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Planting and Growing Perennial Hibiscus: Tips for Bigger Blooms

A dinner plate sized Lady Baltimore Pink Hibiscus in the garden.

A Lady Baltimore Pink Hibiscus.

Image Credit:
Bryan Pollard/Shutterstock
Botanical Name
Hibiscus syriacus, H. moscheutos, H. coccineus
Grown as
Perennial
USDA Zones
4a
4b
5a
5b
6a
6b
7a
7b
8a
8b
9a
9b
Toxicity
Non-toxic
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Partial Sun
Water Needs
Moderate
Height
6-10 feet
Spread
6-10 feet
Soil pH
Acidic
Neutral
Bloom Time
Summer
Fall
Flower Color
Blue
Multicolor
Pink
Purple
Red
White
Special Features
Disease-Resistant
Long Blooming
Low Maintenance
Attracts Butterflies
Attracts Hummingbirds
Attracts Pollinators
Resilience
Clay Soil Tolerant
Cold Hardy
Heat-Tolerant
Plant Type
Shrubs and Bushes
Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

With huge, colorful, dinner-plate-size flowers, perennial hibiscus plants add a bold, tropical effect to the garden. They are also highly attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds! Here’s how to plant, grow, and care for hibiscus flowers.

There are many types of hibiscus. This growing guide covers perennial hibiscus grown for their strikingly beautiful, big, disc-shaped, hollyhock-like flowers that can measure up to 12 inches across!

Perennial hibiscus can grow up to 8 feet tall, but dwarf varieties are only 2 to 3 feet tall. 

Hibiscus are members of the mallow family, which has over 300 members that include annuals, perennials, trees, and shrubs.

Planting

When to Plant Hibiscus

Hibiscus can be purchased as young plants from nurseries and are best planted in the spring. Or they can be rooted from a cutting in the spring.

If you wish to grow hibiscus from seed, sow indoors 12 weeks before the last spring frost date. Soak seeds in very warm water for 1 hour before sowing. Alternatively, seeds can be sown outdoors after the last expected frost date.

Choosing and Preparing a Planting Site

  • Choose a site that gets full sun; the plants will grow in partial sun but will not flower as well.
  • Hibiscus prefer well-draining soil with plenty of organic matter. They prefer neutral to slightly acidic soil.
  • To avoid breakage of the long stems, plant hibiscus where they won’t be exposed to strong winds.

How to Plant Hibiscus

  • Plant potted hibiscus plants so that their stems are just at the soil surface.
  • To root a cutting in the spring, cut off a branch 5 to 6 inches long and strip off lower leaves. Plant the cutting in a pot with a mix of 3 parts sand and 1 part peat. Roots should form within a few weeks. Transplant the cutting from the pot into the ground.
  • The hibiscus species that die back each year can be spaced 2 to 3 feet apart. Consider the potential height and width (up to 12 feet and 10 feet, respectively) of a mature plant before planting.
  • Water the plants well at the time of planting.

Growing

How to Care for Hibiscus Shrubs

  • Hibiscus needs frequent watering, especially when young and new. When watering, do so deeply and thoroughly, drenching the plant.
  • Mulch around the plant to retain moisture and to provide winter protection for the roots.
  • To encourage rebloom, either remove the spent flowers before they form seed heads or prune plants back by one-third after a flush of bloom is finished.
  • Perennial hibiscus will freeze back to the ground each winter; cut old stems to the ground.
  • Hibiscus blooms on new wood (this year’s growth), so pruning is best done in the spring.
  • In early spring, remove dead stems from established plants and apply a balanced fertilizer.
  • Over the growing season, hibiscus can benefit from a fertilizer that is high in potassium, medium to medium-high in nitrogen, and low in phosphorus, as the plant can be sensitive to phosphorus.
  • Mature plants can be divided in the spring, not fall.

Pests and Problems

Insect pests of hibiscus include aphids, Japanese beetles, and whiteflies. 

Clean up all plant debris to avoid fungal diseases, which can cause leaf spots. Don’t crowd plants, and keep mulch from touching the stems to avoid blight. 

Types

Scarlet swamp hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus): This plant, also known as Texas star, has five-petaled, brilliant-red flowers. It grows to a height of 7 feet each growing season, dies back to the ground every winter, and resprouts in spring.

Rose mallow (H. moscheutos): This is the classic dinner-plate hibiscus due to the large size of its flowers. These large, fast-growing plants bloom from August to October, and each plant may flaunt several 10- to 12-inch-wide flowers at once. A few of the many popular cultivars are:

  • ‘Anne Arundel’ has pink flowers, 9 inches in diameter, on plants 5 feet tall.
  • ‘Kopper King’ has light pink to white flowers with a burgundy center, 12 inches in diameter, with coppery red deeply cut leaves.
  • ‘Lady Baltimore’ is a popular old variety with pink flowers and red centers on 5-foot-tall plants.
  • ‘Lord Baltimore’ is another old variety with red flowers on 5-foot-tall plants.

