The tree hibiscus is popularly called very romantic - a flower of love. This plant can be safely attributed to the most beautiful creatures of nature. Just breathtaking to its owners gives the color of hibiscus.
When it blooms, its huge bright flowers cannot but attract the eyes of every passerby. Among the inhabitants of the southern regions of Russia and Ukraine, Syrian hibiscus is very popular,
Chinese hibiscus is especially beautiful
. In the northern regions, it can only be grown in large flowerpots, so that when frost occurs, plants can be brought into warm rooms.
Varieties of hibiscus
Hibiscus treelike belongs to the Malvaceae. Under natural conditions, there are about 200 species of plants that differ in shape and size. Flowers of different species are also of different sizes and colors, there are those that are the size of a volleyball.
Types of Hibiscus
Syrian hibiscus has very bright green leaves and large double or simple flowers. Their color is different. It grows slowly and for the first time pleases with flowers only in the third or fourth year.
Dissected-hibiscus hibiscus is a species that boasts interesting dissected petals, bent back, hence the name. It blooms from May to November with flowers with a diameter of 8 cm of red, orange or mixed color. Chinese hibiscus is very similar to this species.
Hibiscus triple - tall species, leaves in the form of petioles, tripartite form. Pale yellow, relatively small flowers with a purple center open at 4 o'clock in the morning, close again after dinner.
Drummond hibiscus - the plant has three-segment leaves with dissected edges and five-petalled flowers of purple or pink color with a dark center.
It is worth noting the fact that among all the varieties at home, only hibiscus garden, or Syrian.
Tree Hibiscus Description
Frost-resistant and completely unpretentious - this is a description of such a plant as a tree-shaped garden hibiscus. Landing and care are completely uncomplicated. Looks great such a bush as a hedge blooming. Hibiscus is characterized by a long flowering period, the first flowers bloom with the onset of summer, the latter delight with its beauty in late autumn.
The tree-shaped garden hibiscus has small egg-shaped leaves, they grow quite late. If you take care of the bush correctly, then it can reach three meters in height and a half meters in width. The fact that the plant is looked after by the rules can be seen by the shiny green leaves and large bright flowers. In spring and autumn, when the air is cold, hibiscus leaves can become yellow.
Fine color: Hibiscus arborea
Anyone who has ever seen a hibiscus bush strewn with flowers knows what an indescribable beauty it is! The diameter of the flowers often reaches 12 cm. The color is so bright that it immediately attracts the eye and causes delight. Flowers are arranged one at a time, at a distance from each other.
This beautiful flower lives only one day, in the morning it blooms, fades until the evening, and its petals crumble. But, despite this sad fact, the hibiscus bush does not remain without buds. After all, new ones bloom on it daily.
Hibiscus treelike: planting and care
Garden hibiscus, as mentioned earlier, can be grown in your garden without much difficulty. Planting a tree hibiscus, although not too complicated, but still you need to know some rules.
The soil for this plant must be prepared fertile, loose and rich in humus. In order for the bush to fully develop, and during the flowering period was strewn with beautiful flowers, a sunny, quiet, without drafts place is selected for it. It is necessary to water the plant regularly and often, while flooding should not be allowed, the ground near the hibiscus should be constantly moistened.
Young plants need special attention of their owner, especially in the cold season. They must be covered so that they can survive the frosts. If hibiscus is planted in the soil in autumn, then before the arrival of winter, the land around the bushes is mulched.
Proper planting and watering - this is not all the rules that must be observed when caring for the plant. In order for the bush to bloom for a long time and abundantly, it must be fed. Fertilizers are applied once every two weeks, most importantly, they must contain a lot of phosphate. Before winter comes , hibiscus needs to be fed with potash fertilizer, this will support the bush and help survive the frost.
If you follow all the above rules, then this beautiful plant will be able to live up to twenty years and even more.
