Hidden Valley Hibiscus ~ Plant Care
Watering Hibiscus
After repotting your hibiscus, go ahead and gently water the plant with a watering can or hose nozzle set to gentle. Go slowly and let the water settle into the soil gradually - do not flood the pot nor blast the top inch of soil out of the new pot. As soon as you see a little water start to come out the drainage holes, stop. The pot is wet enough. Alternatively, before repotting, the new soil can be lightly moistened and this wet soil can be used in the repotting operation. In that case it is best to add only a little more water or none at all until the next day.
Watering potted plants should always be gentle and thorough. A small amount of water should come out the drainage holes, and no soil should be washed out of the pot. It is best to water gradually, perhaps coming back to the pot several times rather than flooding it once. This is easy to do if watering several pots in the same area. Each can get a little water in rotation until all are thoroughly watered.
Hibiscus should have a chance to get partially dry before they are watered again. There are no set rules about how long this may take. In the heat of mid-summer it is often necessary to water every day. At other times twice a week may be enough. Try to water often enough so that the leaves do not droop from becoming too dry. In hot summer, water lots and do not be too concerned about the pots drying out - they will!
As soon as the temperatures drop or cloudy days develop, be more careful to check whether the pots have dried sufficiently to need water. Water probes can be used or you can get used to checking with a finger - the top of the soil should feel and look pretty dry before watering in cooler weather. However, if you were to dig down a couple of inches the potting soil should still be slightly moist - if not, then you have probably waited too long to water. No harm will come to the plant from drying out unless it becomes so dry that it wilts. Even then hibiscus will usually come back just fine, but that is taking things to the point of risking root damage that can lead to more serious problems.
