Growing Hibiscus in Vietnam.

[davidwood]

Hi to everyone and a special hello and thank you to Charles and Cindy without who's help i would not now be growing 11 Hibiscus never seen before in Vietnam.I have a roof top garden here and got interested in Hibiscus as it is the one plant that seem to thrive in the extreme heat, the shade temperature never drops below 22c 24/7 and can be as high as 40c,i dread to think what the temperature reaches at mid day in the garden but i am in and out as quick as i can to give the plants water,something which i have to do 3 or 4 times a day when its extremely hot.There are only 5 Hibiscus for sale here so when Voodoo Queen blossomed yesterday it was a big shock for my Vietnamese friends, in fact one lady was convinced it was not real ha ha, they are all in for a big suprise when they see the other 10 blossom from HIV. Apart from the heat i have a few other problems growing here, i am unable to buy any fertilizers or insecticides but i manage by getting my family to bring stuff from England when they visit[my son complained last time saying he had no room for his clothes]. The other big problem was having to give too much water just to stop the top soil turning to dust very quickly, but i got round this by using river sand as mulch and its working OK.I have only been growing for a year so time will tell with what other problems i will face, i think the fact i have no season where the plants can rest maybe be come a problem but we will see, still its nice to have blooms 365 days a year.  David.

[Cindy]

Hi David!  Welcome to our forum.  :-)

We would love to see pictures of your rooftop garden, even if your hibiscus aren't blooming.

The temps you describe (70-100 F) are absolutely perfect for hibiscus. Your plants should thrive there. With those kind of warm nights, they may grow really fast there and bloom all year round. Lucky you!

Cindy

[davidwood]

Part 2.Well all my plants are now growing well but if anyone reads this and is a beginner like i was i have one piece of strong advice, when you buy your first few plants make sure you buy the care products to go with them,i have  had to buy just about the total range of what HIV has on offer,i have had spider mites,[which i am now on top of] wilt disease[my fault,too soggy soil]and some Clorosis[the Iorn Chelate works a treat].
I suppose like most people when looking at the HVH website i just got exited about the flowers, its not till later you are back reading looking for any advice on tackling the problems[luckily everything is there if you care to read it].Living in Vietnam i have had to have it posted here but so far i have been lucky and its all arrived ok[there is a lot of theft here],ha ha lucky for me no one will know what Bayer 3-1 is and i have just ordered some worm castings so i should be pretty safe with them.
I have ordered a few more plants as i am now fully addicted to growing Hibiscus and am slowly taking photo's in preparation for putting my garden on HVH'S World garden section.

[Darkhorse]

That's a really good piece of advice for anyone davidwood... make sure you have the care products to go with your plants!  Once you realize there is a problem, then have to order the necessary treatment for the plant, wait for it to ship, etc... it could be too late!

[Charlie]

Thanks for your suggestions, David. I agree with Jordan about being ready. Most problems with hibiscus will be seen at one time or another so it is rare to prepare and never need the preparations. Might not be this year, but it's likely coming sometime and being ready can make the "fix" relatively painless.

My 2 cents!

Charlie