Propagation by Cherenkov method
Tree hibiscus can be propagated in more than one way. The cuttings method has established itself as the most effective. If you decide to plant this beautiful bush in your garden in this way, then there will be no particular difficulties.
Cutting is recommended in the spring, before the hibiscus blooms, for this you can use those parts that remain after pruning. Prepared cut cuttings must be placed in water and wait until the roots appear on them.
Cuttings with roots are best planted immediately in flower pots and put them in the garden. Thus, with the onset of the first winter, it will be possible to hide it in the same pot in a warm place and protect a very weak plant from frost.
Seed propagation
Garden hibiscus can also be propagated successfully by seeds; this method also does not conceal any special difficulties. You can sow seeds from January to March. First, planting material must be soaked in the Epina solution. Prepare the soil for planting from a mixture of sand and peat, fill a flower pot with a peat mixture and sow prepared seeds into it. Cover the pot with seeds with glass. To get excellent seedlings, you need to maintain a high temperature, about 27 degrees. The bowl with seeds must be ventilated periodically.
When a few leaves appear at the seedlings, they are dived and planted in small individual pots. Then everything is the same as with cuttings, in the warm season leave small hibiscus in the garden, picking up a cozy place for them. And for the winter, transfer them to heat.
How to trim?
In plant care, another important procedure is needed - this is hibiscus pruning. It is recommended to do it at the end of winter, until the time when the bush begins to "wake up" and grow actively.
Pruning hibiscus helps the plant to delight the gardener with a huge amount of flowers. This is due to the fact that the flower buds of a beautiful bush are formed only on the shoots of the current year.
You can trim this garden beauty for a beautiful appearance of the plant, a decorative shrub will serve as a wonderful decoration for any yard, balcony or terrace. Southern residents make hibiscus pyramids, balls, rhombuses, various other forms, strewn with bright large flowers. The sight is very beautiful!
Some people have the impression that the plant may suffer from pruning, but this is not so. Hibiscus normally tolerates such a haircut, while getting rid of dried branches. Each gardener, at his discretion, makes pruning and forms a bush for the environment.
Preparing hibiscus for the winter
As mentioned earlier, this ornamental bush is a southerner, so it is natural that many are interested in how hibiscus hibernates. It is impossible to unequivocally answer such a question, it all depends on the variety, on the locality, on the climate. Most non-terraced garden hibiscus varieties are considered frost resistant. For plants of this species that "live" in the southern regions, special preparation for wintering is not needed. But for the northern plants you need to make a shelter from frost, otherwise in winter the hibiscus may die.
For tree-like and grassy hibiscus, preparation for winter is the same. It is necessary to trim the plants and water abundantly, this is done before the onset of the first frost. After several days after irrigation, the bushes are spudded, having prepared for this land, mixed with sand.
At the end of November, hibiscus must be insulated. To do this, build mounds around the plants with a height of 15-20 cm, using sawdust and dry leaves. If the plant is young, then it is recommended to wrap it up completely for the winter. This is not too difficult to do, the whole bush bends to the ground and is covered with a special material, it is also necessary to cover it with plastic wrap from above.
On the wintering of hibiscus: gardeners should pay attention to the fact that Syrian hibiscus "wakes up" for a very long time in the spring, because of this there are times when the owner of a plant uproots a living bush, deciding that he died during frosts.
What is hibiscus sick and how to avoid it?
If it is not enough to water the hibiscus or if it lacks nutrients, then the flower buds will be tied, but almost immediately fall off.
If there is an excess of iron in the water that the plant is watered, then the upper leaves will turn yellow and the lower leaves will fall.
If the hibiscus has drooping and sluggish leaves, this means that the plant is “asking for a drink,” it has little moisture.
If the ground is too cold, this can cause the hibiscus to dry out and die.
Take a closer look at your beautiful flowering green pet, look after it carefully, and then garden hibiscus will delight you with its unusual southern charm for many years.