I'm sure someone out there can help me with this?? Mike maybe??
I have been trying to grow these for some years now and never had them come back until last year. Sadly however i moved before i even seen a flower.. My big move from Canada to Alabama!! Of course once i got here i again for the 4th year in a row started some red star seeds.. Now that the temps are coming to an end and plants are starting to die/ go dormant for the winter, hubby and i made a greenhouse for some of our tropicals.. Are red stars the same as other hardy hibiscus' and need a dormant stage or can they just keep growing??
any advice would be helpful as hopefully this is my first plant i will see flowers from..
thanks jen
Red Texas Star
They are herbaceous and will die back for the winter, so I would leave them outside rather than bringing them into the greenhouse.
Jen,
Thank you for volunteering to join my Warrior Alabama Yellow Hibiscus project. The Warrior Yellow team leader runs a native plant nursery near Warrior Alabama which I am sure you will find interesting as he is a big Hibiscus fan. What! You don’t know about the Warrior Yellow project, you are about to find out. Your first mission assignment is to read the second post in this thread:
Hibiscus "Giant Yellow" Identification (circa 1900)
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1169716/
I have additional information not referenced in this post including 120 year old supporting documentation and photographs from Harvard University. The hardy Yellow Hibiscus is real and you now live 30 miles from ground zero. Congratulations, now all you have to do is find the Yellow Hibiscus which has been lost for 120 years..
I am growing Hibiscus coccineus (Texas Red Star) and Hibiscus grandiflorus in Zone 6b so you should have no difficulty in Zone 7b. North American Hibiscus must go through a cold cycle so don’t bring the plants into a greenhouse. This past winter I was growing Hibiscus Lord Baltimore indoors and it didn’t end well because I disrupted the plants cold/warm cycle. Some of the roots are still alive and I hope to rest their cycle this winter.
I now have the seeds of many North American natives. Would you like a collection of seeds?
Mike
Mike i would be more then excited to grow any hibiscus you could spare.. PM me your address and i'll send you postage :)
I'm only about 30 min drive from warrior and I'll tell you theres no yellow here, that i've seen.. Believe me if i've seen one i would own it.. If ever one is found i'll be in line.. I also seen your post on that new blue hibiscus and if that is ever available to us, i to will want one of those also..
I had a few hardy hibiscus back in canada but sadly had to leave them behind. I do have a few seeds from some that i grew, and of course i was lucky to still have the texas star seeds.. I plan to have a nice collection again by next summer, but being that i moved here in july i only planted a few that i knew wouldn't flower until the fallowing year, oh and i picked up two cranberry crush plants cause they dont seed and i've always liked them..
I wanted to try to cross them and see if i ever got anything different, but last summer i had a baby and was pretty busy. Then like i said this summer i moved so never got a flower before i moved.. Now this summer i will have a new born again, so maybe if i can find a few min we'll see what i can do..
Ok my last question i promise, I have the texas stars as well as cranberry crush in pots, only cause were renting and these are coming with me this time when we move :).. Where is the best place to keep them?? I had some a few years ago in pots and they just rotted i think from the water build up in the pots. I was thinking to just cover the pots with a piece of wood, but would this be to dry?? I could put them under a wood porch where they could get some water but hopefully not to much.. Any thoughts??