One plant that fails to get much 'air-time' these days is the dependable hibiscus. Maybe as gardeners we've moved on from these characteristically oversized flowers condemning them to the novices and non-gardeners because they're too easy to grow? Or, perhaps we just found other plants that stole our attention and they've been relegated to the yesteryear plants (aka "Grandma plants").

Whatever the reason, hibiscus and their deliciously tropical flowers have disappeared from mainstream garden discussions. Yet if you reside in an area where these grow it's quite obvious that their proliferation hasn't subsided. They continue to blossom underneath the public radar and seem quite content to remain hidden from the limelight.

I don't have one growing in my garden currently, unless of course you count my lavatera (a member of the Malavaceae family) but my mum had a few of these lining the driveway and I became a fan of their long flowering periods.

It seemed that hibiscus plants would flower as often as they could and the only thing to deter their blooming spells was to prune them hard. This would stop them in their tracks but only for a month or two, and then their foliage would cover their bare limbs and flower buds would burst open as quickly as they could.

How to Care for a Hibiscus Plant

If you read the opening paragraph you may have picked up that growing a hibiscus plant is anything but hard. In fact, from propagation to maturity you'll have more of a struggle trying to keep it in line than to get it to cultivate and flower.

But, like most plants, they do have their likes and dislikes with the most obvious being climate. Hailing from the Hawaiian islands, the hibiscus is a tropical plant and while it will do well among the coastlines of much of the world trying to get it to grow in colder climes will be a challenge. Unless, of course, you're happy to grow it in a garden greenhouse bringing it outdoors only when summer is in full swing.

Clay soil is also not high on a hibiscus plant's list of desirable growing conditions. They aren't real fussy when it comes to soil types and provided moisture is readily available they have been known to survive in extremely impoverished soils before - take note that 'survive' is the key word here.

Fertilising should be limited to an annual slow-release fertiliser and any more applications may send this plant into a foliage growing frenzy and prohibit its flowering potential.

Once your hibiscus is nearing maturity you will need to prune it back - at least 1/3 - 1/2 of its current size - once the summer flourish has subsided. This will help it produce new flowers for the following season but also keep it down in size and neaten its shape.

Propagating a Hibiscus plant

Much like the rest of this plant, propagation is a fairly simple task with the main methods being;

• Softwood Cutting


• Malcotting - (Air-layering)


• Grafting

Grafting is possibly the most involved method while the other two can be quite straight-forward and easily achievable. Results will depend on the species of hibiscus (yes...there is more than one) and the season in which you commence your propagation. The best time is the start of autumn (Fall) after you've given it a decent prune. Use some of the softwood cuttings that have begun to emerge.