Annual / color · North Texas care guide
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
Nursery Pro tip: Dinner-plate blooms all summer on the patio. Bring it in or treat it as an annual.
Dinner-plate flowers in red, orange, yellow, pink and peach, every day from May to frost, on a glossy-leaved tropical shrub. Not winter-hardy here — treat it as a container plant for the patio, or as a spectacular annual in a bed.
Full sun to light afternoon shade; six hours minimum for bloom. Rich, well-drained potting mix in a container, or an amended bed. Out of harsh wind, which shreds the flowers.
Spring, after the last freeze. Pot it up one size larger with good potting mix; in a bed, amend with compost and mulch.
Daily in a pot in July and August — hibiscus are thirsty and wilt fast. Every two or three days in a bed. Bud drop is almost always a water swing.
A hibiscus or bloom fertilizer every two weeks in summer at half strength. They're heavy feeders and bloom on steady feeding.
Pinch tips in early summer for a bushier plant. Trim leggy branches any time; it blooms on new growth.
Aphids, whiteflies and spider mites — check the leaf undersides and treat early with soap or oil. Yellow leaves usually mean water stress or cold. Below 40°F, bring it in; it will drop leaves indoors and recover in spring.
A patio pot as a centerpiece, or mass them in a summer bed with canna, esperanza and lantana.
Written for Rockwall's black clay, heat and winters by the Landscape Source team. Every yard is different — bring a photo by, or ask LS-Ai, and we'll tailor it to your spot.