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How Long Do Hibiscus Blooms Last? (All You Need to Know)

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It would be hard to find anyone who doesn’t like to adorn their garden with large, showy, and impressive colorful Hibiscus flowers. But as nature’s rule of thumb, Hibiscus blooms are not meant for lasting a relatively long in the landscape.

Therefore, if you are new to growing Hibiscus flowers, you may like to learn how long do these Hibiscus blooms last. So without further ado, let’s find out the answers regarding this query. 

How Long Do Hibiscus Blooms Last?

Hibiscus blooms last for only 1-2 days at most as Hibiscus blooms tend to blossom early in the morning, wilt by late hours of the afternoon, and drop in the evening. But, now several new hybrids of Hibiscus have been developed which grows longer-lasting flowers that last up to 3-7 days.

As two species of Hibiscus plants, the tropical Hibiscus and hardy Hibiscus are widely seen to adorn people’s gardens with their showy and stunning colorful blooms.

Therefore, the exact lasting period of the flowers of these two Hibiscus varieties has been included here for your further knowledge. 

Tropical Hibiscus Blooms:

Mainly aboriginal to Asia, the flowers of the Tropical Hibiscus plants come with an awfully short flowering life that in most of the time these flowers only last one day after blooming.

And in some exceptional cases, Tropical Hibiscus flowers are seen to last for two days at most. But after two days, don’t anticipate that the closed blooms will open up again in the morning. 

However, Tropical Hibiscus plants grow a lot of buds at one time, therefore, if your Hibiscus plant is a healthy and satisfied one with its region and pot/garden, you may see new flowers blooming very soon.

Hardy Hibiscus Blooms:

Hardy Hibiscus plants are non-tropical Hibiscus plants that are capable of tolerating punishing cold winters of the north. Nevertheless, Hardy Hibiscus flowers also have one to a maximum of two days of blooming life just as the Tropical Hibiscus flowers.

So this simply indicates, Hardy Hibiscus buds will blossom in the early morning and fall in the ground by evening as it’s the natural course of Hibiscus blooming. 

Why Do Hibiscus Flowers Fall Off After Blooming?

Hibiscus flowers fall off after blooming because it’s the very natural blooming cycle of Hibiscus blooms that makes already bloomed Hibiscus buds drop so that new baby buds can bloom the next morning or very soon. 

Therefore, don’t panic if your Hibiscus flowers are falling off after blooming as others will bloom in their spot and your garden will remain colorful with newly bloomed Hibiscus.

When Do Hibiscus Bloom And When Does It Stop Blooming?

Being perennial plants, all species of Hibiscus plant tend to blossom fully during the period between mid to late summer if they are being grown outdoors, and the specific month is August. And Hibiscus stops flowering in late of the Fall.

However, it has been widely seen that the blossoming of Hibiscus every year starts from earlier in Spring and the cycle keeps repeating till late fall. 

Also, know that some species of Tropical Hibiscus that are grown indoors as houseplants have no specific time for blooming or stop blooming, they bloom all year-round. 

How Often Do Hibiscus Bloom?

How often the Hibiscus plant will bloom depends on the species of Hibiscus and sometimes the climate and growing spot.

Most commonly, Hibiscuses bloom once every year with a continuous blooming cycle for about 3 to 4 weeks.

But the buds of newly developed Hibiscus Hybrids bloom as soon as the older and already blossomed buds fall off the plant as each blossomed flower lasts up to 3-7 days. 

How To Keep Hibiscus Blooming?

Here in this section, tips have been included that will help you have continues blooming Hibiscus plants. 

Keep In A Sunny Spot: 

Indirect but bright sunlight stimulates the blooming capacity of all varieties of the Hibiscus plant.

You must plant your Hibiscus plants at places with indirect bright sunlight such as under the shadow of canopies of big trees in your garden so that the plant can get at least 6-8 hours of sunlight. 

Or if you are growing Hibiscus in pots, move the flowering pot to spots such as a window with partial sunlight. But make sure the plant is not getting less than 2 hours of sunlight. 

Watering According To Weather: 

If your Hibiscuses are planted in the garden, you will have to water them daily more than required as the weather outside is much hotter. And if the weather is very dry, water the Hibiscuses twice a day. 

But when the weather is cool, water the Hibiscuses when 2-3 inches deep in the soil seems dry. 

