How to Take Care of a Purple Hibiscus

Purple is a common hibiscus blossom hue.

The purple hibiscus (Hibiscus furcellatus) is native to Hawaii. However, it also thrives in other regions when the environmental and climatic requirements are met. Knowing how to care for a purple hibiscus, whether indoors or out, isn't difficult, but it requires the desire to keep this beautiful tropical plant flourishing. When you care for a purple hibiscus, you are able to care for any color variety of the large, ornamental plant.

Things You'll Need

• Mulch
• Plant food with fertilizer

Instructions

1. Layer about 3 inches of mulching material on the surface of the soil surrounding the plant. Peat moss or wood chips are adequate materials. The mulch allows moisture to be retained, along with nutrients for the health of your plant.

2. Administer floral plant food that contains its own fertilizers to the surface of the mulching material you have used. Do this once every two weeks.

3. Water the purple hibiscus plant liberally, administering 2 gallons of water to a full-grown plant once every two days. One gallon of water every three days is adequate for a young, smaller plant.

4. Remove seed pods after they have shriveled, dried up and turned deep brown in tone. You can break them open for retrieval of hibiscus seeds. You also can dispose of them to prevent them from dropping seeds on the ground around your plant. Stopping this from happening saves time from working in your plant's soil.

5. Give your hibiscus plant 12 hours of partial sunlight per day whether you keep it inside or outdoors.

References

• Native Plants Hawai'i: Purple Hibiscus
• "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs: An Essential Guide to Trees and Shrubs of the World"; Mobile Reference; 2010