We live in Sun City AZ and have a Hibiscus plant in the ground. It has been very hot here but one day the plant was fully healthy and the next day it was drooping all leaves and they had turned a light green with yellow. I have watered and was advised to fertilize which I did. It is not recovering and is struggling. This plant is new to me as we just moved here so I know not much except what I have found on the internet. It looks like it will not recover to me but am not sure. I take it they are deciduous and if they are is this the time they lose their leaves? I am ready to take it out if not recovering is the issue.

Hello, Mes44. I suspect it is heat stress in the form of high temperatures, losing moisture thru the leaves due to temps/sun/drying winds, etc. Maintain mulch to protect the roots from temperature extremes and from soil moisture loss. Then test the soil with a finger if you are not sure if it needs more water: insert a finger into the soil to a depth of around 4" and give it water if the soil feels dry or almost dry. You can also water ahead of time if your weather forecast includes very high temperatures (lie 105F or more) and-or drying summer winds. Just try not to get the soil so wet that it is soggy. Especially if the soil does not drain well. If it drains too well (because it is sandy) then give it a larger amount of water than you normally would use.

It is too early yet to loose leaves due to dormancy.... although I heard that some red maples in NH are starting to get fall colors.

I could not confirm the type of hibiscus from the picture. Which type is it, Mesh44? Tropical hibiscus may not withstand s-o-m-e Zone 9b winters but hardy hibiscus and also Rose of Sharon/Althea Hibiscuses will be ok. Not important this minute but rather, something to keep in mind.

In the summer, I do not fertilize it as it is already too stressed with the climatic summer conditions. But, I do provide it with 2-4" of mulch and I give it a general purpose, slow release fertilizer in Spring.

Usually, yellow leaves will not turn green again so just let the yellow ones fall and let the plant either replace the leaves now or later.

Hint: when one of my shrubs suddenly reacts to heat stress, I like to water slowly, deeply, starting close to the root ball, moving outwards in all directions. Think: soaker hoses or drip irrigation speeds.

Luis

Thank you for answering my question. I do not know the difference, however the leaves are smaller and not glossy. They are in the shape of a spade pretty much, and yellow for the most part with the veins a green light in color. It has lost a lot of volume and looks very sad. We have bubblers here that automatically go on, however I do not know for how long. The afternoon I first saw it drooping like this I watered well and it seemed to pick up a little, however it is not now. The leaves are very soft and wilted. I always think that means a lack of water and it seems the soil drains well. It is pretty hard and does not go down deep. This plant is in a courtyard planted many many years ago I believe. we have only lived here for a month and I am originally from NW Oregon so you can see my expertise is not in the plants they have here. I am learning as gardening is a passion for me. I am wondering if I should let it be for a while before giving up on it. Do you have a thought on that? Thank you once again. Mary Stewart

If it has been there for so many years, I would leave it. Like I said, it will recover by developing new foliage... exactly when is difficult to forecast... Down here, when we are in the daily 100Fs, plants are in no mood to bloom so if one were to loose leaves, it may choose to replace them now (if temps come down), later (as Fall temperatures come down) or in Spring 2020. No need to remove the leaves; just let them fall... although I have been known to squash dried out brown leaves now and then...

Since you recently moved there, I would not make any changes. When I moved to my current home, I kept the status quo so I could learn what was a weed and what was a plant that the owners planted. Except for a tree with rot that I had to remove, I basically left everything "as is" for a year so I could see what bloomed and when did it bloom.

I would join some local gardening clubs to learn how people garden in AZ since the conditions differ so much from those in OR. When I moved to Texas, I had some water intensive plants in the landscape and I had to learn how to manage their waterings. For example, I learned that temps get to the 90s in May and that is when summer starts here... as far as I am concerned. By the end of May, outside garden work has to be done by 10-11am because it gets too hot. I also learned not to buy any plants from May until Fall temperatures arrive... I also increase the watering amounts in May as temperatures mostly stay above 85F and, one notch higher, when temperatures are over 100F.

When my sprinkler broke, I switched my sprinkler system to mostly use drip irrigation (you can use soaker hoses).

Good advice for the SW .

Thank you all for the great advice. I will leave it and see what it does. I do like to leave plants alone until I have lived somewhere for a while. One never knows the small gifts different ones will bring or the surprises that come up. We have already had a couple and they are very nice. Again thank you for your valuable input.