Hi dear dolls, today I bring you another favorite plant, the Hibiscus! (At this point you might be wondering "what plant isn't your favorite?") I'm typing this as my very own pink Hibiscus is blooming. It didn't bloom all summer and now it bloomed in the last week... okay sweetie but you're late. haha

Anyway, Hibiscus is a tropical and subtropical plant, although now they are spead all over moderate climates because of their popularity. They do very well in Portugal and established mature plants can resist occasional frosts, but I always bring mine inside since it is still a baby. (Just the size of the one in the picture). I believe there are various species (300 or so?) but the most popular is the Hibiscus Rosa-Sinensis, which is this one.

You might immediately associate it with Hawaii because you've probably seen them all over "Aloha shirts" or in vacation posters. And you'd be right because this happens to be the official state flower of the Hawaiian islands!

As I own one, I can confirm, they don't have a fragrance and yes, the flowers are very fragile, which can be very upsetting when you're changing them to a bigger pot while they are in bloom or your pets run around and end up hitting them like my dog did before.

The flower (specially the red variety) is used for tea that helps with cholesterol and losing  weight. The leaves are toothed and you must keep an eye on them if you have them as houseplants. Their leaves turn yellow easily because they are heavy fertilizer eaters. Give them two lid-size amouts of all-purpose liquid fertilizer. They have sturdy stems that must be pruned in late winter or as soon as you notice temperatures getting higher. This will make the plant shoot new, longer stems with much bigger, greener leaves. But don't cut all of them! Only the older ones, and only 1/3 or 2/3 of it, depending on the length. Keep them in a sunny spot or least shady place as you can get. Mine did well in my living room last winter, though.

Let me tell you, from personal experience, keeping Hibiscus is not easy. They often get attacked by aphids and whiteflies. These pests can be found on the downside of the leaves (were they reproduce) and migrate towards new growth or flower buds. I advise that you buy a Insectice Spray House & plants and spray it directly on the affected areas. They remove the little bugs without harming the plants or you, since they don't have disturbing smells.

All of this is compensated when you can have beautiful blooms all summer... or not. *cough cough* My hibiscus is all confused. We're heading towards cold temperatures and it finally awakes.. nice. At least I'll enjoy the blooms when I bring it inside.

Oh, by the way, South Korea's national flower is also a specie of Hibiscus. The Hibiscus Syriacus.