The Chinese rose, or otherwise hibiscus, is a very popular houseplant that has been pleasing amateur gardeners for centuries. She fell in love with many for blooming almost all year round with large, beautiful red flowers. An unusual exotic look gives them a long tube of thin golden stamens. This plant has gained wide popularity due to the fact that hibiscus tea is prepared from dried hibiscus flowers . The finished drink has a tart-acid taste and acquires a bright red color.
The Chinese rose was imported from the southeastern regions of Asia. But it grows not only there. Hibiscus is also found in the forests of South America and Africa. In the wild, it can reach a height of 5 meters. Indoor Chinese roses grow to 1.5-2 meters.
Hibiscus is relatively unpretentious and does not require complicated care. The main thing is to always remember that this is a tropical plant. Based on this, the basic rules for care are built.
- Support for optimal air temperature. It should vary from 15 to 30 degrees heat. If the room is too cold, then the Chinese rose will cease to grow, and the buds will fade without blooming. At zero temperature, the plant can die in general, receiving serious damage. But high temperatures up to 35 degrees are also not to the liking of hibiscus - the buds dry and fall away. Nevertheless, the plant will not die if it receives plenty of water.
- Warm, sunny place. Find the brightest place for the rose in the house, by the window on the sunny side. In winter and in the offseason this will be enough. In the summer, try to take the plant to a balcony or terrace, to the garden, if you have a private house. Leaving hibiscus in the shade is not critical, but its development will be worse and there will be extremely few flowers. Putting it in a bright place, in March you will enjoy the view of the first blooming buds. Flowers, replacing each other, will appear until late autumn.
- Moderate but regular watering. Water your rose right away, as you notice that the earth in the pot has begun to dry out. The fact that the plant does not have enough moisture will be signaled by fading leaves. In summer, try to make watering frequent, but do not overdo it - it is not necessary that the roots stand in the water and rot. In cooler times and especially in winter, water moderately. Too much watering can lead to the development of a fungal root disease that can kill the plant. Therefore, it is better to let the hibiscus dry slightly than to overdo it with watering.
- Spraying. The leaves of a medium-sized rose, and so that dust does not accumulate on them, must be sprayed from the spray gun, especially in summer. In winter, spraying the leaves and nearby airspace is necessary if the plant is next to a battery or other heating devices. This is to moisturize excessively dry air.
- Fertilize. If you want your Chinese rose to bloom magnificently and be healthy, fertilize it. As a top dressing, select mineral fertilizer and liquid mullein. Alternate them among themselves. The infusion of liquid mullein is diluted 1:10 with water. Feeding begins in the spring and ends in mid-August. During this period of time it is necessary to fertilize every week. In the rest of the year, it is enough to fertilize once a month with a half dose of phosphorus and potassium.
- Spring transplant. Affects only young plants. Every year in spring, prepare a larger pot of the previous one and transplant. Pre-long branches are shortened by two-thirds, and short - less. This is a necessary action for the formation of flowering shoots. The soil for transplantation should consist equally of humus, turf and peat land, sand and pieces of charcoal. Only turf land should be 2 times more than the rest of the parts. Take care of good drainage in advance. Adult plants are not transplanted unnecessarily, they only remove the top of the soil and replace it with fresh soil. Additionally, the Chinese rose is sprayed with a special tool to prevent the appearance of insects.