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Hibiscus (Was Re: African violets)

At 09:30 PM 6/6/97 -0400, you wrote:
>You know, I love hibiscus.  I think they're gorgeous.  I've always
>wanted one but I don't know if I can keep one alive.  Can I grow one in
>the house?  I grow orchids in the house--under mercury vapor lamps &
>floresc. lights--would a hibiscus need the same type of thing?
>
>Please advise :)
>
>Julia

Julia;

Hibiscus (I assume you mean tropical hibiscus) make really nice potted
plants, although they can get rather large if they are grown well..My
largest is in a 14" pot! To be honest, I've never tried growing them
year-round indoors or under lights..They need strong light to flower well.
Mine spend the summer outdoors and the winter in a greenhouse (although for
years I kept one next to a sunny window during the winter and it did fine).
They tend to go semi-dormant during winter, look awful, but after pruning
and repotting or soil replenishment in the spring they are gorgeous again
by midsummer.

Go for it! Put it in the sunniest place you have (full sun outdoors if you
can manage it). Water when the soil feels dry or if you see wilting, and
fertilize with a low phosphorus fertilizer. Osmacote makes one that you
only have to add once a growing season, but there are others available that
you can apply in soluble form.

If you want more cultural info, check out the American Hibiscus Society
site at  <http://www.trop-hibiscus.com>

There is also a tropical hibiscus maillist you can subscribe to:
 
To subscribe, put <subscribe hibiscus-mail-list> 
in the body of the message to  <telem@earthlink.net>.
Commands must be EXACTLY as above, spaces, dashes, etc.  COPY and PASTE to be
certain.

Also, feel free to e-mail me if you have more questions..

Gerry (TN/6b)
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