Blooms

[Lee]

I have 5 plants (all purchased from you) that I planted within the last 2 years that just will not get buds.  They appear to be very healthy.  Very green leaves and have grown normally.  I plant all my hibiscus by digging an oversize hole and using Miracle Gro potting soil as fill for the area not taken up by the plant plus I fertilize regularly using your products.   I don't know what else to to..  The amount of sun each plant gets varies between 50 and 80%.


Any ideas.

[davidwood]

That's very unusual Lee and I have never heard of it before, I think most of us at some point have had bud drop [where the bud develops and drops of before opening], sadly I consider myself an expert with that problem haha.

I have had dozens of cv's and the longest I have ever waited was 9 months with Electric Orange but the average is about 3 months so like I say unusual.

Is it possible you can send a picture of the bushes, it may be a clue when you say very healthy and I am wondering if they are too healthy, by that I mean very lush green leaves and that's where all the effort and energy is going.
I have no idea whats in the Miracle Glow Potting Mix but I know there fertilizer is no good for Hibiscus, to much P [NPK] in it, this is just a thought Lee as like I say unusual and I cant think of anything else.

[Ernest]

Like David, I have not heard of this problem of no buds at all. Lee, where are you located? I'm just guessing but could there be something weird in your soil? It may be worth doing some soil testing. A neighbor once told me that she had persistent trouble with her plants in one area of her yard. When she dug down deeper she found an old bag of lime that the builders had left. Chris and Charlie will probably be much more help here and I am curious as to their thoughts on this.

Erny

[Charlie]

Hi Lee,

This is an unusual problem so I can only take some guesses. I think you are in the Houston area which should be a good blooming area although I have heard from someone in Louisiana a couple of weeks ago who said he was having fewer buds so far due to a colder than normal spring. That might apply to you, too.

The most common reason for low bloom count is too much shade but if that is not the case I would check closely for gall midge or thrips. The first is a little fly that spread from Florida to the rest of the Gulf Coast over the last decade - it causes small buds to turn bright yellow and fall off when small. Thrips on the other hand are pretty much everywhere and can invade larger buds which will fall off before opening. Check the HVH web site for solutions to these pests.

As far as nutrition is concerned I would recommend applying HVH Booster (potassium nitrate) once a week and if possible spraying with Supernova at least once a week until you see plenty of buds forming. Most likely you will get flowers this year once it warms up.

The other thing that happens in areas that get hot summers is that the hibiscus become heat stressed and stop flowering until cooler weather arrives in fall. The very best way to avoid this is to make sure they receive plenty of water - daily after the temperatures reach and go higher than 90F. Dryness plus high temperature will cause them to stop or never start blooming.

Charlie