Expert: C.L. Fornari - 10/18/2004

Question
hi
last summer i bot a couple of hybiscus that performed beautifully - flowers all summer. then they kept flowering over the winter - not as much but some. then this summer - not one flower! the plant looked great - lots of healthy leaves - but no flowers. i think i may have cut them back in early spring - is that why no flowers? they needed cutting back - but only now, in october, have i seen the first flower!
please advise? thanks

Answer
Pam,
It's not because you cut them back, but it might be that you cut them back too late.  Often, we hesitate to cut them in January because there are still a couple of flowers coming out.  But you should cut them back by late Jan. and begin fertilizing in Feb, keeping the plant in the sunniest place you have (a southern window is best) until you put it outside after all frost is gone.  If you don't have a sunny window, putting it under a florescent fixture that is on a timer so that it is lit 14 hours a day will help.  A "shop light" fixture is inexpensive and holds two bulbs - they do NOT have to be grow lights, but should be hung about a foot above the plants.

Having the lights on a long time, then putting the plant outside will help trigger the blooming because when the days are getting longer and longer that tells a plant to make foliage.  When the days start getting shorter that signals the hibiscus to hurry and bloom and make seeds.  If you mimic this with artificial lights (long days from January on) the plant will start producing buds earlier

Given a strong light and regular feeding, (do not use "blossom booster type fertilizers but use a 20-20-20 or 20-10-20)  your plants should come into bloom next summer.

I hope this helps!
C.L. Fornari