first attempt at growing hibiscus from seed

Good gracious, I hate that when it comes to neighbors that are selfish, and not care enough for other's well being. I've no idea how to deal with those folks, nor do I know what the law requirements are. So sorry Smockette; I hope some how it will all work out.
Ella, I've the formosian seeds by the handful, someone was generous enough to share them with me. But I didn't sow them in the Falls, thus I missed out a season. They're refrigerated, thus I hope they're still viable. My friend has sown some, and hers are now appear "grass-like" according to hers a couple of weeks ago. Apparently she sow them in pots before she transplant them out. These lilies could grow up to be quite tall, so we need shelter them from heat, and wind, where my gardening space is limited. As far as the poppies, I understand they take it quite well when sow in open field. They are not fussy, thrive on neglect. Seeds needs sunlight to germinate. Both seeds will need to be sown in the Fall, so it's now time to have them.

Hi all, I just wanted you to see my mother texas star in bloom, they are about 7', and getting started.

I think my seedlings are ready to go in the ground, still this is a first, from seed to planting out, and I don't want to make any "hasty" dicissions, the temps are going to get high, and dry yet, but I'm dying to see them growing.what do you think? Plant, or hold? I have both the red, and the white, to set out;I made a trade for the white, and hope my seeds are doing fine for those who got them.BTW, I still have the red seeds lmk. Mike

Here is my seedlings

Mike, that's another unusal shade of "red" that I see. The big burgundy shade wasn't my fav. but yours? oooohhhh ahhhhh!
BTW; how are these differ to that of swamp mallow? I saw a pic. of it on DGer's posted this AM by her Waterlily's pond. That was quite interesting too.

Lilly_love, swamp mallow is more like a hollyhoch, than a hibiscus.The shade of red does not look as RED, as they are on the plant, must be the lighting, I'll try again to show you the more "true" color.(every one needs a flower to "look up" to)

This message was edited Jul 3, 2007 6:12 PM

Mike,
That color is beautiful, I has a hint of orange to it? I know pics. doesn't come out to its true coloring sometimes due to light sources, time of day ect.
Ella, remember asking me whether my offspring Hib. has a little pink tint? Wow, girlfriend, you've sharp vision. I couldn't see it, but when the flower fades I then saw the pink-tint more readily. It's there.
Kim

Mike your momma plants are beautiful. I am sittign here drooling that phot so gorgeous.

With the drought you and I have had , I would either get them in the ground and some mulch aroudn them, or put them in no small than a five gallon pot. Will save ya a watering and won't take logn fr the seedlign roots to fil out the pot.

I have my Luna Whites in thre e gallons and have to water twice a day. Early in the morning and late in the evening.If I didn't have the sheet cover over them, and eve sometime s with it. I go out in the afternoon and don't water the plant at all but water the pot. Cools the temps down on the roots real uick and helps keep the plants from stressign and wilting.

Kim.... I thought your s had a blush to it. I think the blushe s are pretty. Gives it more of a lady like quality . : )

I hear that, lol.

Lily, you asked about the mallows - I think mallows are bigger, fuller petals. Most of the ones we have @ the Farm are huge flowers. Petals are fuller, more sorta kinda round. (Texas lingo)
Tx Stars have only 5 petals that look more like a partial hrglass. AND any good pix makes you think the inner, thin part of the petal almost looks 'plastic', for lack of a better word, like your red! Your eyes tell you to touch them to prove that they are real.
My vote is to plant them babies!!! Let them get a good root system going b4 it gets cold! With a good blanket of pine straw or leaves, they will be blooming fr 7' next yr!
I just started some more Whites Sunday & they are already a half inch tall!!! No exaggeration fr this Texan! Got a few white seeds left but no reds! Want to swap a few?
Anything I have over here has to be 6-7' tall to keep my dumb teenage deer fr eating it!!! lol

Smockett; at this time I have no mature seedpod of my Pink hib. But planned on having some by the season ends. I'll be glad to send you some then. But, you'd be better off with a dormant plant from its parent plant, since we can't be certain it would turns out either pink or white. One of my observation to add; the offsprings' flowers are not as big as the parent's.
Ella, is that typical of a new plant with its first year's performance? Since I'm new to the mentioned seedlings, and watching its progress.

Mike the sappling that I dug up for you. It withered in a small pot that I kept it. It dropped all the leaves, but guess what? It's making new leaves, has I known that, I'd squeezed it in the package for you. lol
Tough little thing, I dare say.

