Hibiscus Leaves Turning Yellow? (How to Revive it)

Are your hibiscus leaves turning yellow, and are you not sure why? Do you wonder what’s wrong with your hibiscus plant care routine?

This has happened to me too! My prized potted hibiscus, gifted from a friend, had turned from a healthy, splendid plant that thrived and even flowered well to one with sad, drooping yellowing leaves. What had happened?

I asked my colleagues at the garden center where I work about how to fix hibiscus with yellow leaves.

I was able to diagnose the cause by testing the soil moisture and found the soil was drying out much more quickly than my other potted plants. My hibiscus was in full sun, in a pot that was too small and made of clay (which is porous and dries too quickly). All these factors contributed to the dry soil, which caused my hibiscus leaves to turn yellow!

From my research, I found that several conditions result in yellow hibiscus leaves, such as overwatering, a lack of nutrients in the soil, and too much phosphorous. We also need to be aware that the leaves of tropical varieties of hibiscus turn yellow in response to a sudden drop in temperature.

In this post, I’ll share all my tips and first-hand knowledge of how to diagnose the reason your hibiscus is turning yellow and give you the solutions in a step-by-step guide.

Keep reading to find out why your hibiscus leaves have turned yellow and how to revive it…

Is Your Plant Thirsty? Drought Stress Causes Hibiscus Leaves to Turn Yellow

I know this is confusing, but yellow leaves on your hibiscus can be a reaction to either stress from too much moisture around the roots or drought stress because of dry soil.

However if the cause of yellow leaves on your hibiscus is due to drought stress, this can distinguished from over watering if the leaves are noticeably shriveled and curling downwards as this is an adaptation to prevent water loss.

Whereas yellow hibiscus leaves caused by overwatering tend to droop rather than have a shriveled appearance.

Drought stress is not necessarily always caused by underwatering but can also be caused by:

• Excess wind. Hibiscus that are planted in excessively windy areas can be more prone to drought stress as hibiscus are native to tropical climates and prefer some humidity rather than excessive wind which saps moisture from the leaves causing them to turn yellow and shrivel.
• Soils drain too quickly. Hibiscus are accustomed to growing in soils that retain moisture (yet allow excess water to drain away from the roots). If the soil in which your hibiscus is planted is sandy or stony, then the soil can drain too quickly for the roots to draw up moisture, creating a deficit of moisture, and leaves turn yellow as a sign of stress.
• Under watering. Established hibiscuses that are planted in moisture-retaining soil with lots of organic content (compost) do not often require watering. However, the soil should be kept consistently moist to prevent the leaves from turning yellow. Therefore, hibiscuses often require more water according to how quickly your soil dries out.

Reviving Your Hibiscus: How to Fix Yellow Hibiscus Leaves

To revive your hibiscus suffering from drought stress, the first thing you should do is…

• Give the hibiscus a generous soak. One generous soak per week is preferable to a little, and often watering approach as a soaking ensures the water infiltrates the soil to the depth which it is required to reach the roots. It also encourages the roots to grow and establish, which further increases the hibiscus tolerance to drought,
• Shelter the hibiscus from excess winds which sap the leaves of moisture. High winds reduce humidity in the air which is contrary to the preferred growing conditions of the hibiscus as they are native to the tropics. Consider planting some other shrubs to act as a wind buffer or move your potted hibiscus to an area that is still sunny but is perhaps sheltered by a garden fence.
• Add a layer of mulch to the surface of the soil for your hibiscus to retain moisture, add nutrients, and improve soil structure. Applying a 1-inch layer of compost, leaf mold, or well-rotted manure to the soil surrounding the hibiscus improves the soil’s moisture retention capacity to mitigate the risk of drought. Apply the mulch once in the Spring and then again in the middle of Summer if you have soil that tends to dry too quickly.
• Water the hibiscus as often as required to keep the soil moist. Hibiscus thrives in well-draining yet consistently moist soil and turns yellow when the soil dries. Typically, watering once per week with a good soak is good enough to prevent drought stress and yellow leaves, but increase the frequency of your watering according to your climate, as hot and dry climates require more frequent watering to keep the hibiscus looking green.
• Use a sprayer bottle to mist the leaves to increase the humidity and prevent further water loss.

