Saturday, 23 May 2015

How to Grow and take care of Hibiscus Plants.

Hibiscus Plants have beautiful showy flowers in an array of colors like red,pink,white,orange,yellow,and many more shades of colors.The Plants belong to the mallow family.The flowers of the Red hibiscus can be used as a natural dye and they also make a refreshing drink, dried flowers can be added to pure coconut oil and heated a bit once it cools down a bit this warm oil can be used to massage you hair and scalp.Hibiscus flowers with stamens and pistils removed can also be dipped in tempura batter and then deep fried and served with a chili dipping sauce,or they can also be added to salads.Always make sure you use organically sourced flowers.White hibiscus flower paste is know to reduce mensuration cramps in women according to Ayurveda.In Hindu religion the Red Hibiscus flowers  are symbolic to Goddess Kali and Lord Ganesha and are used as offerings.
Hibiscus plants can be easily grown in Pots and Containers. Hibiscus plants love the summer sunshine and heat.And grow well in full sunlight and needs to be water in moderation.The plants are susceptible to mealy bug attacks,one way to fight them off is to is to remove the parts of the plant that have been infected by the mealy bugs and spraying a diluted mix of Listerine mouth wash and water,Then spray off with clean water,how ever i do not guarantee that this method would work all the time.I happened to buy an orange hibiscus sapling from a nursery and did not realize that the plant was already infested with mealy bugs its only when they started to show up as small white little particles after a few days on the new leaf growth that i realized what a blunder i had made by not checking the plant thoroughly before buying it.So this maybe a new lesson to learn always inspect a plant before purchasing it will help in saving  you from all the trouble later.None the less the plant is doing well now just got to keep and eye on the mealybugs just in case if I've missed out on any.
 


                                               

                                                                  Red Hibiscus Plant















Fertilization for hibiscus plants:- Hibiscus plants require some nitrogen in the soil in order to grow well,you can place little bits of dry cow-dung pats on the soil or you can also place it in the base of the pot before planting the sapling which is what i generally do.Fish emulsions are great too,you don't need to go that extra mile and follow the complete procedure involved in make fish emulsions but instead you can use the water in which you have washed and cleaned your fish.

                                                                 
                                                         Orange Double Petaled Hibiscus

Bud on the plant





Just about to bloom 





Unveiling of the beauty

Hibiscus flower in full bloom 

So if you have any tips or suggestions on growing hibiscus you can feel free to share your thoughts with me!! I'm all thumbs up for it !!Till the its happy gardening from sue.







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