Hibiscus Plant Not Blooming

Question

I have a Hibiscus plant that I planted in the ground last Nov. in Havasu, AZ. It was doing doing wonderful. Then we left for 3 weeks and when we came back the rabbits had eaten it down to the bark. It did survive and came back and ended up blooming very nicely over the winter, which is in the 50’s and 60’s during the day and in the mid 40’s at night. When we left in the spring, it was doing great. I did fertilize with spikes before I left and had it watering every day so that the ground filled up and then drained well. Now that we are back in Havasu, AZ, my plant has lots of leaves with no buds. Can you tell me what the problem is and what to do about it? I did fertilize with about 6 spikes around the perimeter of the plant. I think it is a 6-12-6 fertilizer. Do I need to trim it down to help it get buds again? I did notice the leaves were a little yellow on the edges also, but not all of them.

Answer 1

If it bloomed in the past and is not blooming now, it is likely a phosphorus deficiency. I would add bone meal around the plant. How close did you place the spikes? Just for information, they should be placed in the ground where the edge of the canopy of the plant ends. The canopy is an indicator of where the edge of the roots extend to and the fertilizer will do the most good there.