Remember that the goal of watering Hibiscuses is to keep the soil moist to encourage the plants to bloom endlessly rather than making them soggy or dry out.

Feed Fertilizer: 

To boost flower production, you have to fertilize your Hibiscus plants lightly during the blooming season. 

You should apply a fertilizer high in potassium and low in phosphorus. And before applying dilute the fertilizer to its half strength then apply it to the plants once every week from April to September. If you want to use a slow-release fertilizer, apply once every month. 

VPG Fertilome Hibiscus & Tropical Plant Food 17-7-10-4 lb

Prune To Promote Flowering: 

Lightly prune your Hibiscus plants by removing the older and withered stems of flowers prior to the seed head emerging from new buds. It will promote flowering because the Hibiscuses won’t have to use strength in maintaining older stems. 

Watch For Insects And Diseases: 

Hibiscuses are prone to getting infected by insects and diseases. So keep monitoring the plants often for any signs of insects or disease during the blooming period.

And treat any minor infestation on time using a better-quality systemic pesticide. Or a solution containing acephate, disyston, and imidacloprid

Keep In Right Temperature: 

Try to provide your Hibiscus plants a constant temperature between 60°-90° F (16°-32° C) in all seasons to keep the plants stress free due to frequent temperature changes. It will promote healthy flowering. 

Why Are Hibiscus Buds Falling Off Before They Bloom?

Along with solutions, the reasons that cause Hibiscus buds to fall off before they could bloom have been deciphered below to save your Hibiscus buds. 

Pests: 

The two main culprits behind Hibiscus buds falling off are pests (particularly thrips) and Hibiscus midges. 

Thrips are very tiny insects that feed on Hibiscus buds, thereby the plant thrives in a poor manner and buds fall off before blossoming into a matured flower. 

And the Hibiscus midges that are known as gall midges as well is an insect that lay eggs inside Hibiscus buds which causes the buds to turn yellow, and ultimately the buds fall off the plant.

Solution:

To control thrips, simply spray an insecticide containing permethrin or bifenthrin. And to get rid of Hibiscus midges, spray acephate, disyston, and imidacloprid formula containing a liquid systemic insecticide. 

Monterey LG6150 Garden Insect Spray, Insecticide & Pesticide with Spinosad Concentrate, 16 Oz

Overwatering Or Underwatering: 

Hibiscus dislike too wet feet, so if you are overwatering your Hibiscus plant, it will make the roots rot severely which will make the plant sick and the buds will fall off before blooming. 

Falling off of buds can occur vice versa as well if you are underwatering the Hibiscus plant as Hibiscus can’t tolerate dry soil. Thereby, the leaves will wither and buds will fall off. 

Solution:

If overwatering is the issue, stop watering as soon as this problem is noticed and don’t water until the soil seems dry enough. And use well-drained soil.

And in the case of underwatering, water the plant often but remember to keep the soil moist only not soggy. 

Shock From Weather Change: 

Sudden change in the weather stresses out the Hibiscuses. Especially if the weather has become as hot as 95-100° F or as cold as below 60° F. Both are equally stressing enough for Hibiscuses to drop buds. 

Solution:

Try to keep your Hibiscus in an environment with a temperature between 60-90° F and with stable humidity. Maintain the temperature both indoors and outdoors.  

Over-Fertilizing: 

Excess application of fertilizer or applying a fertilizer high in phosphorus not only causes the buds to fall off but also can damage the plant severely. 

Solution:

Apply a low in phosphorus fertilizer very lightly to the Hibiscus plants. And dilute the fertilizer before applying. 

Do Hibiscus Close At Night?

Hibiscus flowers are one of the highly evolved flowers, so they close themselves during nighttime to demonstrate a very biological nature which is recognized as nyctinasty. Therefore, closed Hibiscus flowers don’t mean they are sleepy. 

But naturalists Charles Darwin stated that flowers like Hibiscus or others close themselves at night to prevent the threat of freezing. 

Final Thoughts 

Hibiscus flowers last for only 1-2 days maximum. But it isn’t a worrying matter as the Hibiscus plant comes with lots of buds, so if one bloom drops another new bud blooms. But, the newly bred hybrid of the Hibiscus plant grows longer-lasting flowers that last up to 3-7 days.

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