Ways to propagate hibiscus flowers in your garden

by Becky Decker and Anita Shan · October 22, 2023

Is it really possible to grow hibiscus flowers using cuttings? The answer is yes, you can easily propagate the plant with the help of a parent plant.

Are you interested in growing them in your garden without buying the plant, just using a cutting of already mature plants to grow new ones out of it? Don’t worry if you have reached this page; you will get all step-by-step methods for propagating hibiscus flowers in your garden. Let’s not waste time and start to learn and grow them.

Table of Contents

Hibiscus flowers facts:

Common Name	Hibiscus
Botanical Name	Hibiscus spp.
Plant Type	Annual and perennial herbaceous plants
Mature Size	3-10 ft. tall and 2-8 ft. wide
Sun Exposure	Full sun, partial shade
Soil Type	Moist, well-drained
Soil pH	Acidic, Neutral
Bloom Time	Summer, fall, and year-round in tropical climes
Flower Color	Various, including white, red, pink, yellow, orange
Hardiness Zones	5-11 (USDA)
Native Area	Asia, North America

Growing Hibiscus in Containers

Hibiscus is one of the plants that can be easily grown in the containers. So, if you know about it, then it’s good but if not, then you should be aware of it. If you have limited space in your area, then you can grow hibiscus in the container.

Ways to propagate hibiscus flowers in your garden

As they are big, so choosing a big container is suggested. The container should have a good amount of drainage holes in it. It should be placed in a location with a sunny window. To receive the amazing blooms of the plant, you have to maintain the growth of the plant.

You have to provide humid weather conditions to the plant for its growth. And if you have planted them outdoors, then provide them with afternoon shade if it’s not hot outside. Container growing a plant is easy to do.

These plants will be root-bound in the container as they like to grow in a cozy environment. Last but not least, provide good soil to your plant that should be well drained.

Ways to propagate hibiscus flowers in your garden:

The following are easy ways to propagate the Hibiscus flowers such as:

By cutting.
By planting a cutting in water.
By seeding.

Propagating Hibiscus Flowers by Cuttings:

You can easily propagate Hardy and tropical Hibiscus from the cutting.
Propagating through the cutting is done to get the exact copy of the parent plant.
You need to take a cutting from new growth or softwood of the parent plant.
Basically, a softwood branch is taken because at that time it is not so much mature.
The softwood will be available on the hibiscus flowers during spring or early summer.
The cutting of the Hibiscus stem needs to be 4 to 6 inches long.
After cutting you need to remove the leaves on the stem but don’t know the top leaves.
Trim the bottom of the stem cutting of a Hibiscus that should be below the bottom leaf note.
After completing the trimming with the bottom portion of the Hibiscus cutting into the rooting hormone.
You need to place the Hibiscus cutting in well-draining soil.
You can make a perfect soil mixture by mixing equal portions of potting soil and perlite.
Before planting the cutting make sure the routing soil is wet by dipping a finger into the rooting soil.
Now you can place the Hibiscus certain in the hole and then fill back the space around the hibiscus cutting.
After covering the whole place a plastic bag over the cutting and make sure the plastic does not touch the leaves of the cutting.
You need to place the cutting in a partial shade.
Avoid the routing soil getting wet until the Hibiscus cutting starts growing routes.
You will see the progress in about 8 weeks.
After the plant is rooted you can report then into a large container.

Propagate Hibiscus Cuttings in Water:

Planting the cutting into the soil you can also propagate it in water.
you need to take a cutting of about 5 to 6 inches long.
Clean all the leaves on the cutting.
After this, you need to cut the bottom of this stem below a notch at an angle of 45 degrees.
You can use scissors or a knife to scrape the bark on the bottom of the cutting.
After this place the cutting in a clear glass jar or a container having chlorine-free water.
\Place the container in a warm area where you can get direct light.
You will notice the growing of leaves within Some weeks.
You can transplant the cutting after the growth of new roots and leaves.
For transplanting in a new container use a moist popping mix.

