Any hope of saving this australian hibiscus from dying ?

[sash_007]

hello friends,

I bought two Australian hibiscus: one yellow and one orange from a local nursery on 5th January and planted them both in terracotta pots.

I chose the yellow one despite the fact it has some eaten leaves as I liked the color but right after potting on 7th my yellow Australian hibiscus was not doing very well.
but as my orange one was doing well with multiple blooms
the yellow one is slowly dying with a yellow leaf falling off each day passing by

i posted both during purchase and its peresent condition now

i have already given up hope ,yes i have kept it in semi shade to reduce stress


any idea whats causing this? is it just repotting shock or something else?

 

[oneeye]

hello friends,

I bought two Australian hibiscus: one yellow and one orange from a local nursery on 5th January and planted them both in terracotta pots.

I chose the yellow one despite the fact it has some eaten leaves as I liked the color but right after potting on 7th my yellow Australian hibiscus was not doing very well.
but as my orange one was doing well with multiple blooms
the yellow one is slowly dying with a yellow leaf falling off each day passing by

i posted both during purchase and its peresent condition now

i have already given up hope ,yes i have kept it in semi shade to reduce stress


any idea whats causing this? is it just repotting shock or something else?

Gently tip the plant out of the pot and see what the roots look like. If it's wet then your pot is holding too much water. If the soil crumbles then it's too dry and needs more water. You want to have wet to almost dry cycles with hibiscus.

It's best to try to match the original potting mix as closely as you can when you transplant. The mix you have for a substate looks hard and not suited for the hibiscus. Take the top couple of inches of topsoil off the top of the pot and replace it with a new organic potting mix. Every time you water you will feed the plant a little from the organic run-off.

 

[Meadowlark]

... i have kept it in semi shade to reduce stress

That perhaps could be part of the problem...Hibiscus plants are sun-loving and benefit from direct sunlight exposure to promote healthy foliage and abundant blooms

 

[sash_007]

Gently tip the plant out of the pot and see what the roots look like. If it's wet then your pot is holding too much water. If the soil crumbles then it's too dry and needs more water. You want to have wet to almost dry cycles with hibiscus.

It's best to try to match the original potting mix as closely as you can when you transplant. The mix you have for a substate looks hard and not suited for the hibiscus. Take the top couple of inches of topsoil off the top of the pot and replace it with a new organic potting mix. Every time you water you will feed the plant a little from the organic run-off.

so after watering i wait 3-4 hrs to check the roots by taking out the plant from the pot? becoz in our place within 3-4 hrs the top soil gets dry in other of my flowring pots

you say here its mismatching the original potting mix then how about this?
i added same soil to this hibiscus and it has no issues with soil mix or watering..i water it daily and i purchased and potted this hibiscus same time as the yellow one

but i will give it a go what you said and may be repot to a new pot with better potting mix as last resort

That perhaps could be part of the problem...Hibiscus plants are sun-loving and benefit from direct sunlight exposure to promote healthy foliage and abundant blooms

the plant was already showing yellow leaves even in the sun and buds dropping daily..thats when i asked AI about it and it says any plant thats shedding yellow leaves and buds should be kept in shade untill it stops..well ai may be wrong in this case
but as you say i will be moving the plant in sun to see its progress..

 

[Meadowlark]

the plant was already showing yellow leaves even in the sun and buds dropping daily..thats when i asked AI about it and it says any plant thats shedding yellow leaves and buds should be kept in shade untill it stops..well ai may be wrong in this case
but as you say i will be moving the plant in sun to see its progress..

I thought about that also...but hibiscus is such a sun lover and that's why I recommended you consider giving it full sun.

 

[oneeye]

If you are a serious gardener I would recommend investing in an EC meter. Having an EC meter takes all the guessing out of the picture. Using a meter one can know when the nutrients are depleted. When a person waters with a lot of discharge out the bottom of the pot it's easy to deplete all the nutrients needed for flowering. Having a meter one can watch this closely. Meters are easy to use too and well worth the money.

When a plant starts to show problems it is time to test the substrate and see what's going on. On the watering day after I water, my problem plant, I wait about 1 hour then pour 500 ml of distilled water on top of the watered pot and catch the discharge out the bottom in the drain tray. I take the discharge and test the EC and the pH and most of the time I will get an answer to what the problem is. Having meters stops all the guessing and fooling around.

https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-ph-ec-meter.html

 

[sash_007]

I thought about that also...but hibiscus is such a sun lover and that's why I recommended you consider giving it full sun.

ya i repotted to 10in pot today added 12gm bone meal..12gm Mycorrhizal Biofertilizer..added better quality soil and compost..trimmed some dead branches at 45deg angle with scissor..watered
and here are pics

this is root ball image 24hrs after watering( i assume its underwatered?)

now all i can hope for the best..fingers crossed ..will update with the results..hopefully my plant will be saved and my decision will prove to be right or it will die in few days.. ..its do or die lets see

 

[sash_007]

If you are a serious gardener I would recommend investing in an EC meter. Having an EC meter takes all the guessing out of the picture. Using a meter one can know when the nutrients are depleted. When a person waters with a lot of discharge out the bottom of the pot it's easy to deplete all the nutrients needed for flowering. Having a meter one can watch this closely. Meters are easy to use too and well worth the money.

