Hibiscus Plant Care
Hibiscus Doctor
Oh no! Something is wrong with your hibiscus! How do you figure out what it is? We have written many, many articles and webpages telling you how to figure out what is wrong with your hibiscus, but sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. So to help you keep your hibiscus healthy, find the picture and description below that best match the problem with your hibiscus, then click on the link at right to find out how to treat it.
Symptoms |
Cause |
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White spots or patches on leaves, and plant has recently been put in direct sun →   | Sunburn | |
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Brown edges on leaves, and plant has recently been heavily fertilized →   |
Fertilizer Burn |
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Buds discolor and fall off before blooming during the flowering season →   | Thrips | |
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Buds turn bright yellow while still tiny and fall off before blooming during the flowering season →   |
  Hibiscus Gall Midge |
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Scratch marks on flower petals in midsummer or fall→   | Thrips | |
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Leaves stipple, turn yellow, fall off, AND conditions are very warm and dry, inside a house or outside in dry summer heat →   | Spider Mites | |
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Tiny webs on stems & tips, AND leaves stipple, turn yellow, fall off, AND conditions are very warm and dry, inside a house or outside in dry summer heat →   | Spider Mites | |
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Leaves turn yellow and fall off until plant is defoliated, soil is neither too wet nor too dry, AND conditions are very warm and dry, inside a house or outside in dry summer heat →   |
    Spider Mites |
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White cottony mess on leaves AND shaking branches makes tiny white insects fly out →   | Whiteflies | |
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Tiny bright white insects fly out of hibiscus when leaves are shaken →   |
  Whiteflies |
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Black, white, yellow, brown, or green insects on buds, flowers or leaves →   |
  Aphids |
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Black, white, yellow, brown, or green insects on buds, flowers or leaves →   |
  Aphids |
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Small, white cottony spots on leaves →   | Mealybugs | |
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Tiny, bright white spots on bark →   | Snow Scale | |
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Tiny, black flying gnats around plant →   | Fungus Gnats | |
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One wilted branch on an otherwise healthy plant →   | Dieback Disease | |
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Plant defoliating from tip, moving down stem while rest of plant is healthy →   |
  Dieback Disease |
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Entire plant suddenly wilts, soil is very dry, leaves turn yellow or brown →   | Underwatering | |
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Entire plant suddenly wilts, soil is wet, leaves stay green, then slowly darken →   | Wilt Disease | |
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Entire plant suddenly wilts and collapses, soil is very wet, leaves stay green, then darken quickly →   | Drowning - Overwatering | |
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Black spots on leaves →   | Leaf Fungus | |
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Yellowing leaves that fall off, dark spots in green leaves, in a hibiscus that is outside in winter chill and rain →   | Winter Chill & Leaf Drop | |
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Oldest leaves turn yellow with dark green veins, young leaves stay green →   | Magnesium Deficiency | |
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Youngest leaves turn yellow with dark green veins, older leaves stay green →   | Iron Deficiency | |