With consistent watering, shelter from winds, and applications of mulch, the hibiscus should recover from drought stress.

Over the following week, the leaves should appear less shriveled or curled, and the yellow foliage should start to turn a healthier green color.

Drought stress is one of the major causes of hibiscus not flowering, however, there are several reasons for hibiscus not to display blooms which is why I wrote another article for the solution.

Are Your Hibiscus Leaves Yellow and Drooping? Overwatering is the Cause

I know this is confusing, but hibiscus leaves can turn yellow not just from underwatering but also from stress from overwatering or, more specifically, too much water around the roots, which I think highlights the importance of getting the balance of moisture right for growing hibiscus.

Why is this? Well, from my research, it is because too much water around the roots excludes oxygen from the soil.

Our hibiscus needs oxygen around its roots to respire, which is critical for it to be able to uptake water and nutrients from the soil. If the roots cannot respire, then moisture and nutrients are not transported from the roots to the leaves, which causes them to turn yellow and droop.

We should acknowledge that yellow hibiscus leaves due to too much water around the roots can be because of the following:

• Slow-draining soils. Soils that are composed of heavy clay, overly compacted, or naturally boggy tend to drain too slowly for hibiscus, causing excess water to pool around the roots. Hibiscus requires moist, light, friable soil such as loam or compost, but it does not tolerate boggy, saturated soil, as this promotes the conditions for fungal diseases such as root rot, which can turn the leaves yellow.
• Overwatering. Whilst hibiscus do appreciate regular watering so that the soils stay moist, watering every day can create boggy conditions that cause the leaves to turn yellow and droop as a sign of stress.

So what can we do about it?

If your hibiscus is planted in particularly slow-draining soil or a boggy, low-lying area of the garden, then I recommend transplanting it to an area that has been amended with lots of compost to improve soil structure or grow hibiscus in pots, containers and raised beds as they have more favorable drainage conditions.

What I’ve found in my many years of landscape gardening is that it’s also far easier to create a well draining potting mix to suit hibiscus then it is to amend garden soil that is naturally boggy.

Creating the well-draining conditions for your hibiscus may be the only way to prevent it from continuing to turn yellow, so If you think the soil is draining too slowly (does it feel boggy?)then I recommend transplanting your hibiscus as soon as you can.

We should also remember that hibiscus in pots can turn yellow if they do not have drainage holes in the base, as this emulates the conditions of slow-draining soils.

Why Are My Potted Hibiscus Leaves Turning Yellow? (How to Diagnose)

So, potted Hibiscus leaves can turn yellow for the same reasons as any other hibiscus, but there are a few problems unique to pots that I’ve discovered that can be the cause of yellowing leaves. Let’s explore the common reasons for this and how to tackle them:

• Drainage issues. In my experience, the most common cause for potted hibiscus turning yellow is a lack of drainage. It is essential that your pot has drainage holes in the base or excess water pools around the roots of the hibiscus, which causes root rot and turns the leaves yellow (I learned this the hard way!). I have also seen that hibiscus roots that have been in the same pot for a long time can become pot-bound, and a matted lattice of roots can block the drainage hole, slowing the drainage, depriving the roots of oxygen and preventing root respiration, which results in yellow leaves.
• Low in Nutrients. Have you forgotten to repot your hibiscus in a long while? If the hibiscus has been in the same pot for a long time, the roots can exhaust the soil of nutrients, turning the leaves yellow because of a nutrient deficit.
• Not enough light. If the potted hibiscus is indoors, then yellow leaves may be a reaction to a lack of light. Hibiscus do not necessarily make the best indoor plant as they prefer full sun and respond to seasonal variations in temperature and light, but if you are growing hibiscus indoors I would try to locate it in the sunniest window in the house with as much direct light as possible.
• Transplant Shock. If you move your pot from one area to another it can turn the leaves yellow due to transplant shock. What I’ve learned is that hibiscus can become acclimated to quite a precise location (in terms of sunlight, heat, and airflow), and if you move the pot from one area to another or move the pot indoors, then the contrast in conditions can turn the hibiscus leaves yellow due to stress.

