Thanks for your replies. The plants are in a family room which is adjacent to the kitchen where there are sometimes fruits in the fruit bowl. However, the distance is at least ten or more feet. Yes, as someone asked before - this has been going on for years! I did ONCE get one of my plants to bloom. It was while it was outside for the summer where incidentally, it was watered often because it was in the path of the automatic sprinklers. It probably also got watered with 20-20-20 as my kids help me with those types of chores are are not particulary discerning. There are no smokers in the house and the kitchen is well ventilated with a powerful axhaust fan. In thinking about this some more, I feel that the watering and feeding may be the issue. I use an all purpose plant food at a diluted strength. Can someone recommend a proper fertilizer and how often to use it? It seems as though the plant has just enough energy to set buds, but not enough to mature them. Also, in reading other posts I'm beginning to think that some of the plants I have are not planted in the proper medium. As I said above, the ones I got from a neighbor are in something more like dirt rather than bark or moss. I will work on getting some pictures up this afternoon. Thank you to each of you for your replies.

For the 1st question, it could be they reacted negatively (moreso than the others) to a sudden change in their environment (too much or too little water, too hot then too cold, etc). Alternately, there is a bug that can sometimes get into the bud and that aborts the bloom. As for the 2nd part - it could be that either the flowers were not pollinated (if no bees, etc., are around, then you'd have to do it yourself) or that variety produces flowers that are sterile and won't produce seed even if pollinated.

Hibiscus dropping buds is a sign of stress. I am not sure what kind of stress the plant is in, but that is for you to figure out :) In my mind, indoor plants maybe getting too less light and/or being pestered by insects like spider mites. If the hibiscus are more than a year old, they will bud and flower under the right conditions. Please check your fertilizer to ensure that it is not hurting the hibiscus, and also that it is applied at the correct dosage. Check your watering habits also, because the transpiration through leaves is different indoors from outdoors. A good place to do research on growing hibiscus is Charles Black's website. BTW, I am in no way related or profit from Charles Black or his business. Good luck.

The majority of hibiscus are 1 day blooms. Some doubles will last a second day. Take heart in the abundance of blooms to make up for the length of time of a given bloom. I brought in two last winter, so far I will bring in 4 this year. Just love the colors and show they provide. Reminds me of the 10 years I spent in Hawaii. Enjoy and Happy Growing David