Wit and Wisdom

  • The plant has been used to soothe headaches, aching limbs, coughs, and inflammations.
  • Hibiscus tea is made from parts of a different type of hibiscus, Hibiscus sabdariffa—also known as roselle or Florida cranberry. It’s native to West Africa but is now grown across Central America, the Caribbean, and even Florida.
  • In Victorian times, giving a hibiscus blossom to a person meant that the giver acknowledged the receiver’s delicate beauty. Learn more about the language of flowers.
  • The yellow hibiscus is the state flower of Hawaii.

Shrubs and Trees

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening, so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana.

Read more from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Thu, 10/26/2023 - 14:51

Hi Nellie,

There can be a number of factors that will prevent your hibiscus from blooming.

Hibiscus need at least 6 hours of sunlight a day and lots of direct light promotes blooms, so too much shade can impact your plant. Hibiscus plants also have high water needs that should be on a schedule. An extended time without water can affect blooming, while too much water can as well. Water when the soil is mostly dry but still a bit damp because they do not like to dry out completely. 

Fertilizing can also play a part because while used in the correct way it can allow your plant to thrive, it can also do the opposite if it does not get the right balance. (See above for fertilizing instructions.)

Depending on the age of your plant, pruning can also help but it may be a longer term solution. Just remember not to remove more than one-third of your plant at one time.

Hope this helps.

 <span>Linda</span> Sun, 08/06/2023 - 06:53
I have two rose mallow hibiscus that are over 6ft tall but have no flowers, not even buds. ?? This is the second year they have done this - grow like crazy but have no blooms. I fertilize, water, etc. What else can I do?
<span>Kay</span> Fri, 01/03/2025 - 04:06
Try a grow lights for awhile I also play classical music by my plants it a vibrational feed for the plant sort of like us with exercise .the plants I have by other plants seem to grow better but the alo vera lies to be on its own…..also I’m learning that soil is so important…happy planting
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 08/07/2023 - 16:49

Hi, Linda,

Do they get more than 6 hours of sun per day? Lots of sun will encourage flowering. 

Also, in general, a fertilizer that is too high in nitrogen can encourage leaves and shoots but discourage flowering. However, even a balanced fertilizer might not be the best when it comes to hibiscus. Even though phosphorus usually encourages flowering in plants, hibiscus can be sensitive to it, so some recommend that one choose a fertilizer that has medium to medium-high nitrogen (N), low phosphorus (P) and high potassium (K). 

Hibiscus also loves organic matter and lots of water in well-draining soil. Make sure the soil pH is slightly acidic. 

Hope this helps!

 <span>Barbara</span> Fri, 07/28/2023 - 13:23
Small black bug on the flowers before they open and after. How do get rid of them. I’m hoping with the same as aphid solution. Thank you
<span>Theresa</span> Wed, 07/19/2023 - 20:46
One hibiscus plant has curling leaves! Other’s have blooms not opening and falling off. I do not see any insects
<span>Gini</span> Sat, 07/15/2023 - 08:20
I have 3 mature hibiscus plants. The blooms on one seem to be shriveling. The other two are fine. Any ideas? I don't see any pests on it.
<span>Tammie Crane</span> Mon, 07/03/2023 - 21:29
Well, I thought I bought Rose of Sharon with the huge trumpet flowers, but it was hibiscus with smaller flowers and it's already at least 8 feet tall with no blooms and falling over into the entire flower bed and on the lawn. It was planted 2 years ago and did fine last year. I have no idea what to do besides dig it up. I'm in Oregon if that helps.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Wed, 07/05/2023 - 10:47

Tammie—Thanks for writing. Please check our guide for how to care for hibiscus. If you keep the plant, to promote blossoms next year, remove spent flowers before they form seed heads or prune plants back by a third after a flush of bloom is finished. Your perennial hibiscus will freeze back to the ground this winter and you can cut the old stems to the ground. Hibiscus bloom on new wood (not old) so any pruning or moving is best done in the spring. Best of luck!

 <span>Lisa Hennessy</span> Thu, 06/15/2023 - 15:44
Late last fall I dug up my Rose Mallow Hibiscus because we were putting our house on the market and I wanted to keep it. It spend the winter in a pot in the garage and we replanted it in the spring. It is growing like crazy and is 3' tall in places. Should I trim it back or just let it grow?