trying to get more blooms

[mphquicksilver]

Hay Charlie I'm trying an experiment I wanted to know what you think will this work or not. They say if you leave plants in a small pot they bloom more often, and I'm like everyone else the first thing I do when I get a new plant is stick it in a new pot thats bigger   does that sound familiar. So what I'm trying is to put 3 or 4 plants in a 6 inch pot and leave them their, and they will get root bound faster & hopefully  I'l get 2 or 3 to flower at the same time. You know its more of an impact to see a half dozen flowers on one plant than one flower at a time. I was going to let them grow up a ways then cut the tops off also so they will bud back and have more branches.    

[Charlie]

The traditional way hibiscus have been grown as potted plants for sale around the world (literally millions of these pots sold every year across Europe, the US, and Canada) is to stick 2 or 3 cuttings into 1 pot, pinch the tips as they grow 2 or 3 times, and treat the plants with a PGR (plant growth regulator) after every pinch. This ends up giving you a very full plant (actually 2 or 3 plants but it looks like 1 plant in the pot), glossy leaves, and a huge number of flowers and buds at the time of sale. These are usually simpler and smaller flowers than the hibiscus we offer and in limited colors but they are still quite attractive. They are often considered expendable or long lasting bouquets since the plants have a hard time growing out of the growth regulator chemicals.

You can do the same thing but without the chemicals. It will still be a pretty pot and should have lots of flowers but it will be less compact and less floriferous as compared to the pots specially grown for this effect.

Cindy grows about a dozen or maybe more 4 inch pots of hibiscus inside our house, most in the kitchen window. They've been in those pots for a year or more and some of them bloom when the light is sufficient. I would not call them good bloomers in this size pot and indoors.

I like your experiment and hope you will document what you do with some photos. I'd love to see how it turns out. Generally speaking, you get the most flowers on hibiscus that have the most stems, since every stem can bud up and make blooms. It usually requires more roots and a bigger plant to get the most stems a variety is capable of. Still, multiple plants in a pot is another way to get more stems. Give it a try and let us know what happens - photos too!

Charlie

[blupit007]

Nice one Mike!