You are not alone in seeing a healthy hibiscus plant with no flowers at all. I have repeatedly seen the question "Why is my hibiscus not blooming?" in major gardening communities. I felt it would be worth sharing the reasons for this and what to do in this situation.
In this article, I will discuss the major reasons why a healthy hibiscus plant does not bloom and what to do to encourage flowering.
Hibiscus are true perennials except: Roselle type hibiscus.
You need to understand their blooming time before you start complaining that "they are not blooming"
| Hibiscus Type | Blooming Time | USDA Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) |
Year-round (warm climates), peak in summer & fall | 9-12 |
| Hardy Hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos) |
Mid to late summer (July-September) | 5-9 |
| Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) |
Mid to late summer (July-September) | 5-9 |
| Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) |
Late summer to fall (August-October) | 8-11 |
Why is my hibiscus not blooming? - The reasons
You might be facing any of these issues:
- No buds or flowers at all.
- Your hibiscus plant gets some buds but they are not blooming.
If you see the buds are coming but they are not opening up to become nice flowers, there are two possible reasons: Too cold and pest attacks. Both can be identified easily.
If you see only healthy leaves and no buds or flowers at all, then cross-check the blooming time.
If it's the blooming season yet your hibiscus is not flowering the reasons are mentioned below:
| Reason |
|---|
| Insufficient Sunlight |
| Excessive Nitrogen |
| Improper Pruning |
| Temperature Stress |
| Pest or Disease Issues |
| Young Plant |
I know multiple reasons can confuse gardeners. This is why the reasons are listed in such an order that the most possible reason is at the top and the least possible reason is at the bottom.
Hibiscus plant needs at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight. The sunlight is very essential to produce flowers.
If your plant is potted, place it in a sunny spot. Provide enough sunlight.
Another mistake we make while growing hibiscus plants is imbalanced fertilization. As a gardener, we should be aware of the nutrients and how they work on plants.
Nitrogen is responsible for mostly foliage growth. If you feed your hibiscus plant too much nitrogen-based fertilizers, your plant will focus on leaf growth/foliage growth instead of flowering.
So what to do? Use balanced fertilizer when the plant is in its growing season and before the blooming season, apply high-phosphorus fertilizer. (For example: 10-20-10)
Pruning is important if you want to shape your plant. It also makes your hibiscus plant bushier. But you should prune at the right time.
Prune in the active growing season. (Before the bud formation)
Watering issues - I am not going to talk much about this.
Hibiscus are drought tolerant but on heavy hot days, you can witness leaves turning yellow and the buds might fall before blooming.
Due to extreme cold, you will also witness no flowering at all.
You can check this guide: Yellow leaves on hibiscus - Here I have talked about the watering issues and temp. issues at the same time.
On hibiscus, I have seen mostly sooty mold disease, aphids, and mealybugs. Try to tackle the diseases and pests as early as possible. You can read: get rid of mealybugs on hibiscus
If you see something like this:
They are aphids. Even if you get buds, they will not bloom properly. You can get help from here: Aphids on mums
We need to keep patience in gardening. Young hibiscus plants may not generate blooms. Take good care of it and it will bloom within the first two years of planting.
Use of foliar spray to encourage hibiscus plant blooming
Do you want to increase the chances of getting hibiscus blooms? - use foliar spray.
Foliar spray means you have to spray it on the foliage or leaves ( in easy terms, all over the plant and not in the soil). The foliar spray works faster as the nutrients can be absorbed through leaves easily.
What type of foliar spray can you use to encourage blooming?
- Liquid Bloom Fertilizers – Choose one high in phosphorus (P), like 10-30-10 or 5-30-5.
- Seaweed Extract
- Fish Emulsion
Make sure you apply these in the evening. (As direct heavy sunlight can cause leaf burn)
If you are a homemade remedy lover like me, you can try these:
- Banana Peel Tea – Soak banana peels in water for 24 hours and spray. Rich in phosphorus and potassium.
- Epsom Salt Spray – Take 1 tbsp of Epsom salt in 1 gallon of water and spray on leaves.
- Soak bone meal in water overnight and use it as a spray.
