Direct Midwest sun toleration

Question

I have two Hibiscus plants. One seems to be thriving, the other has issues. I am a rank novice at gardening. The plant not doing well is in about 8 hours of direct sun. I water daily. Some of the leaves are turning yellow and falling off. The blooms are less than full. Is the direct sun too much? Am I watering too often? The pots are open at the bottom’ therefore, the water runs out. Thank you in advance fir any assistance.

Answer 1

It is likely that you are not watering enough. If the pot has good drainage, it is very difficult to overwater a plant outside in direct light.

Try giving the plant some fertilizer (regular watering can leach it out of the soil) and soak the pot in a tub of water. What can happen sometimes is the rootball dries out and it actually starts to repel water. Soaking the pot and rootball in water for a half hour or so will rehydrate it. You can also try increasing water, to twice a day.