Smockette... Dmail me your addy. I have a few of the Red seeds left, be glad to send ya. LOL you and your teenagers. : ) Have a friend who got tired of havign their garden munche d daily, they have three who come just about like clockwork in the afternoon. They finally got one of them roudn metal tubs and put it a bit back from their gardens and evreyday go out and fill corn in it for them. The deer stil coem and munch on and off out of the garden, but have cut way back since they got a feeding trough now. I'd tell ya do the same, but then you'd probably not only have them but every teenagers in town come partyign at your hous e when yoru back was turned. heheheheheheh : )

Lily Love... I think it debatable. I have only had one mallow , so I don't really know anythign about them. A friend saw it and home it went with her. The first year the blooms were rather small , but thte second year when I sa w it blooming at her house it was lot s bigger. I have seen plants that should be smaller turn out huge and visa versa and everythign in between.

Smockette, I have what looks like a lunch sack, Ga. talk, full of these red seeds, and will be glad to send you a heaping helping, I know Ella, and I both want some white, because they are hard to find around here.I'll get your addy, and send you some seeds, and if you would be so kind to share with Ella, and myself some white, we'll all be a family. Thank you much. Mike

here ya go. A little peek at one of the Luna white seed pods emerging. Won't be too much longer and they will be ready to share. : )

and this little guy is playing guard sog a few feet away on the top of another hibiscus which will be surpris e blooms for me. : )

In fact he holding on to and guarding the hibiscus bud right there in the front of the pic. Big job for such a little baby. he bene sittign there for two days in the exact same spot since I first discovere d him.

Now you've got a gardener's helper!!! Good for you starlight!

Mike, have you planted those seedling already , have you thought about sinking pot and all?? I am a good friend of Ella's and I am the one that put mine in the ground and if mother nature is not kind with the rain well make sure you keep them watered. the ones i have in pots get a good swiming pool soak , one of the small ones i keep for watering my plants and went off for 3 days came home and my red one's where blooming , They seem to love the water. I don't know if ella has the picture I sent to her on hand or not but she can show you my bloom . I am trying to get more started from seed and if I am lucky they will go in the ground in Sept. and do there stuff . Another friend of mine had one last year that looked different than mine and i took a cutting and put in pot of potting soil and it took just fine . guess i could be called the Queen of forgetting which pot i stuck it in LOL. But with no rain and watering pots I love my little pool so they can have a soak bath and they seem to like it to. My friends didn't come back this year so therefore he is wondering where the one I rooted off his is , well it is hiding out and gonna show it's stuff anyday now.
I have wondered if you have different types in your yard if the busy bees would come up with something awesome like the white , which is one I am dying to see . I would make sure if i put in the ground they where getting part sun and part shade . That way they are not having to deal with all the heat all day . You should be seeing blooms next year for sure.
I think Trust Mother Nature to care for her own and she will. If you put in ground ole rule of thumb is water them in real well , I always put water in my hole and then put dirt back to it and then top water .
Good Luck,
Carolyn

Thanks Carolyn, I haven't put mine in the ground yet, but have moved them to get use to the sun, and are able to take full sun in the pot. I think I need to put the plants in a larger pot, or in the ground.They have out grown their 1 Qt. pots, and you came through just in time.Now I think I will put them in Gal. pots, and in the ground in Sept., I am more concerned about their health, than getting them to bloom right away.
I have , besides the red texas, lady baltimore(2), fantasia (2), and have been trying to grow the confederate rose, and I have lost all 3 from blight, of some sort.The problem with me is, I have always learned by doing, and that method of teaching gives you the test first, then the lesson, but that way you don't forget.
Have you been drought strickened too?If so, you can understand why I am afrade to plant in the ground.I like the swmming pool idea, and have a little one, my grand daughter out grew, and TODAY, I will put it to good use. Mike

Mike here are my Texas Star, they are about six or seven feet tall as well...I just love the way they stand out in the landscape!

Mike, I also notcied your flowers look different than mine...they are more spread out it appears, are mine NOT Texas Star? I would love to have some of your seed, and just see if I can get them to grow in the garden from seed....if you still have some of the red ones.

A closer look at my flower, still can't tell if they are the same, I will try to take a better picture tomorrow....

