Failing Hibiscus. What now?

[KatiLemons]

So I had a REALLY nice Hibiscus that has been in Levi's cage since April and now it isn't doin so hot I'm gonna be getting a new Cham so i have to get a plant for her cage aswell so I was wondering what is a really hardy plant that I looks good. I would also like to get something that he can eat aswell if he so chooses to !

 

[mbondy]

Get a Schleffera (umbrella plant), you can get them for around $10 at Home Depot. They are pretty dumb proof and I haven't had any problems with them. I also have Ficus which isn't doing too hot with all the watering, but my Schleffera is doing great!! It's also an awesome plants for babies as it's so thick.

 

[JohnnyD]

I rotate my hibiscus plants outside into the sun to rejuvenate them.

 

[AESara]

Hibiscus are pretty hardy plants in my experience. I've also had success just moving them out into the sun for a while.

Edit: I also agree that you might want to try a schefflera. They are inexpensive and very easy to care for. The same applies for them: if they're not looking too hot in the cage, take them out for some sunlight. Other than that, make sure they aren't drying out.

 

[PeriTanz]

Pathos is the most tolerant. schefflera and ficus work also. ficus can be more tricky. but they are all hardy.

 

[AZJ0SH]

Get a Schleffera (umbrella plant), you can get them for around $10 at Home Depot. They are pretty dumb proof and I haven't had any problems with them. I also have Ficus which isn't doing too hot with all the watering, but my Schleffera is doing great!! It's also an awesome plants for babies as it's so thick.

I wouldn't say so, I am having a hell of a time keeping my schleffera alive.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Schlefferas get overwatered really easily. Mixing a lot of sand in with their dirt helps a ton with drainage. I went through several big schlefferas before figuring that one out...

Hibiscus are just impossible to keep alive indoors imo unless you have a few and rotate them outside for real sun.

Pothos I'd say is the hardiest.

 

[AZJ0SH]

Schlefferas get overwatered really easily. Mixing a lot of sand in with their dirt helps a ton with drainage. I went through several big schlefferas before figuring that one out...

Hibiscus are just impossible to keep alive indoors imo unless you have a few and rotate them outside for real sun.

Pothos I'd say is the hardiest.

That might be my problem, I had to change out all the dirt a few weeks ago cause the organic soil I was using had a lot of "mulch" in it that basically turned my planter into a mud hole, so I pulled out all the dirt and made my own soil mixture of pure soil and sand and it's doing much better with the amount of water being retained, but my plant is still "drooping" down.

I saw Ziggy go to bed on a branch last night, by morning he was facing straight down because the branch dropped so much.

I am looking for new plants this week, I might just get another schleffera and add some new ones in and replace the old ones.

 

[ckmazdaspeed3]

So I was going to wait to post pics of my homemade cage (I still need to fill it out, get a more permanent feeder cup and get some drainage holes put in and some river rocks on the bottom... oh, and a more attactive pot ) but, I think it shows how well a pothos works for these cages when combined with branches. The best part was, this was in the lowes close out section for $4 because it had grown lengthy and "unattractive", but it looks SO MUCH better than my $10 "attractive" pothos in my males cage. Once the vines grow and it covers the longer branches, I think it will look spectacular.

Anyway, besides being easy and safe, they just wrap around dead branches so well that I'm actually debating whether I want an umbrella tree or if I just want to find bigger branches and let it grow over them.

Anyway, here is a pic:

 

[KatiLemons]

I see you have 3 domes but what about your reptisun 5.0 hood? I also think that you need to add some more height to your plants aswell. Chameleons are arboreal reptiles which means they live in the trees. They like to be really high up.


So what about adding plants with color? I really like the look of fushcia but haven't really heard much about people using it on here! Anyone have experience with it good ir bad?

 

[sallyb]

I know what you mean - I have tried several hibi`s in Gizzy`s house and I just cannot get them to live longer than a few months. I have now found the perfect solution - Take wilting Hibiscus from the viv, throw on floor, jump up and down on said Hibiscus until it is mere pink pulp, scoop up and thrown in the nearest bin It doesn`t help the viv, but it sure makes me feel better, lol.

