Strange Hibiscus Behavior

[lbjack]

I bought some hibiscus last spring, thinking they were the ordinary perennials I was familiar with. Well, not long after I brought them home, they stopped flowering. They looked healthy otherwise, green and lush. But no flowers. Then, this December, they started flowering again.

I'm in Southern California, on the coast, where it's always mild. I've had hibiscus before, and they've never been dormant in summer and flowering in winter. Is there a variety of hibiscus that has this contrary behavior?

[lorax]

Depends on their care. Hibiscus normally flower in response to moisture and heat levels - so mine tend to flower in your winter and go dormant in your summer, because our seasons are a bit reversed.

I'd look to the water levels those plants got for clues.

[lbjack]

Depends on their care. Hibiscus normally flower in response to moisture and heat levels - so mine tend to flower in your winter and go dormant in your summer, because our seasons are a bit reversed.

I'd look to the water levels those plants got for clues.

And that is what's unusual here: they are flowering in the cool season and dormant in the warm season. In my summer, they were in the sun, with good watering, but are only flowering again after it has turned cool. It's raining now, so we'll see how they respond!

Thanks for the advice.

[lorax]

I don't know - my summers are wet, and my winters drier. Most Hibiscus here wait for the wet season, which is naturally cooler.

If they're only cool-bloomers, are you sure they're not H. syriacus or another of the cool-hardy types? Those actually want a cool period before they'll set flowers.

Can you post us a picture?