Janet, I know your hibiscus, but can't remember the whole name, but it has "flimming" in it.Thats a doumb way to leave it, and will try to find it in the mean time.Yes, I have 2 OZ. left of the seeds, and will be glad to send you some, however I'm not so sure about direct sowing, because I have never seen a seedling comming up around the Tx stars.They have had plenty of seeds fall around the area, and all I have is the six mother plants in well composted soil.I grew mine back in Jan. inside, and I have some of the seedlings in pots, of the red that I would spare for you.I think I sowed my seed, along with some white Tx star just to see if my seed was viable, and it is, but don't have the plans for the red that I do for the white.It was a trade from another seed trading forum, and I got bit, he sent me 12 seeds, and I sent him an ounce.Not complaning, I have 8 healthy plants, and plan to contrast the red, and white.

Here is a pic of the texas star:

Forgot that I had posted this already sorry.Note how the 5 fingers are so pronounced, and the bloom is about 10" across.I noticed that the folage looks alike, or near.Funny, but my streght laced neighbor had my folage check out by the drug people, thinking it was something else.She, and her batchlor son are sooo wright, and pure, but their "walk" differs from the "talk",when the son "scoopes the fenced in back yard, he tosses the dog indescressions over the fence, on me, but that is my wilderness between us.I am going to attempt a pic of"the folage"Mike

Janet.... I don't know the cultivars like Mike would, but know what you have isn't the real texas Star. I agre e with Mike too, that I wouldn't direct sow them in the garden. Critter s or birds or anything would walk away with them.

I got mine to germinate in thre e days sowing in the house. Got my seed that Mike so genrously share d some seed with me under the lights and in fact today they getting pricke d out and put in pots and gettign their first take of outside air and with any luck their first taste of rain. Such cute little babies. : )

Carolyn sent me a couple of month sago a coupel of cuttings of this hibiscus that she had rooted. They ha d lost the pakage in the mail for awhile. I potte d them up and have ha d them under a big tre e in the just about toal shade so that they could take ther e time and get established.

I really didn't expect them to do anythign but grow a bit more this year, so I was surprised when it started putting out some tiny pods. For weeks and weeks thos e pod s have tease d me. Been torture I tell ya. Everyday I would go out and it would send just a tiny touch of color. Everyday I would go out and I felt like a physical trainer saying " come on.. come on.. you can do it. flex them petals now. " LOL I wa s even tempted to take the bloom and pry the petals apart just to se e what it wa s hiding.

The first pic gonan be yesterday morning if thing s work out fine. The secodn pic gonna be what I foudn this morning. I danced all over the place. The bloom's not as big as Carolyn's mother plant cuz this it first year here, so I can't wait til next year. Every petal as a cream streak on it.

Carolyn said she thought it was called 'Morning Delight'. Are these what ya call tropical hibiscus? Also, does anybody know if they make seed or have viable pollen? I knwo that if I pollinate it, even self it that it won't come true, but wonder what some babie s might look like if it can be crossed with my Luna White?

Since it a young and new cutting I am kind a afraid to set pods on it, may try and set oen pod on the last bloom it has, but if it has viable pollen then I can use that to pollinate the other type sof hibiscus with.

Carolyn sent me a pic of her Texas Star from her yard to upload for ya to see too Janet. it looks like Mike's and all the other one's I have seen.

Mike... I can feel for ya. We have some not so nice neighbor's in our area too. They drive all of us crazy and when I am gone they will come and steal plants out of the yard. If they aske d I would share. Many a time I have just abotu broken an ankle form not seign oen of their hole s they dug from a grab and run. They really ticke d me of f when they took a load of shasta Daisies I had all roote d and grown for a group of Katrina victims for there yard. Had to start over and make them all new ones. , but ya know. I ignore them and people like that and keep going. Lor d knows I am not perfect, but I try and do the best I can and follow His teachings. I turn them kind a people over to Him and someday they will get their just due. You just hang in there. You got God and His Angels on yoru shoulders. : )

Ok now for the picture show. hopefully : )

First up Carolyn;'s Texas Star. resized and uploadign it for her. It rainign at her place now so she wil be roudn in a bit.

The " tease" that Carolyn sent me.

the " tease" in full her full glory and tu-tu outfit this morning. : ) Wish I could have gotten a better pic of the cream streaks on eahc bloom. it nto easy to try and phot ograph thes e type of hibiscus.

