The Hibiscus nicknamed China Rose is a shrub with sumptuous flowering, assimilated to an indoor plant in our latitudes where it is frequently grown in pots. This species is frost-living, its indoor cultivation is therefore preferable in our regions with harsh winters. This does not prevent it from being installed on the terrace in summer provided that it is well sheltered. Let’s review the care that the Hibiscus or China Rose needs to bloom each year. Let’s also see when to repot it and how to prune it.
Caring for your Hibiscus (China Rose)
There are different varieties ofHibiscus x rosa-sinensis obtained after countless crosses between different species of Hibiscus. And for the record, it is in no way related to roses although it is nicknamed China Rose. This shrub can reach between 2 and 4 meters in height after a few years. But for that, it is still necessary to offer him a very high luminosity and devote some time to its maintenance.
Take out your Hibiscus in summer
This shrub in a jar can be placed outside to take advantage of sunny days, on the terrace or balcony, provided that it is sheltered from the wind and that he benefits from a very sunny location. It is therefore taken out at the beginning of June but it must imperatively be put back in the greenhouse, under the veranda or at home at the end of September.
However, be careful not to expose it to direct sunlight. We start by installing it in the shade, then in partial shade and finally in a sunny area. In this way, the shrub will perfectly acclimatize to outdoor conditions.
It is noted that the scorching temperatures may not be suitable for it. Above 32 to 33°C, it is reasonable to move the pot to a partially shaded corner which keeps a certain coolness. Under these exceptionally hot conditions, misting the Hibiscus can prove to be life-saving, in the evening or very early in the morning.
Watering the Indoor Hibiscus
The drying out of the earth being much faster in a pot than in a bed, it is essential to be attentive to the water needs of the Hibiscus grown in a container, and moreover indoors. It should be watered more frequently during the growth and flowering period. The correct frequency is watering every four days, the soil should dry out slightly between two sessions. It is also necessary to ensure have a light hand because its roots should not be immersed in water.
We reduce watering throughout the period of vegetative rest and we must use common sense, irrigation must be adapted depending on ambient temperature. The hotter and drier it is, the more water the shrub needs and vice versa.
But when the surrounding air is too dry, the flowers fall very quickly, sometimes even before being completely open. This is the case when the shrub placed indoors is located in the immediate vicinity of a window. If it is not possible to move it, it must be protected by a veil but also install the pot on a bed made of clay pebbles or even small pebbles which is covered with water. The Chinese Rose will thus benefit from a slight ambient humiditywhich will do him the greatest good.
Fertilizer l’Hibiscus in pot
Under such conditions, the substrate is rapidly depleted, requiring a regular fertilizer application. It is recommended to add a liquid fertilizer for flowering plants and shrubs to the irrigation water about twice a month throughout the flowering period.
Repot a Hibiscus – China Rose
This chilly little tree likes temperatures above 10°C. He afraid of frost and it is even dangerous for him since he does not resist negative temperatures. But in a mild climate, the Hibiscus is quite vigorous when it receives good care. Grown as a houseplant, so in a pot it needs a repotting every two or three years.
Ideally, this Hibiscus should be repotted between November and March, outside the flowering period and before the resumption of vegetation. The diameter of the new pot (imperatively fully drilled) should be slightly larger than the previous container because the shrub still likes to feel a little cramped. Choosing a tank that is too big is therefore not a good idea.
We start by placing at the bottom of the pot a drainage layer like clay pebbles or gravel. We can also recover the pieces of a terracotta pot that we can crush. This has the effect of promote water flowthe roots of this shrub should not be drowned.
A suitable mixture is then prepared consisting of:
- 1/3 of good garden soil,
- 1/3 of heather earth,
- 1/3 of horticultural soil.
Finally, it remains to position the shrub in the center of the pot and to fill the container with the soil that is packed well all around the foot without damaging the roots. The repotting session ends with a reasonable watering and not excessive.
Pests of Hibiscus Grown Indoors
It is essentially during the winter that this shrub can suffer from a hot and dry atmosphere due to our heating devices, favoring infestation by parasites such as mealybugs, red spider mites or even aphids. Do not hesitate to mist it regularly to protect it from attack. This also prevents the fall of flower buds and leaves. However, you should know that parasites are less common outdoors than indoors.
As for excess moisture, it is responsible for the rotting of the shrub.
Pruning and flowering of an indoor Hibiscus
The pruning of a Hibiscus -Rose de Chine is not absolutely essential. You can completely avoid it if you want the shrub to grow freely and have a more or less bushy habit, knowing however that after some time, it will eventually thin out.
We therefore cut it for control your growth or for modeler to form thanks to a so-called stem pruning which gives a certain elegance to this small tree. Stem pruning consists of keeping a single upright branch that will become a trunk and removing all the leaves and stems that develop at its base. To obtain a good density of branches, it must also be topped from time to time.
A small pruning of two or three branches that are reduced by a third of their length with pruning shears stimulates the growth of new stems. Thus, the shrub consists of young branches and mature branches, which makes it possible to enjoy abundant flowering.
If the Hibiscus grown indoors vegetateswhich is common in homes where the brightness is insufficient, pruning must be more severe in February. Thus, in a few months, new branches will develop and a large number of flower buds will form before the summer. The hibiscus flowers have a very short lifespan but are constantly renewed from April until the end of October.
It is only in the southernmost regions rarely exposed to frost as the Hibiscus – China Rose can be planted outside in the ground. Elsewhere, it is much wiser to keep it in a pot so that it can be sheltered as soon as negative temperatures are announced. If you want to grow hibiscuses in the garden, it is better to opt for Althea – Tree Mallow (Syrian Hibiscus) which acclimatizes very well north of the Loire and even in the easternmost regions, since it is able to withstand temperatures of around -15°C. In the event of exceptional cold, a winter sail however, is essential.