Question
When we moved, we dug up and brought our hardy hibiscus to our new home. The soil here is clay and not as nice as before. The plant is growing nicely with lots of leaves but no flowers as yet. It seems like it should be blooming by now. Am I doing something wrong? It gets lots of sun and water. We added compost to the soil when we transplanted it.

Answer
Hello Paula,

I have had the pleasure of owning both Lord and Lady Baltimore, which as I'm sure you know are hardy hibiscuses. I also had clay soil, which while atrocious to dig in is also high in nutrients. You are not really doing anything wrong. The bloom time in my zone 5 yard was late July and August.

But they are very heavy feeders.  Adding compost to the soil, and giving it lots of sun and water is excellent. But it needs more. A balanced fertilizer (a 10-10-10 or 14-14-14, something like that) applied at half strength every two weeks will give it the oomph it needs to help it bloom. Don't use anything with a high nitrogen number. And toss in a little more compost while you're at it.

Does this help? Please feel free to write again.

Regards,

Donna