Will this be ok with light.

[davidwood]

I want to keep a cv indoores and not by a window,so it will be only getting average daylight. But what i plan to do is put it in the garden for about 2 hours each day to get sunshine and then bring it back indoors. Will this be ok or will the sudden change of light every day not be to good for the plant.

[Charlie]

This question comes up fairly frequently. What we need is for someone who tries this to let us know what happens. Maybe you can keep an informal record of how it goes. What variety, how big is it, is it blooming at the beginning of the experiment, budded up, or no buds at all yet. Then watch for a couple of months and see how the hibiscus does.

Generally speaking, hibiscus like the same conditions day after day but if moving it in and out becomes part of the regular daily routine it should be fine. If it gets shocked it will only be because it is not used to the direct sunlight but if I understand the plan you are going to take one that has been outside getting direct sun and move it to an indoor area. If that is the case then there won't be any shock when placed in direct sun.

Charlie

[davidwood]

You are right Charlie in as much as i will be usuing Pochanontas as my indoor plant and its allready used to the sun.  But Cosmic Gold will only know its life as 2 hours hot sun and then shade so i will keep good notes as to see what hapens and then let you know.

I did try the same thing with Dark of Night but mistakingly left it in the sun all day,every leaf on one branch,the one branch in full sun i lost nearly every leaf.

[Charlie]

I did try the same thing with Dark of Night but mistakingly left it in the sun all day,every leaf on one branch,the one branch in full sun i lost nearly every leaf.

Ouch! You've got some intense sun over there.

I look forward to hearing how this all turns out.

Charlie

[luthienj]

I just started doing this moving routine with my 5 hibiscus plants. We moved from an apartment with a wonderful west-facing terrace to an apartment with only north-facing windows. While we get great, bright indirect light all day, there is no direct sunlight, and I noticed my plants stopped growing. Heavy Metal started to languish and succumb to fungus (ugh overwatered!). I tried a CFL bulb, but I don't have enough for all of my plants and it was only keeping them alive, not blooming.  Fortunately, there is a south-facing window in the hallway just outside my door, so I've been moving them into the sun for 3-4 hr/day. It's only been a 3 days, and already they are sending out new leaves. The first day they wilted a little because of the shock but they are quickly adjusting. I'll try to keep you updated.

As an aside, I purchased two LED grow lights for ~$35 a piece. They are 12"x12" and put out red an blue light. I put my seedlings under them on a warm mat and they are growing well again. I also took several cuttings from Heavy Metal before it finally died and they are fairing as well as can be expected under the lights. It makes my living room look a little like a disco, but the light is not hot at all and quite effective. I found others for ~$200 with higher wattage, but if you just need some lights for overwintering houseplants, they seem to do the trick and are not expensive and don't need any special set up.