Care products

[Denise]

A couple of my hibiscus are doing terrible. Their leaves are shriveling up and/or wilting. One plant is basically just a stick at this point. I have them indoors now. I was looking to order something from your care section to see if I can get them back in shape and not lose them. I was thinking the special blend fertilizer and the wake up spray. Any recommendations?

[Doll]

Denise, Supernova is a must have. I'm sure the wake up spray would be good also.

[helixturnhelix]

I agree any product that has auxins and cytokinins like super nova would probably help alot at this point. 

There is also a new product by fox farms called microbe brew and kangaroots, which have beneficial bacterium and fungi to inoculate your plants with.  Whats nice is alot of these beneficial bacterium that produce exudates which simulate plant hormones and therefore help stimulate growth, etc... 

[Denise]

Thank you. So I went ahead and ordered the special blend fertilizer and the Supernova. My next question is: Is it ok to blend it with the water and leave it blended like that in a spray bottle for an extended amount of time? Or does it need to be used up within a certain amount of time after being mixed with water? Thanks!

[Charlie]

Denise, yes, you can mix the Supernova and/or the fertilizer in a spray bottle and use it over time. That's one of the qualities of Supernova that we like compared to some similar products. Others we have tried would go bad and you could smell it as it spoiled but not Supernova. We use Supernova in the Houseplant Formula and have found the shelf life is very long.

Charlie

[Denise]

Great! Thanks, Charlie. I'm looking forward to getting the products and starting to spoil my plants! And hopefully save the bad ones!

[motherof4]

charlie...can you use the fertilizer as a foliar spray too???

[Charlie]

Yes, the HVH Special Blend makes a good foliar spray when mixed at a low rate of 1/4 teaspoon per quart spray bottle. Plants like hibiscus can absorb nutrients through the leaves. It's a direct way to get iron, phosphorus, and other minerals into the leaves but should not replace feeding through the roots.

Charlie

[Denise]

Love the excellent information. Thanks.

[Denise]

I received my Super Nova and fertilizer and started using it today! Has anybody ever seen recovery on a plant in this condition? I'm hoping this stuff will work it's magic. What a testimony to these products it will be if it works!

[davidwood]

Oh dear Denise, Supernova is good but I am not sure its that good, that looks a gonna already to me, I really hope you are lucky.

If anyone should read this and be thinking of buying Hibs for the first time in a few days I would say an absolute must is invest in a bottle of SuperNova, so many times its got me out of trouble, you don't have to be constantly spraying like I Darren and a few others do but if at the first sign of stress its close to hand many a cv can be saved, it really is worth every penny.

[Denise]

It looks pretty bad, doesn't it David? I am holding a shred of hope. It is Tahitian Princess and I was very excited to have that one

I can't wait to also see how all my others do with the special fertilizer and Super Nova. How many days til Spring?!

[helixturnhelix]

Im sorry that your Tahitian Princess looks on the edge of death.  This is one of the problems with grafted plants in cooler climates, when the graft is young as yours is it is pretty delicate.  I've heard of stories of people in sub tropical climates planting grafted exotics only to have rootstock regrow in the spring. This is one of the advantages to own root varieties, if the majority of the plant is damaged and the roots are still protected, it is still possible for the entire plant to grow back. 

For a plant in this shape, the best thing you can do is keep it warm.  Warmth is key for getting your plant to recover, humidity as David has suggested would also help alot.  I also tend to use super nova sparingly like David as the hormones in the solution are naturally produced by healthy plants.  Over use of this product probably wont hurt anything, but you overshoot absorption rate it waste product and money.  As recommended by the directions on supernova, once a week is the optimum application rate. Ive cut back on my use of a similar product and have noticed no change in growth or bud count. 

Good luck on recovery, I hope that she makes it!

[Charlie]

Denise, I think there is a chance it will come back. You need to cut the top part that is dying off so that any pathogens in it won't spread to the rest of the plant. I took your photo and cropped it to show where you should make the cut. In other words, your plant should look like my photo after you remove the dead/dying part.

It won't be able to absorb much Supernova without any leaves but it is still worth spraying the stems. Be sure to mix Supernova into the water when it gets dry enough to water again. You don't want to drown the plant which is easy to do when it has no leaves. Wait until the surface is pretty dry before watering again and then only use enough so that a tiny amount comes out the bottom holes of the pot.

You can always use the scratch test on the remaining piece of scion. Once you scratch the thin top layer of bark away you should see bright green underneath. If it is brown or dull yellow instead of green the plant is a goner. But, if there is bright green under the bark it can come back. As suggested, warmth is what it needs now.

Charlie

[Denise]

Thanks for all the great information! I actually did cut off the black part after posting this picture, but I will go ahead and cut it all the way down as you suggested . She is in my bedroom which never gets below about 62, but is usually high 60's and is sitting on a seedling heat mat 24/7. Oh, and scratch test reveals bright green! I'm keeping my shred of hope!! I'll keep you all posted.