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10 Mar 13 Valerie Minniss (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Trying to find a cure for my rosella plants wilting - we have had very very wet and humid weather, so put it down to that and have been trimming back the wilted leaves and cultivating around the roots to aerate them, seems one plant has new shoots. Or could it be nematodes - don't understand much about them - then again the scrub-turkey and quail scratching around them could have exposed the roots ??? Any advice welcome. Cannot seem to find anything helpful in the myriad of books and web-sites I have been scouring over the last week.

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02 Mar 20 Stephen Young (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

The wilting may be due to a fungal infection in the soil. The fungus enters the roots and into the plants stems then into the leaves. The wilting is a sign of stress. There are several causes of stress such as too much water or not enough, and poorly drained or compacted soil. You need to tackle the problem as soon as the wilting starts. If the plant is in full sun then the heat places the fungi infected plant under more stress. Place some shade over the plant such as an old umbrella for a start or, if possible, remove the plant and place it into the shade. Pick off the yellow leaves so that the plant does not waste energy in causing them to drop off. Leave the green wilting leaves alone. Treat the plant with an appropriate fungicide. If you leave the plant in the ground you might consider using worm casting. You could call a garden club that has hibiscus enthusiasts to seek advice.

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21 Mar 13 Pete (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

One thing I have found about growing Rosella fruit is that the bushes need to be in very well draining soil - otherwise you will get wilting/rotting. We have a very sandy soil type and our plants just love it.

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