hibiscus flowers can be affected by the soil acidity level.

Mulching around the plant base can help with moisture retention if your location is experiencing dry conditions. For nutrient-poor soil, amending with organic matter will be beneficial.

Water

All hibiscus are thirsty plants that need to be kept moist. Indoor tropical hibiscus benefit from regular watering from spring to early autumn during the growing season. Significantly reduce watering during dormant periods. For container-grown plants, ensure the top inch or so of potting mix dries out fully before watering—saturated soil is also problematic, and make sure containers have adequate drainage holes.

Depending on the conditions, you might need to water your hibiscus daily to help it produce an abundance of blooms.

If your hardy hibiscus are not planted near a pond or in another wet area, water them on a regular basis to keep them moist.

Temperature and Humidity

Rose of Sharon and hardy hibiscus can grow in cool, temperate climates. They thrive in temperatures from 60 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit but can handle temperatures as low as 20 degrees Fahrenheit. When temperatures drop below 30 degrees Fahrenheit and frost is a risk, bring container-grown plants indoors. However, be mindful of their higher humidity requirements—which is why bathrooms are a good location for these plants.

Temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit can kill tropical varieties, so they are best housed in humid locations indoors in regions where this is likely to occur.

Fertilizer

To encourage abundant, healthy blooms with good color, feed plants with a high potassium and high nitrogen fertilizer. Fish emulsion and seaweed extract are organic fertilizers. Feed a half-strength solution just before the start of the bloom period and continue at least once every few weeks until the end of flowering.

Types of Hibiscus

There are hundreds of tropical and hardy hibiscus hybrids and cultivars available. Just a few popular varieties include:

Swamp Hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus): An unusual, hardy species featuring large pinwheel-like flowers

Confederate Rose (Hibiscus mutabilis): This hardy rose mallow has large, showy flowers that open white and then change color.

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis ‘Cajun Cocktail’: A tropical cultivar with striking orange and yellow ruffled blooms, giving each one a one-of-a-kind appearance.

Hibiscus moscheutos ‘Perfect Storm’:A hardy, compact hybrid cultivar that blooms late in the season.

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Published by pat frederick

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158 thoughts on “Hibiscus”

  2. Like

        1. i think i told related this before. years ago my mother in law and her friends took the train ride across the northern border–some in Canada, some in the US. they left Buffalo (?) and made it west to Alaska (eventually) where they boarded a cruise ship to see glaciers.
          it was an adventure of her life. she said the train was fabulous!

          Liked by 1 person

              1. That’s the way it will be when I go – nobody is interested, especially because those still alive know little to nothing about my adopted life/family. Gage barely remembers Mom, Piper probably not at all since she was so young. IDT my other GD, Ashley, knows much about her either. They certainly won’t care about all my fishing pics, animal pics, horse pics, etc., etc. and family documents/history. My Sis would be the only one who might be interested and she’s 2 years older than me so….

                Liked by 1 person

  12. Like

  13. A Proclamation on Black Music Month, 2023

    “During Black Music Month, we pay homage to legends of American music, who have composed the soundtrack of American life. Their creativity has given rise to distinctly American art forms that influence contemporary music worldwide and sing to the soul of the American experience.

    This month, we celebrate the songs and artists that challenge us to think critically, stand up to injustice, and believe in ourselves. We recommit to expanding the promise of dignity and opportunity for all Americans. And we revel in the sounds, spirit, and soul of some of the very best music ever created.

    […]

    NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2023 as Black Music Month. I call upon public officials, educators, and all the people of the United States to observe this month by honoring Black musicians and raising awareness and appreciation of Black music. — The White House

    Our Take: “It’s officially June! June is my birthday month — so it’s the best month — but in recent years, June has become synonymous with rainbows and BDSM parades. Not anymore! Biden was very busy proclaiming things yesterday, and you now have options when deciding upon which virtues to signal in the year’s sixth month. June is officially:

    (1) Black Music Month
    (2) National Caribbean-American Heritage Month
    (3) Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Pride Month
    (4) National Immigrant Heritage Month
    (5) National Ocean Month
    (6) National Homeownership Month

    So, thanks to Biden, you can now choose how you celebrate Ashe’s Birthday Month; still, I need to give a special shout out to all the steel drum playing, non-binary Caribbean immigrants who braved the ocean to realize their dream of home ownership. June is for you.” — Ashe in America

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Troublemaker10
    June 1, 2023 3:29 pm

    Election Transparency Initiative
    @ETI_now

    Former secretary of state
    @AlisonForKY
    has been fined $10,000 for abusing “her position and influence” to provide 18 Dem candidates with official, confidential voter lists in violation of state law in an obvious attempt to aid their political campaigns.

