Why Is My Hibiscus Wilting? Complete Guide to Save Your Plant

Wilt Disease from Root Rot

The other way you will see wilted leaves on your hibiscus plants is from root rot. There are a several key differences you can observe that will let you know that you are dealing with root rot instead of systemic wilt from cold shock. Obviously if your plant starts to experience wilt during the warmer months that is a sign you have an issue with your roots. Wilt from rot in the roots means that as the pathogens from the fungus or mold from the soil spread into your hibiscus’ roots they will increasingly block the nutrient uptake channels. Over time your plant will become more deprived of nutrients and as it can carry up less to the entire plant the effects start to show.

The first signs of this is typically observing that the leaves of your plant, especially the top leaves of branches become veiny and pale in appearance. You will then notice your hibiscus will start to lose the lower leaves on it’s branches. Slowly over time the limp leaves and leaf loss will work it’s way up your plant leaving just the top leaves on branches. The final stage is the branch tips will start to die back as the plant now cannot even get enough nutrients to keep the branches alive. It is a slow and torturous process your plant will go through. But that is the key, it is a slow process that takes months if not years to come to this sad conclusion. Unfortunately hibiscus have tender root systems that need lots of air all the time so this is the most common way they die. The worst time of year for this is winter when the wet and cool conditions are perfect for these nasty pathogens to be the most active and dangerous. Remember hibiscus evolved in tropical climates so they have very little defenses against cold seasons and the risks that come along with them like pathogens that flourish at a time when your hibiscus is already struggling with weather conditions it is not meant to be in.

You can see here even though this hibiscus is looking good overall that the top leaves are starting to look rather veiny. The key is that there are wilted leaves down low and this is slowly spreading up over time.

The plant is abandoning these branches due to the lack of nutrients from the internal rot infection. You can see how the branches are now dying down as well.

Even though the branch looks find the leaves are showing the effects of insufficient nutrients being delivered.

Not only is there a combination of yellowing and limp leaves but as the plant tries to grow new leaves the lack of nutrients is starving the plant to the point where the new leaves are quickly becoming limp too

As you keep removing the limp leaves your hibiscus plant will become more devoid of leaves and has a greatly reduced ability to photosynthesize adding to the severe lack of nutrients it needs to sustain itself. You can now see the bottom branches are starting to completely die back.

What To Expect & Do After a Hibiscus Has Systemic Wilt

As we stated above the first thing you need to do if your plant is in a pot or you want to gently dig it out of the ground if possible is move it to a location that has lots of heat and humidity. Unfortunately moving it to a more protected outdoors location doesn’t really qualify but if that is all you have for your options by all means do that at a minimum.

An indoor location where you have the ability to add in the heat and humidity is needed because your plant will want that 24/7 to start to recover and rebound. Remember hibiscus are momentum plants and when they go into shock it doesn’t magically stop overnight if you move it out of the cold conditions. They cannot stop on a dime like a car with anti lock brakes. They are more like an old mining car where the miner manning it has to apply that hand brake and it makes sparks and the car takes quite a while and commotion to finally come to a stop. Your hibiscus needs to slow down the shock and eventually calm down and stop declining. The warmth and humidity will do this but it takes several weeks if not a couple months minimum to do this if it has optimal conditions around the clock. Then once the negative slide has ceased it will start to reverse direction.

So when you move your plant indoors with all those wilted leaves you should prune off those leaves as they prepare to drop off. Don’t prune them all off at once when you first move it indoors. Some leaves usually near the top might make it and you want to give your plant every chance to retain any leaves it can.

