Hibiscus belongs to the Malvaceae family. The ancient greek name ebiskos was used for marsh mallow. There are almost 150 species of shrubs and trees in this genus. Among them, hibiscus rosa sinensis or china-rose is a wonderful plant to have in your garden. It is an evergreen perennial shrub and native of china. It is an excellent choice for a tropical or sub-tropical garden. Thousands of varieties are available now, differentiating in bloom size, colors and other aspects. The bloom can be single, semi-double or double, depending upon the variety. Also many colors are available in a single, double or multi-shades including white, yellow, orange, red, pink, salmon, purple, etc. except only true blue, green and black. It is the national flower of Malaysia. Hawaii has earned the reputation of being the world centre for evolving magnificent varieties of hibiscus through hybridization. In India also, a large number of varieties with spectacular flowers have been evolved from the Hawaiian varieties. Worshipping of Hindu Goddess Kali, cannot be done without any red hibiscus.

It can be grown in a shrubbery or as a potted plant. They flower throughout the year in mild climate. In our climate, they flower more in summer than winter. It does not prefer excessive high or low temperature and dry heat. Hibiscus required full day sunlight or atleast six hours a day. They grow and flower in a wide range of soil but well drained loam, rich in organic matter is ideal. Water stagnant or soggy soil will adversely affect the flowering and growth of the plant.

Pruning is done to shape the plant and encourage new growth. In India pruning is normally done in end summer or in the beginning of monsoon. Don't overfeed your plant after pruning. Watch for new shoots to appear and the start feeding. Hibiscus like organic feed, so feed your plant with bone meal or sterameal once in every two months. Remember winter is the resting period for your hibiscus, so do not fertilize in winter. In summer a fortnightly light feed with a balance chemical fertilizer like 20:20:20 will yield good result. Foliar feed is also good for hibiscus. Always deep water your hibiscus after feeding. Remember, allow the topsoil to dry out before deep watering.

Propagation can be done, by layering, cutting, tee budding and grafting. Green semi-woody tip cuttings, treated with rooting hormone, does well in most varieties under mist. Stock grafting is also very popular, and is one of the major procedure for propagation in some types. In India, we are almost unable to produce fertile hibiscus seeds, commercially.

Hibiscus gets affected by a number of pests and diseases and can die ultimately if not checked in earlier stage. For fungal attack, spray pesticides and also check the soil condition, it should not be damp. They normally get affected by two type of pests, chewing and sucking. Caterpillars, grasshoppers and beetles come in the chewing section. Carbaryl works for most of them. Red spidery mites, aphids, scale and mealy bugs come in the sucking section. Normally a thorough hosing down of the plant with a mild detergent solution solves the problem, or if it's a massive attack try metacid 50. There are no cure for viral disease, it is better to replace the affected plant and completely burn it.