How to Grow Blushing Bride Hibiscus

Blushing Bride is a hardy hibiscus – you won't see this cultivar when you get off the plane in Hawaii. These plants (Hibiscus syriacus) are hardy to Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zone 4 and thus decidedly are not tropical in nature. The Blushing Bride cultivar bears double light pink blooms on a 10-foot-tall shrub. Grow this hibiscus in full sun for the best flowers, but the plant does tolerate some afternoon shade.

Shovel
Organic mulch
10-20-10 fertilizer
Pruning shears
Insecticidal soap

Instructions

- 1
  Plant Blushing Bride hibiscus in well-tilled soil in a hole that allows it to sit at the same depth at which it has been growing. Dig the hole twice the diameter of the root ball. Shake excess potting soil from the roots, place them in the hole and fill it with soil. Water Blushing Bride slowly to allow the soil to moisten to a depth of 10 inches. Irrigate the newly planted Brushing Bride often enough that the soil doesn't dry out.
- 2
  Top-dress the soil around Blushing Bride with a 3-inch-deep layer of organic mulch. Don't allow the mulch to touch the plant's wood, but spread the mulch entirely around the plant and to 1 foot beyond the plant's widest point.
- 3
  Fertilize Blushing Bride in spring with a 10-20-10 fertilizer at the rate listed on the fertilizer package. Sprinkle it around the soil beneath the shrub and water deeply to soak it to the roots. Fertilize again in midsummer. Fertilize in the morning to avoid root burn.
- 4
  Control aphids, the main pest of Blushing Bride hibiscus, by washing them off the shrub with a strong blast of water. Heavy infestations may require the use of insecticidal soap spray.
- 5
  Prune Blushing Bride hibiscus in spring to keep it your preferred size. Frequent pruning encourages the plant to produce larger, but fewer, flowers.

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