Tropical Hibiscus Tree

Ah, The beautiful Hibiscus Tree, what I love about this tropical plant is that it comes in so many colors and can be shaped into anything.

If you want to keep Tropical Hibiscus Plants as a shrub you can, or just let it grow and shape it into a beautiful growing hibiscus tree just by pruning hibiscus.

I will give you all my knowledge and all tips on how to grow the most hardy beautiful blooms, by caring for hibiscus plants the correct way.

I'll give you the history of the hibiscus, its origination and what it means.

Hope you enjoy the beautiful hibiscus images I have provided for you of the Tropical Hibiscus Tree and Plants.

Also I have provided links to nurseries that sell the best quality hibiscus flowers and plants.

With the proper care of hibiscus and pruning hibiscus you can grow a magnificent hibiscus shrubs and trees that will produce healthy plants for propagating hibiscus which in turn you can have beautiful hibiscus cuttings for a beautiful hibiscus flower designs put together in hibiscus bouquet either for you home, or wedding hibiscus bouquets.

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I love the color in this hibiscus flower picture !

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The Tropical hibiscus tree, in all colors and varieties, was the official Flower of Hawaii adopted as such in the early 1920s.

It wasn't until 1988, that the yellow hibiscus which is native to the islands was selected to represent Hawaii. For this reason, you will see many older photos and postcards with the red hibiscus, or any other color for that matter, as the state flower.

Caring For Hibiscus Plants
Hibiscus flowers from the Tropical Hibiscus Tree prefer to be taken care of and grown in warm temperatures.

They bloom best with temperatures ranging from 60 to 90 degrees.

The hibiscus needs to be watered carefully. Make sure you do not over flood the roots because it may cause rotting or mildew of the roots.

Keep a constant moistness of water for the plant in warm weather it helps it to keep a thick green leafs and will often cause it to bloom more as well.

In colder weather, only water the plant if it looks dry.

The hibiscus tree needs to be fed plant food, I love miracle gro shake and feed, its easy to use.

Try to keep all insects and pests away so the flower does not get ruined. If you are potting your flower, make sure the pot has plenty of drainage.

This is an X-Ray of a Hibiscus flower

Pruning hibiscus
When growing hibiscus prune hibiscus to keep the plants bushy and full of blooms.

Pinch off the tips of branches to encourage multiple growth tips further down the stem. this is important when caring for hibiscus as many other leafy trees.

Hibiscus trees should be pruned occasionally, which is usually done in the spring.

Regularly pruning of these plants will make better shaped plants, as well as cause the branching and blooming of the flowers to increase.

Pruning will allow the plant to produce hormones that activate buds that have become dormant. This will reduce the amount of insects infesting the plant by cutting off older leafs and branches.

There can be some negatives to pruning. The main drawback is that you will not see any blooms in the area you pruned for at least a couple of months. The other is the fact that your plant will look smaller or out of balanced until the new growth comes in which is no big deal because it’s going to make your tree so much prettier in the long run.

If you have a wonderful hibiscus tree with the beautiful flowers that you wish to propagate, you can take cuttings.

When transplanting the hibiscus plant there is no guaranteed same color flower as the mother plant will be produced, as it can have characteristics of past generations just like humans, but using a good hibiscus fertilizer definately helps.

Cuttings should be taken during the warmer months, April through September is the best time.

Cuttings are placed into a media of coarse, sharp sand and some peat moss, about 3 parts sand to 1 part peat being suitable proportions.

Clean the sand with running water and allowed to drain. Then add the peat and mix together. Add crushed brick or similar drainage material to the bottom of the propagating box before adding the mixture about 5”. Watering is needed to settle the media and then a nail or dibble stick is used to punch 1 1/2 inch holes to place the cuttings into.

Cuttings should be about 5 to 6 inches long. Cut straight across just under a leaf node and some of the lower leaves removed from the cuttings.

Remember, the more leaves, the faster they strike! Cuttings should then be pushed gently into the dibbled holes and put into place. They should not be planted too deeply. The box should then be watered again and keep the media moist from then on but not excessive water.

A few yellow leaves here and there usually only mean that those leaves are getting old and need to shed, or if your plant has many yellow leaves it is stressed probably from transplanting and this will pass.

The most common causes of hibiscus tree stress are under-watering, drastic environmental changes or pest invasions, but the most common reason is spider mites.

Phytophthora
There is a soil-borne wilt disease associated with soils that dry out in summer and that get moldy from the winter rains, this disease can kill many ornamental shrubs, trees not excluding the hibiscus tree.

You should always try to avoid conditions that are favorable and will fester phytophthora because affected hibiscus tree usually do not recover. The problem rarely occurs where hibiscus are given good drainage and compost to hold moisture so you don’t have to water as often.

Collar rot
You can tell this disease by the browning of the leaves, or they will become slimy, at the roots, is prevalent where winters are cool and damp, and drainage poor a good example would be Oregon or Washington.

Caring for this sick hibiscus you can try removing all affected stems and bark and painting the discolored area with Bordeaux paste. Clear the surrounding ground and spray with a strong garlic solution. Sclerotina rot affects stems at ground level. Repeated applications of strong garlic will help.

Chewing insects
Beetles can be picked off. Apart from the flea like bronze beetle, which is quit the jumper and is hard to catch, most beetles can be removed if the bush is not first disturbed.

Then there are the more common snails and slugs, though they are voracious chewers, are a threat only to new leaves, mainly on younger plants. The best natural control is plentiful bird life

Or you can do what I do with the snails, which my mother taught me as a young girl and it works better than anything... Pick them up and throw them into the street!!!!! haha

Other chewing pests include grasshoppers and katydids, those are a bright green, an well camouflaged, flying bugs. Check your local nursery for sprays to help repel them.

Sucking insects
Sucking insects may be less conspicuous. Although the green vegetable bug, Nezara viridula, and its immature form with the colorful mosaic back are often easy to spot, most sucking insects are a lot smaller.

Scales, spider mites, usually cover the undersides of leaves. Then there are powdery or fluffy mealy bugs that are a real pain. then the famous aphid. Watch out for these. Evidence of their presence is white spots on the leaves.

Before using chemicals try squashing these pests by hand or removing them with a strong-pressured hose. These methods really don’t work well but can help a little. They coat themselves with a waxy substance that resists dislodgment, they really grab on. For mealy bugs, paint an application of water mixed with the other half of mentholated spirits.

THE GOOD GUYS
When growing hibiscus and other tropical plants I have learned there are many beneficial insects in your garden that actually kill off the bad bugs.

Those cute little green frogs the Assassin Bug, the Praying Mantis, and naturally those little eight legged creatures the Spider, help to eat the unwanted bugs.

Types of Hibiscus

Disco belle hibiscus, Southern belle hibiscus, Hibiscus cajun hibiscus, purple hibiscus flowers, hibiscus bonsai, cranberry hibiscus, Hibiscus vine, miniature hibiscus, Hibiscus syriacus diana, dinner plate hibiscus, blue satin hibiscus, lord baltimore hibiscus, sea hibiscus, rose mallow hibiscus, blue hibiscus flower, Robert fleming hibiscus, hibiscus trionum, fireball hibiscus, hibiscus acetosella, yellow hibiscus flower, pink hibiscus flower, fantasia hibiscus, hibiscus fireball, hibiscus mutabilis, hibiscus coccineus, tropical hibiscus plants, texas star hibiscus, hibiscus laevis

Order some flowers today from the many online plant nursery below they have GREAT selections of Hibiscus Flowers, Hibiscus Tree!

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