    *******

    Agency fines Alison Grimes $10,000 for handling of voter data as KY secretary of state

    https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article275584651.html

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Again, an excerpt from a paid article:

    “Meet the New Twitter, Same as the Old Twitter? Matt Walsh’s “What is a Woman?” is the kind of content most thought would be safe under new Twitter ownership. A new battle over the film feels like an attack of nanny-Twitter déjà vu”
    MATT TAIBBI
    JUN 1, 2023

    “At roughly 8:30 a.m. ET this morning, Jeremy Boreing, co-founder and co-CEO of the Daily Wire, posted a lengthy thread on Twitter outlining what appeared to be a major reversal on speech issues on the Elon Musk-owned platform. “Twitter canceled a deal with @realdailywire to premiere What is a Woman? for free on the platform because of two instances of ‘misgendering,’” Boreing wrote, adding, “I’m not kidding.”

    Noting the film would be labeled “hateful conduct,” the thread detailed a months-longer roller-coaster dispute between the producers of What is a Woman?, a controversial documentary by Matt Walsh released a year ago today, and the current incarnation of the bird site.

    In celebration of the release anniversary Walsh, Boreing, and the Daily Wire began making plans to partner with Twitter for a 24-hour livestream today, June 1, 2023. Twitter at first responded with enthusiasm, offering the chance to buy “a package to host the movie on a dedicated event page” and “a chance for us to promote the event to every Twitter user over the first 10 hours.” The initial exchange came roughly a month ago, and the Wire team planned a significant ad buy and other promotions.

    Weeks later, Twitter ominously asked the Daily Wire for a review copy of Walsh’s movie. Boreing said the firm then found out Twitter would not only “no longer provide us with support,” but bluntly told them they would “limit the reach” of the film if the Daily Wire went ahead with the event on its own. In one of many odd twists to this story, the problem involved two alleged instances of “misgendering,” a category of offense Twitter controversially removed from hate speech guidelines in April.

    “They gave us the opportunity to edit the film to comply. We declined,” wrote Boreing. Boreing’s tweet-storm today provoked a quick backlash on the platform, with personalities like Tim Pool promising to terminate his “enterprise Blue subscription” if the decision wasn’t reversed. As if by magic, Musk at 1:33 p.m. tweeted that it was a “mistake by many people at Twitter”:

    However, as of this moment (at 2:27 p.m., an hour after Elon’s tweet), the movie is still labeled “limited,” because it “may violate Twitter’s rules against hateful conduct:

    No matter how this mess turns out, it’s a significant development, in large part because What is a Woman? — a sarcastic “mockumentary” that gently tinkles in the face of transgender orthodoxies — is just the kind of content many conservatives in particular imagined would no longer arouse the ire of censors.

    Walsh himself last year celebrated Musk’s “liberation of Twitter,” a fact the Washington Post considered significant enough to report at the time (though it followed the now-common habit of not linking to Walsh’s Twitter account or to Daily Wire content about the film). If new Twitter continues to labels and suppresses this movie, it will send a clear message to conservatives that the honeymoon is over. At the very least, it’s time to pack.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. i think musk knew things would heat up at twitter and he didn’t want the heat himself so he hired a new ceo to be the bad guy.
      he owns the damn company. if TWITTER is “doing this”, then so is MUSK.

      Liked by 1 person

  17. Benny Johnson
    @bennyjohnson
    FBI director Christopher Wray defied a congressional subpoena for the FD-1023 document that incriminates Biden, but Wray says he will show a redacted version to James Comer in private.

    What he didn’t tell the public is that it would be REDACTED

    Wray says they can’t release it publicly to “protect sources and methods”— that’s what they always say.

    It’s code for “protect DEMOCRATS”.

    Liked by 1 person

  18. another opinion weighs in…
    lol

    Merry
    Merry
    June 1, 2023 3:48 pm

    Biological men competing in women’s sports, using women’s locker rooms, bathrooms, prisons. Just payback for women forcing all male clubs, all male schools, the boy scouts to accept biological females. Karma

    Liked by 1 person

    1. This is definitely disingenuous by going to the extreme but, even back then, most of us REAL women didn’t approve of that either. At least I certainly didn’t! It’s the same for police officers, firefighters, military, etc. – if they can’t do the job, they MUST not lower the standards in order to be politically correct or soothe some pantywaist’s hurt feelings!

      Liked by 1 person

  22. 5 illegals murder an 15 yr old American…who would have thought. AND they are ms-13 gang members
    FTA
    Authorities have charged five illegal immigrants belonging to the violent MS-13 gang with the alleged murder of a 15-year-old boy in Frederick County, Maryland earlier this year, Fox 5 DC reports.

    Limber Lopez, 15, was found dead in April near Gambrill State Park just outside of Federick, Maryland after his family reported him missing in late-Febraury. After the report was filed, authorities happened upon a crime scene at the state park the following day which led to the discovery of Lopez’s body more than a month later, Frederick police chief Jason Lando said in a statement.

    https://thepostmillennial.com/five-illegal-immigrants-ms-13-gang-members-charged-with-first-degree-murder

    Liked by 1 person

  24. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

    Like

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