How to Treat Yellow Spots on Hibiscus: Hibiscus Diseases & Pests

Hibiscus maintenance means not only pruning or mulching around the plant, but also considering the most common hibiscus diseases & pests in order to prevent them. These are the following:

hibiscus pests:
- chewing insects (beetles, snails, slugs, grasshoppers, katydids);
- sucking insects (green vegetable bug, spider mites (white spot or chlorosis of the leaves), fluffy or powdery mealy bugs (sooty mould), aphid (misshapen buds);
- other pests (gall midges (leave eggs in flower buds), Japanese beetle, hibiscus beetle);

hibiscus diseases:
- phytophthora (soil-borne wilt disease);
- collar/sclerotina rot (stems discoloration);
- fungal disease;
- yellowing (yellow leaf spots at the base of stems and branches, caused by over-feeding with chemical fertilizers or over-watering (suspend both, if needed), iron or magnesium deficiency);
sparse/deformed & sickly foliage;
- crinkled leaves;
- frost damage;
- lawn encroachment;
- lichen/ants;
- poor flowering.