My Hibiscus Experience

I bought this Hibiscus plant a few days ago and eager to see the beautiful plant blooms. My Hibiscus, Hibee, like me comes from a tropical climate country. Grown for centuries around the rim of the Indian and Pacific oceans, colonialism in the 18th and 19th centuries had helped give the flower its romantic image. To me, rather than romantic, the flower reminds me of Malaysia, my home country. Hibiscus is the national flower of Malaysia. I did not really appreciate the attractiveness of the flowers when I was young until now.

Being an attractive plant with big, beautiful petals and dark green leaves, makes me why wonder some flower petals are bigger than others. Large colourful petals serve a very special purpose according to my research, beyond delighting gardeners. The large petals make bees and birds happy. Yes, the bright colous are essential to its pollination for the continuation of the species. Like humans!

In the case of accommodation, plants are more flexible than humans. We need a roof under our heads to surive, plants, can continue to exist with or without a roof. Surprisingly, Hibee can be grown inside or outside your home. I am astonished by this. In Malaysia, most of the Hibiscus are grown outside of the house. In other words, most of the plants are planted in the ground rather than in a pot. I am quite glad to know this new fact. This means I can try to grow this plant in my apartment in a pot.

As my apartment is quite windy and the generous sun does shines more than 6hours at my apartment during summer, I have to be considerate in which plant to choose. Hibee suits my apartment condition. Partial sunlight is good enough. I could just put Hibee outside the balcony for a few hours and bring her in again and put her outside my shady front door.

Acknowledging that the Hibiscus needs a 2-3hours of sun, today I put out my Hibiscus at the balcony from 9thirty till noon and when I went to check out the plant again, I was shocked to see the whole plant was drooping. Hibee was rather a happy and cheerful plant in the morning. I hurriedly did some research on the internet to see how I could revived the plant, and found some valuable information.

After watering Hibee for 2hours (Left) Calla Lily(Right)

Aside from warm conditions, pushing the Hibiscus too much under the hot sun, can wear out the plant. The best remedy is water. H2O!! Like humans, being dehydrated will give you sunstroke. I bet my hibiscus was tired from the heat and feeling moody as I have not bring the her in. Thus, the droopiness! Quickly, I gave her a cup of water and a few hours later, she revived to my relief - part of it. I hope to se her feeling refresh again tomorrow morning. I watered her in the evening again. Wish Hibee luck!

The last thing is feeding the plant and become alert of pesticides. I will research more on organic fertilizers. However, I bet I have the space for organic decompose. I will probably get complaints from neighbouring from the rubbish decompose smell. I will mostly likely go get some fetitilizer for my Hibee next month. Urban gardening in limited space can be fun after picking up the right plant for your apartment. If you do not have any flower pots in your place now, why not be adventurous? Go to the florist and pick some affordable plants and start experimenting! The results are rewarding. The plants put a smile on your face when you are having a bad day!



From a small bud to a mighty brilliant red petal Hibee*