Glasshouse plants

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
Indoor or Chinese hibiscus

This is one of the most well known and possibly most common of tender Hibiscus; it comes from the warmer climates in Asia and is the national flower of Malaysia. It produces large single or semi double flowers in almost every colour, including some that have many colours in each flower. The best way of recognising the plant is by seeing
the style and stigma which have become united to form a column, sometimes known as the brush.

It is ideal as a conservatory plant, where it can make a substantial shrub up to 2.4m (8ft) high and 1-1.2m (3-4ft) across. Smaller plants can be grown as houseplants, but do benefit from receiving plenty of good light - including a couple of hours of direct light.

Hibiscus need adequate water during their growing periods and love to be syringed down regularly, particularly when the weather is hot and sunny. Using cold water in winter can be a shock to the plants and lead to reduced flowering. It is important to ensure they are given a regular dressing of fertiliser to keep the plant growing as flowers are formed at the ends of the new shoots.

Flowers are plentiful but each flower, whether cut or left on the plant, will only last for one day. By ensuring a minimum temperature of 13-15ºC (55-60ºF), it's possible to keep plants flowering all year long. Flower buds can fall if the compost is kept too dry, if it hasn't been fed or the temperature has suddenly dropped.

Plants can be propagated from softwood cuttings in the spring or hardwood cuttings in the autumn.

There are now hundreds of named varieties available in the tropics.

Ashley Stephenson

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