How to Revive Potted Hibiscus with Yellow Leaves (Step-by-Step)

• I have seen that hibiscus is occasionally sold in decorative pots without drainage holes in the base from commercial garden centers. Therefore, what you need to do is to transfer your hibiscus to a similar size pot or bigger with drainage holes in the base as soon as possible and cut back on watering if the soil feels saturated rather than just moist. I would allow the soil to dry out before watering again to give your hibiscus a chance to recover from water stress. However, if the roots have been in saturated soil for a long time, then root rot is likely the cause of the yellow leaves and in my experience, the plant is difficult to save.
• Refresh the soil for hibiscus that have been in pots for several years to provide more nutrients. Ideally, would I recommend doing is choosing a pot that is one size up from the previous pot as larger pots have more capacity for soil and therefore more nutrients. What I found really works is to apply half-strength multi-purpose fertilizer once a month in the Spring and Summer and the yellow leaves should green up.
• Always locate your hibiscus in a location with the most direct sun possible. As we talked about our hibiscus plants are native to the tropics and flower to their best in full sun. I can assure you that with more light, the leaves can recover from their yellow appearance.
• Hibiscus can take time to adjust to a new location if they have been moved. As long as the hibiscus is in full sun, with well-draining yet moist nutrient-rich soil and protection from excessive wind, the hibiscus should acclimatize to its new surroundings and recover from its yellow appearance, although the display of flowers can be affected. I try to move my potted hibiscus as little as possible for this reason.

So what I’ve found when reviving other hibiscus first hand (at my job in the garden center) Some of the yellow leaves do actually fall off, but then green leaves grow again in the Spring! I find this is partiucarly the case with hibsicus that have been moved.

(If your potted hibiscus is dying, read my article, on how to revive a dying hibiscus).

Is your Hibiscus Hungry? Nutrient Deficient soil Can Cause Hibiscus Leaves to Turn Yellow

So if underwatering and overwatering isn’t the problem then the next thing most common reason I encounter is that the hibiscus leaves are turning yellow as a reaction to a deficit of nutrients in the soil.

I think the reason this is common is because hibiscus are relatively heavy feeders so they often show signs of stress due to a nutrient deficit with the most noticeable being yellow leaves and a lack of flowers.

But why is this? Well, the first thing you need to check is your soil. Sandy or stony soils tend not to retain much nutrients, and soil that has not been mulched with any organic matter can also be low in fertility.

From my research, it is often a specifically a lack of iron or nitrogen that is responsible for yellowing leaves.

Hibiscus thrives in soil that is amended with organic matter (such as compost, leaf mold, and well-rotted manure) as this provides the ideal conditions in terms of nutrients, soil structure, and moisture-retaining characteristics.

If your hibiscus has poor growth, yellow leaves, and no flowers, then you need to follow the steps:

• I apply a 1-inch layer around the soil surrounding my hibiscus twice a year in the Spring and Summer with materials such as compost, leaf mold, and well-rotted manure being ideal. This adds nutrients to the soil and stimulates the soil’s ecosystem, which helps make nutrients more available at the roots of your hibiscus.
• Apply a half-strength all-purpose liquid fertilizer to the hibiscus once a month during the Spring and Summer to account for the deficit of nutrients in the soil.

