Hibiscus: Hibiscus martianus, 0 by Michael_Ronayne

Michael_Ronayne wrote:
Dear Auntie Sandi,

As the attached photograph shows, the baby continues to grow larger every day and produced three flowers on Friday which were immediately pollinated. The success rate with hand pollination appears to be 100% and I now have eight seeds pods at various states of development and more flowers are on the way. Perhaps the baby is inspired by the iconic view of the New York City skyline 9 miles to the east. Others who have grown Hibiscus martianus have not reported such a short duration from seed to flower. On the other hand, perhaps 12 hours of direct summer sunshine a day might just have more to do with it.

I would like to increase the genetic diversity of my Hibiscus martianus and locate plants which are more cold tolerant. Other species from Hibiscus section Bombicella could offer rich opportunities for the production of interesting hybrids, if the chromosome count is 22 for the entire section, so we should be vigilant for any matchmaking opportunities.

Thank you for introducing me to Hibiscus martianus.

Uncle Mike