I can see the streaks, of cream.It is abeauty, for sure.How tall does it get?This morning, I noticed that my 2 lady baltimore have buds, and I wasn't expecting them to bloom the first Yr.They like my compost.Mike

Mike... I don't know. Will have to wait til Carolyn can get back on line from the rain and ask her. Sur e hope some of the rain come s this way. GHot down on my knees and thanke d the Lord for the little bit of rain I got last week. After weeks and weeks of drought even the tiny bit I got wa sa Blessing.

I never ha d one liek this before so I learning as I go. I gonna google later and se e if maybe I can find out somethign about it.

How cool!!!!!!! Can't wait to se e the pic s when yours blooms. Isn't it exciting when ya get surprise s that that. : )

If ya liek the one Carolyn sent me, I'll se e if I can get a cuttign of it rooted for ya or have Carolyn start one for ya. Will send it with the things I send ya about the middle of next month. She a sweetheart and a really great friend. She got that magic touch too when it come s to rooting things.

The more you "play" with rooting, the better you get.Nothing I enjoy more, on this earth, than seeing what God created, and enjoying with others, the gift of life in plant form.God did put man in charge of all the plants, and animals, but its up to man to learn of them, and I question some of those in authority, and who put them there.I see many people burning leaves, and I think having leaves is like making money in your yard, not to mention growing plants from cuttings.Its people like you, and I who are really rich, maybe not in cash, but in resources, and ability.Lets keep growing.Mike
I found these at the edge of the grave yard, I mow, and brought them home, and made about 20 out of the one bulb.(resource!)Mike

Wonderful job, Mike!!!
I'm sitting here looking at my newly made flower bed, it was intended for a new Lilies bed. This morning, to my dismay, my two-doors over neighbor chopped off the Yellow Native Azaleas. (yup that one's pic. you've seen). It tallied up to at least a truck load of branches. I almost cry.
When I recover from the shock at those beauties that was severed. I went out and got a few branches, stuck them into my newly made flower bed. And pray, that these cutting will survive.
Kim

This message was edited Jul 18, 2007 11:36 AM

Did you use any kind of rooting harmone?Your best bet would be to put the cuttings in a pot, and the pot in a plastic (clear) garbage bag.I was just reading about your La-kaw vine, or whatever.Looks neat, and quite a conversation peace.I have never heard of them, but if I could grow one, I would.
As for lillies, they are the most easy things in the world to grow from bulb.Let the plant start to die back, and take the bulb, and pretend its an artichoke, and plant each slice.It will take 2 Yrs. that way, but its free.Mike

I scratched the ends of each branch to expose some cambium, then dipped those cutting in a root-tone hormone. Stuck 'em in the ground. I'll just have to sit and wait now.
D-mail me later, for some of thosw La-Kwa seeds. I should have plenty to share. :-)
Kim

Kim, you will need to make a dome over the cuttings, unless you have a shaded stream, where you can put the cuttings in the sand, and the stream bed will areate the cuttings, or cover them so they can generate humitity.Such a shame, and unnessary waste.Mike

Hello Mike ,
The picture's Ella put up for me on here that you ask about I somewhere have the real name but have to pull in the garage here every year and when doing so take cutting to insure more babies so I am thinking tropical . But will be happy to try and get you a cutting going and if you don't have a confederate rose promised will see what i can do for that one also would rather try and do you a cutting . I keep playing around with this and that here and in an answer to your question about rain been far and few inbetween but today got some just thankful and the plants a smiling.Have a pond in the back yard and it way low wish I could see it come up and sure the brim would be happy .
Carolyn

Kim.... I agre e with Mike totally about putting some sort of cover over your cuttings. help keep some moisture on them. Sure hope they take. : ) I think the natives sometime s are almost more beautiful than the hybrids. Also curious, whats a La-caw vine if ya don't midn me asking. Never heard of it.

I tell ya what send me into a real frenzy is when I se e perfectly good tre e and plants being just uprooted and trashed just becuas e somebody gets tire d of looking at the same landscape and trashes everything. grrrrrrrr.

Mike... That's great!!!!!!!!!! Don't ya just love finds like that? : ) Hummmmmmm. learned somethign new. I have done that with Amaryliss bulbs but not with a lily bulb. Gonna have to give that a try.
Carolyn computer acting crazy now and right beforit sent her of f line she said to tel ya that the red oen with cream stripes gets about 5' tall in a 5 gallon pot. She had forgot to tell ya. ; )

Thanks ya'll for the suggestion. I'll try to make some sort of dome for the cuttings. Will keep you posted.
Ella, look at my post on the Vines and Climbers Forum. It's a fun, fun vines, and a great conversational piece.
Kim
p.s. Ella, some sort of misting system would help. Hubby and I looked at HD and Lowes for some sort of timer that could work intermittently. But couldn't find any. I can see myself, hand misting those baby all day long, and maybe wake in up in the middle of the night to do that. Hah, I maybe sleep walking. lol.