Here is an example of a plant where the lower leaves have been pruned off but we want to wait to see if it can retain any of the remaining leaves. Most likely not but we have to give this plant a chance. Plus it is important to have a gentle touch and let it shed leaves on it’s timetable – not our’s

This plant ended up shedding all it’s leaves and even had a tiny bit of branch tip dieback which is common. If the branch tips keep dying back after you prune them that is a sign of continuing shock and could mean it might not make it. At some point your plant should stabilize but again this could take weeks if not months due to their slow metabolism during the colder months

This one didn’t lose that one leaf on the bottom and after a month and a half of decline new leaves have now started to sprout. It’s very important that this entire time all we did was gently water with fertilizer to keep the soil moist – nothing more than that since there are no leaves to transpire the moisture out of the soil. It is warm in this location so the soil does start to dry out so we can water always with fertilizer but again sparingly.

When you see multiple nodes start to leaf out at once that is the sign you are waiting to see that positive momentum has begun with your hibiscus. Patience is so important to get to this point. The biggest mistake you can make is to try and feed your plant back to waking up – that usually is the nail in the coffin because that will just saturate the soil and lead to no air and root rot.

Now we know we have positive momentum as new leaves emerge. This does not mean you can put it back outside even if the weather has improved. It is going to be a few months before we can do that. Use the nighttime low temperatures as a gauge. Anything under 50F means it stays inside in this state. Also you water proportionately with the size of the leaves emerging. So in this case very little water with fertilizer. As the leaves increase in size you match that increase with the amount of water with fertilizer it gets. We recommend the Hidden Valley Hibiscus Special Blend Fertilizer or something with high potassium.

Note how the two stick only hibiscus with no leaves are outside the plant rack greenhouse. I leave the cover open so they get the heat and humidity from the plant rack. It is enough for this to work for them plus they are too big to fit inside. These little creative tweaks are ways you figure out how to make things work with limited resources sometimes. This is the back of my garage which is a tiny space as you can see everything is stacked around the plants.

I proactively brought this one inside as it was starting to lose leaves and showing signs of being unstable. Because it has leaves still that are strong I am able to water and feed it more than the stick plants that went into systemic shock. Don’t fully water this one since it has lost many leaves. The amount of water with fertilizer depends on how much leaves are left and how large the leaves are.

5 SECRETS to SAVE or REVIVE a dying Hibiscus plant EASILY

FAQ

Why is my Hibiscus wilting?

Root rot is one of the most common causes of wilting in hibiscus. It’s a fungal disease that thrives in perpetually wet soil. Infected roots turn brown or black, get mushy, and start dying off. This prevents them from absorbing enough water for the leaves. To check for root rot, gently remove the plant from its pot.

Why is my Hibiscus dying?

There are several reasons why your hibiscus could be dying due to drought stress: Not watering the hibiscus often enough or watering too lightly so the water does not reach the roots properly. (I find this one is really common with indoor hibiscus). The pot is too small and dries out too quickly in the sun.

Why does my hibiscus flower drop?

The flower and buds of your hibiscus can drop mainly because of a lack of nutrition. Another common cause is the unsuitable environmental conditions you grow the plant in. Follow these tips to solve the problem: Provide your plants with adequate water and fertilizers. Adhere to the fertilizers’ instructions to avoid overfeeding.

Do Hibiscus wilt if overwatered?

Even hardy Hibiscus plants may wilt when overwatered. If too much water is in the soil, the roots won’t get enough oxygen. This means that your plant will suffer and won’t be able to absorb vital nutrients. If the top leaves of your Hibiscus are becoming pale and veiny, this could also be a sign that it’s not getting enough oxygen.

How do you know if a hibiscus has wilt disease?

The roots of infected plants do not show any “rot” except possibly in the late stages of the disease – if the plant survives that long. Once inside the hibiscus, the fungi disrupt the plant’s capillary system, preventing water and nutrients from circulating normally. How do I Know my Hibiscus has Wilt Disease?

Why do hibiscus leaves wilt and curl?

Sap-sucking insects like aphids, whiteflies, and mealybugs can all cause hibiscus leaves to wilt and curl. These tiny pests feed on the sap in the plant’s vascular system. As they extract the sap, leaves deprived of fluids will droop. Check the undersides of leaves and stems for clusters of small insects.