Failing this though, I agree with everyone else, taking it into the sun a while to rejuvenate seems to work well. Perhaps if you got another one you could alternate them.

 

[ckmazdaspeed3]

Hard to tell, butthe middle one is the repti 5.0. I have 3 fixtures but I had no idea how much heat a grow bulb would produce, so because it gives her about 83 or so at the top of the branches, I figure I'm fine... Not sure how I'll cool it down when I add bigger branches.

I will add height soon, but she is very small still (you can see her to the right of the food dish... Which has been replaced for an opaque one), and I think that 26" of height is decent for her (for now, not down the road). I just think it looks smaller cuz it's a decent sized cage.

I would love some ideas for some color too, because I will not do fake plants... A botanist needs to make a hibiscus hybrid/cross/clone that can flourish indoors! Because when you live in a continental climate, you don't have the option of taking it outdoors to revive in the winter

 

[AMGChams]

I wouldn't say so, I am having a hell of a time keeping my schleffera alive.

I killed my schleffera via over watering due to the drip system ... plus my cham enjoyed eating the leaves.

 

[Helios]

I have a split leaf philodendron that works amazing for my Cham, the water doesn't seem to bother it much and also it does well with the light levels, now I have read one species is poisonous to Chams and the other one I think is safe but I could be wrong now keep in mind this is not a plant your Cham really can eat if they want to I probably wouldn't use it if I had a veiled.
Here is the one I have and like

 

[Helios]

Here is the one that isn't supposed to be good

 

[mbondy]

I wouldn't say so, I am having a hell of a time keeping my schleffera alive.

I have two and don't have a problem. I also have montane species which require more water then panthers and veileds, just depends on your temps and humidity as well. I have zero problems, have had both plants for months now. Just depends.

 

[Montium]

Most chameleon enclosures still do not provide enough light for hibiscus. As was also mentioned you need fast draining soil to keep from getting root rot in your plants.

 

[KatiLemons]

I have read a bit about grow lights and I think that I am gonna get a 6500k CF bulb for both cages and then maybe repot my large hibisucus in half sand and half organic soil.
I actually went and got a Hibiscus Luna! I put that in my small cage. I have never seen them before but I figure its ok cause its from the Hibiscus line. I also wanted to say thank you for all the great input!

 

[sandrachameleon]

IMHO Pothos is the hardiest. Tolerates low light, bright light, sopping wet soil, damp soil, even completly dry soil for fairly lengthy periods, heck even NO soil (jar of water). Tolerates wide temperature ranges (more than your chameleon). Very little need for fertilizer. Tolerates having as much as 60% of its leaves eaten before it gets mad. If it gets too big, prune it and start new plants from the cuttings just by putting the ends in a jar of water.

 

[seanUTD]

So I had a REALLY nice Hibiscus that has been in Levi's cage since April and now it isn't doin so hot I'm gonna be getting a new Cham so i have to get a plant for her cage aswell so I was wondering what is a really hardy plant that I looks good. I would also like to get something that he can eat aswell if he so chooses to !

I will tell you grasshopper the secret of hibiscus I had one and I live in Texas and have it OUTSIDE and it's still surviving... Truth of the matter is it takes a LOT of water and a broad amount of light not just from the UVB to make it grow but what I found is that under a reptiglo LINEAR, it wouldn't grow, no idea why, just wouldn't but when I put a reptisun compact over it... BOOM!.... And to add to it I put a daylight grow light at the T18 rating and it was flourishing.... It also helped that I hooked up my dripper to constantly drip into the base. The problem with these plants is the fact that the amounts of light they require is much higher than the other plants... I had mine even blooming when I did all this... Just thought I would throw some help out there I would be carful though once you add as much light as I did, mixed with the amount of water, you get the very common hibiscus killer issue which can be dangerous to your cham which is what made me take it out of the cage.... Aphids.... They grow by the MILLIONS when the plant is in ample growth...