Pro tip: If the leaves are yellowing, I like to add a layer of well-rotted manure as a mulch around my hibiscus. This contains more nitrogen than compost and leaf mold, which should help fix the nutrient deficit that has caused the leaves to turn yellow.

It is important to get the balance of nutrients right when it comes to fertilizing hibiscus as too much fertilizer can stimulate foliage growth at the expense of flowers and too much phosphorous can also be a cause of leaves turning yellow which emphasizes the importance of an evenly balanced fertilizer with equal parts Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium (NPK).

Use a granular fertilizer from any reputable brand such as Miracle-Gro which is widely available from garden centers and from Amazon.

(For more tips on promoting flowering, read my article, how to increase hibiscus blooms).

The build-up of Phosphorous in Soil Turns Hibiscus Leaves Yellow

So, I had to do a bit of research on this one. Hibiscus are relatively unusual in that they are particularly sensitive to high levels of phosphorous in the soil.

What happens is that when phosphorous builds up in the soil it can prevent the hibiscus roots from drawing up other nutrients causing a nutrient deficiency that cannot be fixed with more fertilizer.

This can cause the leaves to turn yellow, prevent the hibiscus from flowering in the Summer, and cause the plant to die back.

But why would there be too much phosphorous in the soil?

I discovered that an accumulation of phosphorous in the soil is usually to due to overzealous applications of fertilizer, particularly any fertilizer that contains a disproportionate amount of phosphorous which are often marketed as ‘bloom boosters’.

I cringe when I see fertilizer marketed as a ‘bloom booster’ because, in my experience and from my study of botany, our plants need the right nutrients in the right proportions rather than emphasizing nutrients more so!

So what to do? Well, first, I’d scale back the use of any fertilizer if you suspect phosphorous is the cause for your hibiscus leaves turning yellow and water it regularly. All nutrients are water soluble in some form or another, so watering regularly helps dissolve excess phosphorous.

I would personally advise not adding any more fertilizer until the following Spring, at which point I would apply the miracle gro that I recommended earlier as it has all the nutrients in equal proportions, which should help to address the nutrient imbalance.

The only way you can definitively check whether phosphorous is the cause is to send a sample of your soil to be tested. This service is available for reputable garden centers and nurseries, and I’ve seen some websites online that offer this service, too.

The hibiscus may recover; however, if there is a significant buildup of phosphorous, it is difficult to revive the plant. In this case, a last-ditch effort would be to transplant your hibiscus to a soil that has not had added fertilizer to help it revive.

Could your Soil be too Alkaline? How Soil pH Prevents Uptake of Nutrients Causing Yellow Leaves

Hibiscus grows well in soils that are slightly acidic between pH 6-7. If hibiscus is planted in soil that is too acidic or too alkaline, this prevents the uptake of nutrients from the soil, and the leaves turn yellow with green veins (chlorosis).

Fortunately, I can assure you that most garden soil is in the range of pH 6-7 as most organic matter is around this level of slightly acidic pH once fully decomposed.

However, soil can be overly acidic or alkaline for environmental reasons, such as the underlying rock in different areas of the country.

If several plants also exhibit yellowing with green veins, then I recommend purchasing a soil gauge from Amazon or a garden center to establish the pH of your soil. This should help you determine whether soil pH is the problem or not.

If your soil is significantly out of the range of pH 6-7 then I implore you to grow hibiscus in pots, containers, or raised beds rather than garden soil as changing the soil pH is a tricky process, that I would not recommend.

If at all possible I advise transplanting your hibiscus to a pot with multipurpose compost as this provides the right pH level for your hibiscus as long-term hibiscus does not survive in overly acidic or alkaline soils without being transferred to more suitable soil.

Does your Hibiscus Need More Sun? Lack of Light Can Cause Yellow Hibiscus Leaves

As we have talked about, our hibiscus are native to tropical regions of Asia and thrive and flower to their potential in full sun.