When a plant starts to show problems it is time to test the substrate and see what's going on. On the watering day after I water, my problem plant, I wait about 1 hour then pour 500 ml of distilled water on top of the watered pot and catch the discharge out the bottom in the drain tray. I take the discharge and test the EC and the pH and most of the time I will get an answer to what the problem is. Having meters stops all the guessing and fooling around.

https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-ph-ec-meter.html

thank you for that .. will have a look..is it the same ph meter we use in aquarium ?

 

[oneeye]

thank you for that .. will have a look..is it the same ph meter we use in aquarium ?

pH meter is very important in horticulture too. Both meters are my go-to tools when there's a problem with any plant. I just do a PT "pour thur" and test the leachate and find out what most problems are right away.

 

[oneeye]

If you need any help learning how to operate the meters or have questions shoot me a message and I would be glad to help you.

 

[sash_007]

If you need any help learning how to operate the meters or have questions shoot me a message and I would be glad to help you.

thank you..
yes i agree you need ph meter for optimum health of plants
being owner of planted aquarium for sometime i can understand
i have seen something similar meant for soils
which tests 3 things all in one Solar Light Meter, Moisture Meter for Plants, PH Tester
its available on amazon

​

 

[oneeye]

Those are not very reliable and will cause soil pH to be misread. The one thing I like about the above soil meter is the little tiny clear window in the front of the meter. It's a light sensor and will give readings on the amount of light intensity in the area. IF you know how much light the plant is getting in any given area you can match the plants with the right amount of light.

In commercial horticulture, leachate is the most important ingredient to success. If you know the EC and pH of the leachate then you will know what you have in the substrate at any given moment.

What is leachate?

In horticulture, "leachate" refers to the liquid that drains from the plant after watering essentially the excess water that passes through the growing medium and carries dissolved nutrients with it, which can be monitored to assess if plants are receiving the correct amount of nutrients and to manage irrigation effectively. AI

 

[sash_007]

Those are not very reliable and will cause soil pH to be misread. The one thing I like about the above soil meter is the little tiny clear window in the front of the meter. It's a light sensor and will give readings on the amount of light intensity in the area. IF you know how much light the plant is getting in any given area you can match the plants with the right amount of light.

In commercial horticulture, leachate is the most important ingredient to success. If you know the EC and pH of the leachate then you will know what you have in the substrate at any given moment.

What is leachate?

In horticulture, "leachate" refers to the liquid that drains from the plant after watering essentially the excess water that passes through the growing medium and carries dissolved nutrients with it, which can be monitored to assess if plants are receiving the correct amount of nutrients and to manage irrigation effectively. AI

ok if that is so.. i see about 1000 reviews on amazon tho on tht product
but anyways i would use normal aquarium ph meter that i already got to test soil ph like mentioned here

on a sidenote ..you didnt comment on the rootball image that i posted earlier..it was over watered or under watered?

 

[oneeye]

ok if that is so.. i see about 1000 reviews on amazon tho on tht product
but anyways i would use normal aquarium ph meter that i already got to test soil ph like mentioned here

on a sidenote ..you didnt comment on the rootball image that i posted earlier..it was over watered or under watered?

You showed me the top of the potting soil and not the root or the root ball. I would suspect that since the roots are compact and not growing outward in the pot, I would say the roots have not grown since the first transplant. That's an indication something is wrong with the container of soil. Drainage problems, missing nutrients, excess alkalinity from the water. I don't know and you can guess all you want but you won't know anything unless you test the soil.

In regards to 1000 reviews on Amazon. It may be helpful for a beginner to have one and use it to help with water management. As far as pH testing it's not accurate. If the product was any good I would have 3 of them. Since they are unreliable and will give false readings I don't use them.

 

[sash_007]

You showed me the top of the potting soil and not the root or the root ball. I would suspect that since the roots are compact and not growing outward in the pot, I would say the roots have not grown since the first transplant. That's an indication something is wrong with the container of soil. Drainage problems, missing nutrients, excess alkalinity from the water. I don't know and you can guess all you want but you won't know anything unless you test the soil.

In regards to 1000 reviews on Amazon. It may be helpful for a beginner to have one and use it to help with water management. As far as pH testing it's not accurate. If the product was any good I would have 3 of them. Since they are unreliable and will give false readings I don't use them.

ok thanks ..since have ditched most of the soil and started with fresh one and bigger pot..i will see how the plant respond untill i test soil for now as my other plants doing pretty well in the same soil or much worse than this potting mix..atleast the other hibiscus
i was talking about this pic.. its not clear from this? how was it watered?

this pic was taken 24hrs after watering in my 7in pot