Why is my Hibiscus not Flowering – Here’s Why

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The stunning blooms of the Hibiscus are what make it such an appealing plant to have around the home or garden. 

These blooms are not only colorful and attractive, but they’re also an indicator of your plant’s health. 

So if your Hibiscus isn’t flowering, then you must address this issue quickly. And we’ll tell you exactly how to solve this problem in our helpful guide.

Why is My Hibiscus not Flowering?

The reason why Hibiscus is not flowering is usually too little sun. Hibiscus need a lot of sun to produce flowers. If your hibiscus receives plenty of sunlight but still isn’t blooming, then you may need to adjust your feeding, pruning, or watering routine.

Most Common Reasons Why You Hibiscus won’t Bloom

If your Hibiscus isn’t blooming, then this is quite an easy problem to solve, but you need to find out the cause first. 

Below, we’ll take a look at the most common reasons why your Hibiscus isn’t blooming. 

Not Enough Sun

Tropical Hibiscus loves the sun, which means that it needs a very bright spot in your home or garden. 

And the main reason for a Hibiscus not flowering is that it’s not getting enough sunlight.

If your Hibiscus lives indoors, then you should move it to a brighter spot in the house. Outdoors potted Hibiscus should be moved to a brighter part of the garden.

To give a Hibiscus planted in the ground more sun, prune back the foliage from its neighbors.

Uprooting a Hibiscus that’s established in the ground is pretty risky. So you should avoid doing this. Find more creative ways to give it sunlight instead. 

One way to do this is to avoid pruning stems that are reaching out to the sunlight. These leaves can catch the light and return the energy to the rest of the plant.

Poor Environmental Conditions

If your Hibiscus doesn’t live in the right environment, then it will struggle to produce flowers. 

Hibiscus are tropical plants, which means that they like warm, humid conditions. 

Their ideal temperature range for growing and blooming is between 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit (15 – 19 degrees Celsius).

When temperatures go out of this range, it may affect the way your Hibiscus produces buds. 

Hot, dry air can cause buds to drop off before they’ve bloomed. 

If you live in a particularly dry climate or have hot spells throughout the summer, then you should mist your Hibiscus regularly. 

You can even buy a humidifier to keep the moisture in your Hibiscus’ environment just right. 

If all of your Hibiscus environmental conditions seem within range, then check its pot. If your plant has had the same pot for many years, then you should consider repotting it. 

If the pot hasn’t been changed for a while, then your Hibiscus may be rootbound. And it’ll need fresh compost, too because the old one won’t be nutritious anymore. 

Over and Under Watering

Your Hibiscus will need lots of water to replicate its native tropical environment. But if your Hibiscus has too much water without adequate drainage, this can cause the buds to drop off. 

Make sure that the pot where you plant the Hibiscus contains lots of holes for drainage and that the soil is never left soaking in water.

Dehydration is also another common reason for a Hibiscus not flowering. Make sure that you check your plant daily in the summer and water as much as necessary. 

If your Hibiscus pot is too small, this might make it dry out quicker. Your Hibiscus will suffer and won’t bloom if it’s left to dry out regularly.

If your Hibiscus constantly feels dry, then consider moving it into a bigger pot, or add mulch to help it retain moisture.

Incorrect Feeding

Hibiscus plants are heavy feeders, which means that you need to give them food regularly through a fertilizer.

If they don’t get enough food, particularly potassium, they won’t be able to produce buds.

But you must get the feeding balance right because overfeeding will also stop your Hibiscus from blooming. 

You should especially avoid giving your plant too much phosphorous or nitrogen.

Also, you should aim to feed your Hibiscus about twice a week during the summer. Use food for blooming and always follow the manufacturer’s feeding instructions.

If your Hibiscus isn’t producing flowers, then it’s worth checking the pH of its soil too. If the soil is too alkaline, then your Hibiscus won’t produce flowers.

You can adjust the pH of your soil using chemical or organic products.

Pests

Bud drop is when the buds fall from the plant before they even start flowering. This can be caused by stress, dehydration, disease, or a pest infestation.

Thrips are tiny parasites that hatch out inside Hibiscus buds. They eat away at the bud, killing it before it has a chance to bloom. 

Other pest infestations will also affect your Hibiscus’s health. Thus causing a lack of blooms. 

If you think that your Hibiscus has a pest infestation, then you should treat it with a suitable pest control product.

Incorrect Pruning

Pruning is a part of caring for your beloved plant. But it must be done properly at the right time.

If you over-prune your Hibiscus in the early spring, then you will remove any bud growth sites. Thus your Hibiscus won’t be able to produce flowers.

It’s better to prune your Hibiscus after the summer, in autumn time. 

To promote new flowers you should regularly deadhead your Hibiscus. This is when you clip away dead flowers from the stem. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Hibiscus Not Flowering

Why are my Hibiscus buds dropping off before they’ve bloomed?

If your Hibiscus buds keep dropping off this usually means that your Hibiscus has a pest infestation such as thrips. Dehydration is another common cause of bud drop.

Why isn’t my Hibiscus producing many flowers?

If your Hibiscus isn’t producing many flowers then there’s something wrong in the environment where it is growing in. This could be a lack of sunlight, the temperature, or incorrect watering.