If you want to propagate your hibiscus or that of a friend, you are choosing a really simple task. Because even beginners are guaranteed to be successful with the right method and will soon be able to grow their own shrub in the garden or pot. As already indicated, there are different ways to get one or more plants from one plant. Below we will introduce you to all the options you can use to propagate hibiscus.
Choose the right time
Spring and early summer are generally the best times for hibiscus propagation. However, the plant is easy enough to care for at other times of the year, provided you provide it with the right temperatures. The windowsill can be the ideal location until it is time to move the hibiscus plant outside. With a transparent plastic bag that you place over the plant and pot, you can provide it with perfect conditions in terms of humidity and temperature (don't forget to take it off every day to air it out, otherwise mold will form).
If you use cuttings, it is best to choose summer. It is best to prepare sinkers in spring, but at the latest in summer.
Is hibiscus propagation forbidden?
On the labels of purchased hibiscus varieties you can sometimes find a note that propagation is prohibited. However, this only affects the dealers. The breeder has probably patented the new variety, thereby prohibiting other dealers and breeders from making profits with his variety. This usually does not apply to private use, i.e. if you only care for yourself or one or two relatives/friends.
Propagating hibiscus – what variants are there?
You have four optionsPropagation available. They can be used when propagating a giant hibiscus as well as for other garden varieties or for houseplants.
- seedlings
- cuttings
- Together
- lowering
Seeds and Seedlings – What’s the Difference?
What sounds somewhat the same at first are actually different growth phases.seedlingsare already grown plants that have formed on their own around the mother plant after the hibiscus seeds have fallen. So the bush has seeded itself. You can dig up these so-called sinkers as soon as the first branches have formed and then plant them in their new location.
TogetherYou can collect them yourself in the fall (if you are propagating a garden hibiscus) or buy them (for houseplants). It is best to use seeds in spring or at the beginning of summer, because then the plant still has enough time to develop vigorously enough until winter. After the last frost you can sow the seeds directly in the garden.
After you cut off the hibiscus seed pods and remove the seeds, store them in a cool, dry place. In the spring, score them to make germination easier. Prepare a pot of potting soil and place the seeds in it. Moisten the soil with a spray bottle as they are so small that you would wash them away with normal watering. Place the pot on a bright windowsill in a warm place and keep the soil moist. As soon as the young plants have formed their first leaves, you can transplant them into separate pots.
Propagate hibiscus by cuttings
One of the quickest and easiest methods is to use cuttings. For this purpose, you need to cut branches from the hibiscus that contain at least three eyes and are 15 cm long. Remove the lower leaves, but not all, and then place the branches in water until roots form (there should be no leaves in the water). Once these are long enough, plant the plant in soil.
Alternatively, the cuttings can also be stuck directly into soil (preferably potting soil). If you want to propagate the hibiscus in this way, you should first dip it in rooting powder, which promotes root formation. From now on, the soil should always remain moist so that roots can form. In both cases (water or pot) choose a warm and bright location. That the new plant is ready to be repotted orplanted in the gardenYou can tell that it is starting to grow new leaves.
Cuttings are the best option if you want to propagate a hibiscus houseplant.
Also read:Propagate hibiscus in water: the easiest method!
Propagate the shrub with planters
With lowering tools you can work directly in the garden and on the mother plant. If you want to propagate the hibiscus using this method, choose a branch that you “lower”, i.e. work into the soil. However, do not cut it off like you would for cuttings, but leave it on the main plant. To ensure that the branch stays down, secure it with wire. Only any area between the base of the branch and the tip is covered with soil, so the tip of the branch must be sticking out of the ground.
Always keep the covered area moist, as new roots should now form there. Until then, however, the branch continues to be supplied by the mother plant, which is what makes this method so promising. Once roots have developed, you can separate the new plant and plant it in its new location. Late spring is the best time for this so that the plant can get used to the new place by the end of the season.
Notice: Do not confuse cuttings, sinkers and hibiscus offshoots. The latter is not formed in this shrub. These are so-called Kindel, which the mother plant usually forms with its own roots - a miniature version of the mother plant, so to speak. Cuttings, on the other hand, are separated and only then rooted. Lowering plants are very similar in nature to offshoots, but root formation is forced for the new plant and is not controlled by the main plant itself.
