Chinese hibiscus
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Middling It gives warning, with time to act.
Also called blacking plant, China rose, Chinese rose mallow, garden hibiscus, Hawaian hibiscus, HIbiscus, Malabar rose, rose of China, shoe flower, shoe-black and shoe-black plant.
Toxicity is partly unassessed
- Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
- Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
- Not assessed for people. RHS publishes no harm statement for this plant. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
What the sources say about its care
Sources file this plant under other names: Hibiscus x rosa-sinensis (RHS). Citations below point at the name its source uses.
- Light
- High light 150–1000 fcClemson Extension · read 13 September 2026Full sun, Partial shadeRHS, filed as Hibiscus x rosa-sinensis · read 13 September 2026
- Water
- Well-drainedRHS, filed as Hibiscus x rosa-sinensis · read 13 September 2026
- Humidity
No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.
ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026- Temperature
How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.
H1B — 10–15°C 10–15 °CRHS · read 13 September 2026- Soil
- Loam; pH Acid or NeutralRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to cats
- Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to dogs
- Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Harmful to people
- No statement of harm to people is published for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.RHS · read 13 September 2026
How it usually goes wrong
- Brown brittle margins with a green centre
A narrow dry border on the Chinese hibiscus, often with a faint yellow line against the healthy tissue. It appears on several leaves at once rather than spreading from one.
Transpiration rises as the air dries, and the tissue furthest from a vein loses first. Penn State Extension notes there is no single humidity figure that suits every indoor plant, which is why this site publishes a range rather than a number.
Telling it apart: Look at the pot rim and the soil surface. A white crust points at a build-up from tap water or feed rather than at the air. Penn State also reports misting and pebble trays do little to the humidity around a plant.
Penn State ExtensionDiagnose brown tips and edges on this Chinese hibiscus- Faded, yellow-white areas on the sunny side of the plant
The damage on the Chinese hibiscus faces one way. Turn the pot round and the other side is clean.
Its source names full sun or partial shade, so the light itself is not the fault. Foliage that formed in a dimmer room is thinner than foliage grown in sun, and the side turned suddenly to strong light bleaches before it can adjust.
Telling it apart: Whether shaded parts are clean. Scorch follows the light exactly; a disease does not care where the sun fell.
RHSDiagnose yellowing leaves on this Chinese hibiscus- Leaves but no flowers
The Chinese hibiscus flowered well at first, then less each season, while its leaves stayed healthy and new stems grew longer.
Its source places it in full sun, partial shade. Flowers cost more than leaves, and a plant kept darker than that keeps growing leaves while it builds few buds or none.
Telling it apart: Whether the stems have stretched. Leafy, stretched growth with no buds points at light; normal spacing points at timing, feeding or a season it has not had.
RHSDiagnose no flowers or dropped buds on this Chinese hibiscus- Leaves hang and feel thin between the fingers
Posture goes before colour. A thirsty Chinese hibiscus looks deflated rather than diseased, and the compost has shrunk away from the side of the pot.
Stored water is spent before the plant gives up anything else, and the tissue creases as it empties. Its source describes well-drained soil, which assumes the store is refilled.
Telling it apart: Push a finger two inches in. Dry all the way down points at thirst; damp points somewhere else.
RHSDiagnose leggy growth on this Chinese hibiscus
Not sure which it is? Ask the diagnosis questions for Chinese hibiscus.
Routine care
- Propagation
- Stem cuttings are used to propagate it.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026In spring sow seed at 13-18°C, i.e. 55-64°F, or in summer take semi-ripe cuttings.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pruning
- In early spring, cut back to about half its height to promote compact growth.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Pruning group 9: evergreen shrubs needing little or no routine pruning.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pests and diseases
- When grown under glass, glasshouse whitefly, mealybugs, scale insects and aphids can occur. Diseases: powdery mildews and, rarely, honey fungus.RHS · read 13 September 2026
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Photographs
About the plant
- Native range
- as a cultigen derived from artificial hybrids in the S. PacificWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP, filed as Hibiscus × rosa-sinensis · read 13 September 2026AsiaNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026VanuatuRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Climate
- seasonally dry tropicalWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP, filed as Hibiscus × rosa-sinensis · read 13 September 2026
- Growth form
- shrubWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP, filed as Hibiscus × rosa-sinensis · read 13 September 2026Shrub; habit erectNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Bushy (evergreen)RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Size
- Height 48–120 in; width 60–96 inNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Height 1-1.5 metres; spread 0.5-1 metres after 5–10 yearsRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Flowering
- Flowers gold/yellow, pink, red/burgundy, white; blooms in fall, spring, summerNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Flowers orange in summer; red in summer; white in summer; yellow in summerRHS · read 13 September 2026
More of the Malvaceae family
Plants with similar care
African violetBrown tips on the newest leaves first
Bigleaf hydrangeaA thin dry rim that crumbles between the fingers
Bird of paradiseCrisp margins that appear in winter
Busy LizzieBrown brittle margins with a green centre
Calla lilyEdges of the leaves brown while the middle stays sound
CamelliaBrown brittle margins with a green centre
Sources
- ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Clemson Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- RHS · read 13 September 2026
What this does not cover
The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.
Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.
If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.