I have a Hibiscus Plant for two years which I had inside the house. I live in Canada and this summer I put it outside. I enjoyed the beautiful daily flowers. But now the temperature is dropping and although it still has blooms, they are taking longer to open. I took it inside today and placed it in the bathtub and sprayed it with a mixture of insecticidal soap and water as I noticed some assorted teeny insects and a bit of white mealy?bug stuff - as I wish to bring it in, but am worried because of my other indoor plants which are very very healthy with no bugs at all. I placed my Hibiscus in a large bag and sealed it and put it on the balcony. Do I need to rinse the soap off - and if yes, how long do I leave it on? Is it ok to be in a sealed bag.... (I thought it may be a bit warmer as it is approx. 50degrees now, near noontime, but in the evenings it gets cooler, I.e. Between 32 and 40). At what temperature do I need to bring my plant indoors? Is it ok to cut it down now? Are there insects in the soil and if yes, can I spray the soap on top also? Thanks. I appreciate any advice and suggestions!

Insecticidal soap is a contact insecticide, i.e. it works only when sprayed directly on the insect. The soap won't work after it dries. It makes no difference to efficacy whether it is rinsed off, and soap is safe around humans, so it makes no difference for human safety. http://www.ladybug.uconn.edu/factsheets/tp_05_insecticidalsoap.html (Click here for UConn fact sheet.)

Many hibiscus are tropical plants and won't do well if frost conditions exist or the soil freezes. Frost may kill the top of the plant, but the plant can grow back from the roots, as long as the roots survive the cold temps. 45 degrees Fahrenheit is perhaps a lower limit of exposure. http://www.ehow.com/info_8475568_safe-keep-hibiscus-outside.html (Click here for an eHow.com article on hibiscus.)

I inserted the internet links wrong. Here are the internet links again.

http://www.ladybug.uconn.edu/factsheets/tp_05_insecticidalsoap.html

http://www.ehow.com/info_8475568_safe-keep-hibiscus-outside.html

Oops, I did it again. These should be clickable:

http://www.ladybug.uconn.edu/factsheets/tp_05_insecticidalsoap.html

http://www.ehow.com/info_8475568_safe-keep-hibiscus-outside.html

Whatever happened to the edit answer feature?