Hibiscus wilting – House Plant Journal

Hibiscus wilting

Plant: Hibiscus

How long have you had the plant? Less than 1 month

Concerns:

I noticed a few days ago that on one stem the leaves are wilting. It’s in the bathroom so it’s humid some of the time

It sits here in the windowsill getting roughly 2 hours of direct sun:

How do you determine WHEN to water: I wait for the soil to become about halfway dry.

Describe HOW you water: Sometimes I pour a small amount of water, sometimes I fully soak the soil.

What fertilizer do you use? I have not used fertilizer on this plant.

When was the last time you repotted? I haven’t repotted.

Darryl

Thanks!  Here’s my assessment and recommendations:

  • Waiting until the soil is about halfway dry is not the right strategy for watering a hibiscus – it should be watered when the soil is just slightly dry.  You should be aiming to keep the soil evenly moist.  That stem might be permanently wilted and may not recover.
  • ***MORE IMPORTANTLY*** Light – during the growing season, hibiscus are typically grown outdoors in ‘Full Sun’ (6 or more hours of direct sun) to ‘Part Sun’ (4-6 hours of direct sun).  Consider this: ‘Shade’ is defined as outdoors where there is less than 4 hours of direct sun – the interior of your bathroom, providing 2 hours of partially filtered sun has a lot less light than ‘Shade’ outdoors.  To put it bluntly, if you want your hibiscus to grow well over the summer, put it outside.  If you want to watch it die slowly, then keep it indoors.  Hibiscus is only kept indoors during winter months in a dormant state so it can be grown outdoors the following spring – it won’t grow indoors year-round unless you have exceptionally large windows, a solarium, or a greenhouse.

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