Propagating Hibiscus from Hibiscus Seeds:

You can’t propagate both tropical Hibiscus and Hardy hibiscus from Hibiscus seed.
Only Hardy hibiscus can be propagated using the seeds as growing with the help of seed will not grow as the parent plant, making it a little bit different from them.
For propagating Hibiscus flowers use a seeds unit to start nicking or sanding the seeds which will help to get moisture In The Seed and will help for seed germination.
You can nick the seed by using a knife, a bit of fine grain, and plain sandpaper.
Now you need to place received in the soil and for that, you need to plant twice as deep as they are big.
The seats of the Hibiscus flowers are small so you can use a pen or a toothpick to make a hole in the soil.
After porting the seed in the soil gently sprinkle soil over the planted seed rather than backfilling the whole again.
At last, you need to water the soil after planting the seeds.
You will notice the Seedling appearance after some weeks.

Types of Hibiscus:

The following are some types of Hibiscus flowers that make them different from each other:

Tropical hibiscus
Hardy hibiscus
Swamp hibiscus

Tropical Hibiscus:

The tropical Hibiscus are large trumpets shaped and come in different colors like white red pink Orange yellow and purple. They are used to produce a constant flush of flowers.

They are mostly popular in Asia. The tropical hibiscus flowers can be planted in the hardiness zone from 9 to 12. You can also grow them indoors during the cooler climate.

Hardy Hibiscus:

You will find the Hardy Hibiscus in the Northern climate. They are featured with referred Petals that have shades of pink red Magenta and white.

These flowers are native to North America and used to be grown in hardiness zones from 4 to 9.

Swamp Hibiscus:

The swamp Hibiscus is featured with deep red pink, and white like a flower that used to Bloom from July to September.

These flowers are native to the SouthEastern United States and can be grown in the hardiness zone from 6 to 9. For growing swamp hibiscus you need a humid and moist condition.

Roselle:

There are Hibiscus flowers that are used for tea. These Hibiscus are native to Africa. It does have a shorter life. They need around 12 hours or more of Darkness to Bloom flowers.

When to Propagate Hibiscus?

To propagate the Hibiscus flowers you need to know what is the perfect time for propagating as it varies depending upon the way you are propagating the hibiscus. There is a slide difference between the timing of propagating the hibiscus flowers by stem cutting and seeds.

I will suggest that you propagate the hibiscus flowers as early as possible so that the new plant gets more growing time before the cold weather comes.

In case you are propagating the Hibiscus flowers using stem cutting the perfect time is during the spring or early summer.

If you are propagating the Hibiscus flower seeds indoors then the perfect time is in late winter or Early Spring and you can easily move the plant outside after the last spring frost.

How To Prune Your Hibiscus Flowers?

Pruning is the process of cutting off the dead and decaying branches and stems of the plant that will encourage new growth in the plant.
Pruning is also done to maintain the growth and size of the plant.
Keep in mind not to prune off the plant more than 1/3rd of the plant’s foliage.
You have to slowly prune the plant as it will lessen the flowering in the plant.
You have to remove all the broken leaves from the plants at any time of the month.
Also, pruning needs to be done at the time of early spring season or late winter.

How to Care for Hibiscus Flowers?

Caring for a plant is important to receive healthy results from the plants. So, below are the caring tips for your plants:

Temperature needs

Temperature required by the hibiscus plants ranges from 60°F to 90°F.
The temperature requirement of a plant matters a lot when it comes to a healthy plant.
If the temperature range is less than this, then the plant will not be able to survive.
So you have to bring the plants indoors at the time of winter so that they grow well.

Watering needs

When you plant them, they require more water as compared to the time when they become mature.
Also, watering them at the time of their flowering stage will be beneficial for the plant.
At the time summer also requires a good amount of water to grow well.
Keep in mind not to water the plant.

Fertilizer needs

Fertilizer is required by every plant to grow at a faster pace.
You have to feed them with fertilizer from March to October.
Choose a fertilizer that is rich in potassium and mix it in the soil after watering the plant.
At the time of winter, there is no requirement to fertilize The plant has plant is in its dormant period at that time.

Wrapping up the Context

In this guide, you come to know that Hibiscus is one of the plants that can be easily grown in containers. So, if you know about it, then it’s good but if not, then you should be aware of it. If you have limited space in your area, then you can grow hibiscus in the container.

Thanks for reading! Happy Gardening!