Hidden Valley Hibiscus Forum

Ok, Iknow this is  a  redundant  topic.........
Just curious as to why only one plant chooses to do this....... Nothing was wrong when I received them Charlie. Only a broken leaf here and there. Nothing  worth complaining about. That plant to the right had just a smidge of yellow  on that 1 leaf on plant #3. now  3 days after shipping, still.......only  that plant.... the one leaf is completely  yellow. And the next one is half and half.  I am convinced it is stress.all three plants have received the same amount of water I am just curious if a plants leaves start to yellow fully completely yellow or reverse the color and go back to green unless you guys have some sort of inside advice I'm assuming it was just the shipping. Luck Of The draw.....

What I do is just snap those yellowing leaves right off. They will never return to the nice green color they had so might as well get rid of them. There's always a chance that there are insects about and disposing of yellowing leaves is one way to keep them from spreading. That said, hibiscus leaves turn yellow regularly as the plant grows and changes its leaves from time to time. Its nothing to be concerned about as long as only a few are changing and dropping at any one time. The plant will put out new leaves quickly.

Charlie

Yea it fell off regardless. Does the shipping for products take as long to process as much as the  plants. I'm about two weeks in with my 3 babies. Don't dare to transplant or fertilize until your stuff comes in mail.

No, the fertilizer and other items ship the same week we receive the orders unless it is late in the week which then ships Monday usually. The plants are accustomed to being watered and fertilized (light dose) every day so will like it if you can keep them well fed and watered.

Charlie

I swear I think about these plants all day long this picture was just taken now I have those little bubbles and cracks in about 30% of my leaves I have no idea what it is also every day I'm killing about three or four fungus gnats they have never been outside. I want to do something so bad about this but I am so skeptical using anything but your products I order them roughly 10 days ago or so I just don't want to lose them. so as of right now its just been water.

. And rule out spider mites... not a single sign.   If you recommend  any fertilizers  in the mean time, feel free to let me know. I do have ozmocote  at my job.

Try not to fret too much!  Just take a deep breath :) Sometimes they need a little while to bounce back after being shipped, some bounce back faster than others, some might not even be bothered by it. I often get yellow leaves on mine after shipping. Make sure you're not over-watering because you're so worried about them- do the leaves look like that on all of the plants or just the one?

Eh, about 2 or 3 leaves per plant. They are in a vacant bedroom with decent direct morning sun. Not too hot at all. But then again I don't speak  plant.  I re alllllly  doubt the sun is the issue.

I got to kill these buggers  as soon as I get home!

Brenden, there are always a lot of mysteries with hibiscus. I've seen people drive themselves crazy worrying over every change in the leaves and so forth. Usually it is nothing serious and passes after awhile. Hibiscus react to their environment by changes in the leaves, and most of the time it is benign. If the plants stay green, grow steadily, and bloom when it is time then anything else is not to be worried about.

I just asked Cindy about your order which should have shipped last week and found out that it included the Houseplant Formula (good choice) which is the cause of the delay. It's a popular item and we just had a run on it and are temporarily out of it. A new batch will be ready in a day or two and your order will ship this week and arrive this week.

Charlie

Brenden,

One of the most important skills one needs to attain in growing these plants is to not over react and have much patience while keeping track of what you observe.  Your new plants came from the perfect environment of the HVH greenhouse and were in a dark box without daily feedings for several days.  Now they are in a whole new environment that not only they have to adjust to but you have to figure out what inputs work best there.

The result is the plants get stressed and the first thing they do is yellow their leaves and drop them to survive.  Be patient, do not water them too much until they have stabilized themselves in their new environment and if you see pests you can get some horticultural oil spray with Spinosad to drown them.   Spray under the leaves to and don't let them have direct sunlight while wet from the spray.

Also your plants need 2-3 weeks to acclimate to real sunlight so gradually introduce them over that period.  You have to really finesse them just until the get used to your conditions.  I think we all went crazy over every leaf when we first started growing these plants but you learn over time to see the bigger picture which is the overall plant's health.

When a exotic hibiscus is doing well and it loses a leaf you should see a baby replacement leaf ready to start in the same node.  When in shock from shipping/adjusting to a totally new place to live you might not see those baby leaves for some time until your plant finds a new happy medium.  You can always pinch the tops of your branches after acclimation to encourage new lower growth and branching.

Lots to learn - hang in there and be positive around your plants.  I swear they feed off of your energy when around them!