Carolyn, Thank you for the info, and still without confederate rose, but Ella has one growing, and when I get a start, I'll have them for every place they could go.The pic of the "tease" that Ella put up doesn't look like a tropical not in the leaves anyway, but I really don't have a good enough look at it, and I think it is young too.
Ella, bulbs are a growing interest for me, and you can do many things with them, to include cutting them into as many peaces as you can, as long as you leave a part of the root hairs intack.Lillium is like eating an artichoke, you just peal and put in a starting medium, and trasplant the next year, from the medium to a deeper pot and by the third Yr. you have a mature bulb, and sometimes the second Yr.
Kim, if you live on that lake, you could rig up a complete misting system, that would be awsome.BTW, from the rooted cross vine you shared with me, I have 4 rooted, and growing, and the other clippings in my poor mans GH (see pic).I want to thank you again. Mike

Way to go Mike!!! I'm so glad you've got success with the CV. One of my friends who lives nearby tried, and hers didn't take. (she's tried it with small domes to provide extra humidity and all). On the other hand, I have a few that's sitting in water, and some are showing sign of rooting (this is my first try with this method - an experiment). Here is a pic. to cheer you on while you nourish those baby vines.
Kim
p.s. this vine will give you intermittent bloom after its wave of blosoms in early spring. Just to reminds us, how beautiful it's year round.

Kim... What an interesting vine. Found your thread. Is all that water aound and touching your property. If so I wonder that you haven't put a pump in and used some of that lake as supplimental water. I haven't forgotten your plans, I am stil without wheels and the person who was giving me rides has a broke car too that in the shop. I have no way to get to a copy machine, but had a idea that maybe I can draw it and write the directions down for ya. At least I cna get a letter in the mail if that would help.

Mike. Sure do have a confederate ros e for ya. They orginally came from Carolyn. To me she is a " woody Queen" LOL Give her a stick and off to town she goes with it. : )

Here anothe r hibiscus that she sent me a roote d cutting of. I thought it was gonan be a white as the blooms all peeke d out a s white but about halfway out they started turning a light pink and yesterday the bloom almost completely out was a darker shade of pink. This is what the first bloom on it today looke d like. It a beautiful shade of pink with a red eye and almost 9" across.

I do have a question if somebody can answer it. On the Luna white and now this pink ( cuz I selfed the bloom this morning : ) ) how can I tell when the seed pods are ready to be picked. Neve r havign this type before to a pod stage I don't know what I am looking for.

About how long doe s it take for the pods to mature? Will they still be green or brown or some shade in between. Will I need to put a piece of stockign over them to catch the seeds if the pods are the type that just explode when your not looking?

I sure wish I could answer that, but only know about the Tx star, and the stay on the plant until it goes to winter.I usually get mine in sept., and i pick them off the spent stalks.
You sure have been without a ride for a long time, I am glad you are able to make adjustments.I am going to pray about that situation for you, and I've seen God do some Awsome things like that, he just wants his people to ask.So I'm asking for you, Thank you Jesus for answered prayers.Mike

Ella, hey girlfriend, sound like I need to lend you somewheels. lol. I'd be glad to if I were to live nearby. I'd appreciate it very much, if you can mail me any type of instruction. And yes, the first thing we did when we moved in - the irrigation system was installed, works wonderfully year round if needs be. This past week, DH extended the pvc tubing and additional spray-hoses to various places. My only problem is creating mist sprayer to aid on my "propagation" little area. Say 5' x 5'. Luckily for my plants our himidity is outrageously high most of the time. Cuttings that I stuck on the ground sometimes take root very easily. (That doesn't apply to my much loved native azalea, though).
For the seeds on hib. When they're brown then I think they're ripe and ready to be picked. You may have to cover them with some sort of mesh only to protect them from birds and other critters? (They don't seem to disperse/pop like other seeds, for mine they germinate right next to the parent's bush. Others scattered around owing to birds/squirrel may have help planted them there?
Also, since they're hardy and readily self sow. I think Fall would be ideal time to start the seedlings, unless you plan on cold stratify them in order to sow in pot/flats?