Question
Recently I received two hibiscus as a gift.  The plants have a lot of buds and are blooming.  My concern is that the amount of soil on the  plants is quite small.  I thought I should repot them, but after reading your answer to Joyce in which you told her that repotting had been a big mistake, I'm not sure what to do.  One possibility would be to add soil to the existing pots, which are small green plastic pots approximately  8" in diameter.  Or, perhaps I could put them in a clay pot of the same diameter.  Or I could just do nothing.  I appreciate any advice you can give me.

Answer
Hi Laurence

I am not quite sure why, but folks often think their plants are in pots that are too small or don抰 have enough soil. In fact, flowering plants especially need to be kept potbound to flower properly. That is why they are sold that way. The only reason one of your Hibiscus plants would need more soil would be if it accidently got knocked over and a lot of soil spilled out. But they do not need larger pots or additional soil.

If you don抰 like the appearance of the plastic pots, then cover them up by inserting them inside a slightly larger more attractive planter.

I have written an article on repotting that I will email for free to you (or anyone else) who emails a request to me at [email protected].

Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions.

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Regards,
Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC

Visit my website at: A link to PlantCareExperts.com