If your prized hibiscus are in too much shade then this can cause the hibiscus leaves to turn yellow as well as poor overall growth and fewer blooms as this is contrary to their preferred conditions in their native range.

I always think it is helpful for us gardeners to think about how our plants grow in the wild so we can undertsand the conditions they need to grow to their very best!

So, the solution is simple…

We just need to locate our hibiscus in the sunniest part of our gardens. For established hibiscuses, my solution is to cut back any vegetation that may be casting shade on the plant or any tree limbs to allow for more light.

If it’s in a pot, then it is much easier! Simply move potted hibiscus to a sunny patio and ensure any indoor hibiscus is in the sunniest window in your house to prevent yellow leaves.

The hibiscus might drop some of its yellow leaves, but from experience, they grow back the following year if the hibiscus is in more light.

Is Your Hibiscus Too Cold? Understand How Cold Weather Causes Tropical Hibiscus Leaves to Turn Yellow

There are two species of hibiscus commonly grown by gardeners.

• Tropical hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis).
• Hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus spp.).

As you would expect, the tropical is much more sensitive to the cold, whereas the hardy species can tolerate cold weather and live in a far wider variety of climates.

From research (and my own first-hand observations) the tropical hibiscus leaves can turn yellow if the temperature drops suddenly from its normal range. As you’d expect, tropical hibiscus cannot tolerate frost and are hardy in USDA zones 9-11.

Therefore it is important to grow a species of hibiscus that is suitable for your climate to avoid yellow leaves.

My own tropical hibiscus have also dropped their yellow leaves after a serious cold shock but it recovers if the temperatures stay mild and green leaves can regow.

Outside of tropical climates, the tropical species of hibiscus struggle to survive.

Hardy hibiscus varieties can tolerate frost but should be grown in areas of full sun and notably flower for longer than tropical varieties.

Are Bugs the Problem? Insect Pests Can Cause Hibiscus Leaves to Turn Yellow

The first thing to acknowledge is that the healthier your hibiscus is, the more resilient it is to pests and disease.

What I’ve noticed is that if your hibiscus is under stress due to lack of light, adverse soil conditions, etc. then it is more vulnerable to insect infestation.

While several insects can affect hibiscus, the most likely candidate for turning hibiscus leaves yellow is the spider mite.

Spider mites cause yellow pin-sized spots on your hibiscus, potentially causing the leaves to drop and fewer flowers on display.

The good news is that Spider mite infestations, however, are rarely lethal and can be easily treated.

Spider mites are more common in environments with lower humidity, therefore spraying your hibiscus leaves with mist can be a good disincentive. (I experienced far more spider mites on my plants when I lived in the arid climate of Southern California, whereas when I moved up to the Pacific Northwest, It wasn’t a problem due to the humidity).

For more serious infestations I use an insecticide spray derived from neem oil is an effective treatment and is non-toxic to other wildlife. It may take two or three treatments to address the spider mite problem. The affected yellow leaves often drop off but the hibiscus should recover.

Insecticide sprays are available at garden centers and on Amazon.

Do you have any more questions about hibiscus plants? Please leave a comment below sharing your experiences, and I’ll reply! I’d love to hear from you all!

Key Takeaways:

• Hibiscus leaves turn yellow due to drought stress, overwatering, too much nitrogen or phosphorous in the soil, sudden temperature changes, and a lack of direct sunlight.
• Drought stress due to sandy soils, excess wind, and underwatering can cause hibiscus leaves to turn yellow, shrivel up, and drop off. Revive the hibiscus by watering more regularly, applying mulch, and spraying the leaves with a mist sprayer.
• Hibiscus requires full sun to grow well and stay healthy. Too much shade causes hibiscuses to turn yellow, drop leaves, and display fewer flowers.
• To revive hibiscus, recreate the conditions in which they thrive in their native habitat with full sun, lots of moisture, good drainage, and nutrient-rich soil.