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Hibiscus? Roselle!

Judith Browning

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posted 7 months ago

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another happy surprise in my 'going to seed' flower mix!

Is it hibiscus?
might it make seed this late in the year?
I assume an annual?

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greg mosser

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posted 7 months ago

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looks like maybe roselle? the calyxes around the flowers are used for tea, either dried or fresh.

Anne Miller

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posted 7 months ago

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Hibiscus or maybe a hollyhock.

I believe hibiscus would not be cold hardy though hollyhock would be cold hardy and perennial.

Lucky you, either way.

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Anne Miller

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posted 7 months ago

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Greg knows a lot more about plants than I do though the leaves look wrong for roselle:

Roselle has a 3 to 4 month growing cycle and does well in zones 7 through 10. Those living in zones 6 and lower would have difficulty as it is a plant that requires more tropical environments to survive.

https://growhoss.com/blogs/growing-guides/roselle

Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
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Tereza Okava

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posted 7 months ago

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I would agree, roselle (hibiscus sabdariffa), the lobed leaves and calyx. there are a gazillion varieties.
And I also agree, even here in 9b it's hard to make it grow. My uncle in zone 10, his are enormous bushes that can take over an entire lot. some years i have better luck than others!

Judith Browning

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posted 7 months ago

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Roselle it is!
Any advice on harvest?
we'll have a frost in the next two weeks so I doubt I get seed but would like to use the calyx and flowers and leaves if possible.

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M Ljin

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posted 7 months ago

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Hibiscus does grow in cold climates. I have seen both in the wild in Massachusetts, as well as in gardens both there and here: swamp rose mallow.They are a good cordage plant too. https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/hibiscus/moscheutos/

And don’t forget Rose of Sharon is a hibiscus and very cold hardy; I have seen them around houses here! https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/hibiscus/syriacus/

There supposedly is an annual sort too, I have not seen. https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/hibiscus/trionum/

Then there are probably many that grow in other parts too…

Edit: oh! Roselle is also in the hibiscus genus. Maybe some plants are not so much referred to by that name particularly?

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Nathanael Szobody

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posted 4 months ago

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Judith, did you ever get to harvest? I suppose I'm too late. Calix and leaves can be used for tea. Best if dried out first, but a short boil will brew the fresh ones nicely too.

-Nathanael

Judith Browning

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posted 4 months ago

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Nathanael Szobody wrote:Judith, did you ever get to harvest? I suppose I'm too late. Calix and leaves can be used for tea. Best if dried out first, but a short boil will brew the fresh ones nicely too.

We did pick a few calix for a very nice tea but I had hopes we might get some seed so left most of the flowers. I even dug one and brought it inside to finish up and there are what might be seed pods but I really don't know what the seeds look like as I didn't know I planted them in the first place😏

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"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
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Jill Dyer

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posted 4 months ago

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Australia has Hibiscus sabdariffa which looks a lot like the one in your pictures, Judith. Here fruits (?calyses) are picked and used to make jam if there is ever a time when there is enough - I'd mix with apple if only a few fruits available.

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Andy Ze

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posted 4 months ago

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I like to snack on the calyxes like popcorn. Nice and tart. From what I've read, the whole plant is edible.

Nathanael Szobody

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posted 4 months ago

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Judith Browning wrote:
We did pick a few calix for a very nice tea but I had hopes we might get some seed so left most of the flowers. I even dug one and brought it inside to finish up and there are what might be seed pods but I really don't know what the seeds look like as I didn't know I planted them in the first place😏

Here are seeds and a pod

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-Nathanael

Judith Browning

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posted 4 months ago

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Nathanael,
thanks for the photo!
....I opened the three buds from the plant I brought indoors and it looks like I have seed!
The buds are sticky and kind of sparkly as though the sugars? have come to the surface.

The plant has been a back room since before first frost here and really has had no direct sun nor water....I guess I won't know if the seed has matured until planting time.

I think both the buds and seeds look similar to yours but not identical?

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Nathanael Szobody

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posted 4 months ago

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Very nice! The small brown ones are not fully developed, but the plump gray ones look like they might be viable :-)

-Nathanael

Jen Fulkerson

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posted 1 month ago

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this is year 2 for me. It did grow last year, but it wasn't very impressive. I thought I did something wrong, but maybe it's my climate, I live in zone 9B Northern California.

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” — Abraham Lincoln

Tereza Okava

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posted 1 month ago

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man, I hear you!!
i started maybe 8 seeds. Three came up and one lived long enough to get above knee high.
We are probably 2 weeks from the first cold snap of fall (from the appearance of buds on my shiso plants and the persimmons that are just turning ripe) and the survivor is JUUUUUST starting to get the first buds. Plus we had a hotter than usual summer!! I don't know what to think, aside from I won't waste my time with this plant again next year. My experience (with roselle as well as okra) seems to be that it's the amount of sunlight that we get, not heat, and when it's rainy we just don't get enough sun to get good production of these plants. I don't know what else to think. (we also didn't get the usual glut of cheap okra at the local markets either this summer).

Joao Winckler

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posted 1 month ago

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Roselle is one of those plants that really punishes you for not being in the tropics. I tried it once in a polytunnel and it just sat there looking miserable until about September, then finally started budding right as the first cold snap hit. Never again. Okra does the same thing for me, just refuses to commit until it's too late.

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Jen Fulkerson

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posted 2 days ago

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I want to try again. I planted 4 seeds, and two germinated. I potted them up, and put them in the greenhouse. One eventually died, and the other doesn't look well. To be fair nothing did well in the greenhouse this year. Mostly my fault. I just haven't (I'm struggling to find the right words) I don't know, it been more of a chore instead of fun like normal. it's just an off year for me I guess. So my lack of attention, and the very strange weather which meant March was recorded breaking highs like summer then we were back to normal weather in April. The greenhouse could be 111 in the day and mid to low 40s at night. I still haven't bought shade cloth for it. Anything that managed to survive this year deserves a medal.
It's warm now, and I'm hearing all of you say what I experienced that it seems to bloom in late fall I'm hoping I can plant it by seed directly on the ground. The one I grew last year was given to me in a pot about 12" tall, so I have no idea if it will work. Has anyone direct sow roselle? Please let me know how it went. Thanks

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Tereza Okava

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posted 2 days ago

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Amazingly we have had two frosts since I wrote the last thing above. The one roselle that made it to maturity is still alive with no signs of damage and has twice as many buds as it did before. I don't know what to think.
Next year I will try sowing seeds indoors on a heat mat (going to do that with peppers too) and then maybe we'll see how far it goes.

Tereza Okava

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posted 2 days ago

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Jen Fulkerson wrote:Has anyone direct sow roselle? Please let me know how it went. Thanks

I can only get seeds, and all I can tell you is that it took forever for them to germinate. If you put it directly in the ground I guess just cover it with something so you don't pull it out by accident and be patient?
(I hear you on the 'garden blerg' this year. Some years are harder than others in my experience. This year seems to have been pretty hard on everyone in some way or another...)

Judith Browning

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posted 1 day ago

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Has anyone direct sow roselle? Please let me know how it went. Thanks

Jen, I did this unknowingly when I sowed a packet of 'Going to Seed' seed mixes...the ID is why I began this thread.
It did well without much care but our season isn't really long enough...I saved a very few maybe viable seeds and this time planted in a flat...nothing yet.

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

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