Keep asking them questions...

Farmer D

Haha, you two are going to be my metaphorical brothers per se in this green thumbed adventure of mine you know I was thinking about this at work about how I am probably worrying too much of course it is seen as worrying, from my point of view it's intense care but yeah I get it sorry if i pester you too much. They don't show any drastic decline in their overall health just tiny little symptoms that I am obviously aware of. also if you guys wouldn't mind getting back with me before the night is over attached is a picture of diatomaceous earth I found in the garage would this be okay to use and if so should I just put it on the top or mix it with water as recommended?

I have not heard of anyone using it in the soil for hibiscus.  If you have good draining soil and don't over water there should not be a need for it.  Also don't place a saucer underneath your pots to hold water.  That is a recipe for root rot.

Farmer D

No need for it now at  the  moment. I put some dry soil at the top of each plant, didn't  water for two days. So far no sign of them. Granted this is just until I get the products when transferring.  When you guys transplant and you have a past with bugs, would you recommend any product to soak the plant into ensure there all taken care of?

Bahh. Guess I'll put  them back more in the room . Maybe too much sun  atm.

Gnats are no big deal they are likely looking for somewhere to lay there eggs.    I have brought gnats home a few times from the grocery store from fruits or veggies.  Algae and standing water can attract them.   Houseplants or no houseplants they will find there way into the home.  
You can get rid if gnats fast if you hang a sticky trap around the plants and they make these small sticky traps that stake into the soil.    I also like to use the gnat motels.   They are plastic apples that you fill with vinegar that work excellent.  You can also fill  a  small bowl of water and add a few drops of liquid dish soap because that works well to.   Sorry, I  may have grabbed the last of the Houseplant Formula as this is the time of year I use a lot of it.  I have been telling people on FB to use it because it is liquid gold for hibiscus.  After you start to use the houseplant formula the yellow leaves will be reduced and gnats hate the houseplant formula.  
I work with diafill at work and thought about trying it in soil but rather not since I need my soil to dry quicker.  I know that people use it to kill ants since it is safe to use  around pets and kids. I was told if you sprinkle some around areas with ants, the diafill gets into there joints and kills them.   Be carefully what you put in your soil because it will stay in there for a long time.
Kyle

Right, nothing but city water from the faucet at the moment. I did manage to grab a pH meter from a grow shop down the road its really complicated but as soon as I get it to work I will see how the water here is and we have a natural spring in the backyard cuz my parents just dug a pond so if that suitable I will use that worst case scenario either bottled water or rain but I had to meet her to be able to tell me what is perfect for him though I will probably be able to use it today after work after the guy has to explain it to me. The fertilizers as well as the soil in the in the booster should be here any day now probably today or tomorrow.

Well. Got a treat Ph meter today.and the results are as follow the first picture is of my faucet from the city water was just from Port Huron. The second picture is the spring in the bottom of the soon to be a pond. and the third picture is of the bottled water this may or may not have the detrimental effect that I'm noticing with the leaves tomorrow I'm going to go pick up some lower pH solution.

Brenden,
Does your ph meter calculate the water temp when it gives a reading? If not you can look at a chart to get an accurate reading.  Also, a buffer solution is sometimes needed to calibrate the ph meter. If all 3 of your samples are not the same temp it could be deceiving.     Another handy tool is a Tds meter that will tell you the total dissolved solids of water.  Calcium, salt and other positively charged ions raises the alkalinity leading to high PH.   Slightly alkaline tap or spring water is not all that bad and not a big deal if you use it.   It has essential things in it like minerals and chlorine  needed for hibiscus and it's  + charged.  The fertilizer will help bring down the ph of the water and if your soil is slightly acidic that helps average things out.
You can check the ph of the nutrient water to see how much it lowers the ph.
Your on to something and will  it help your plants in the long run.  
I have used PH down chemicals before and  it doesn't take that much with the addition of fertilizers to lower the ph.     Partial filtered water like from reverse osmosis is another option, but I don't like to cut out all the tap water.
Kyle

Yea it's  been  calibrated. And all 3 were  room  temperature. I found out that rain water was 7.7 or so.  Another bottled  water  brand was 5.9. Might stick with that.  I received  allllll the products  that Farmer  D recommended. As soon as I am home, I will transfer. Now, when I take them out. Should I sit them in water or anything to rule out any insect/ fungus still in there. Alsò. Should I soften up the outside portion  of the roots, to promote wide spread when growing?