We were up at grandmom's house this weekend, and she has what I think are Rose of Sharon plants on the side of her house. They were covered in seed pods bursting open, so I snagged a few. Can anyone confirm that's what these seeds look like? I'll also post a picture of the plant, but with no leaves, it might be hard.
Here are the seeds removed from the afore-posted pods. They have little hairy "mohawks" on them.
Yes, thats Rose Of Sharon. I have them growing around here too. This is the seed period for them. I like your "mohawk" term :-) They are hairy seeds.
And here's a picture of the plant/shrub. It's rather tall ... about 10 or so feet tall.
Thanks much, JadaJoy. She had tons of seed pods on each of them, so I just snagged a few off each shrub. Are these grown from seed similiar to regular hibiscus (e.g., need to soak & nick them), do you know?
wow that must be beautiful all covered in flowers
thats what i did last year same as any others and mine grew.. I nicked them soaked over night then just planted right in the soil..
I started some from seed and didn't have to nick and soak. I just put them in a pot in the fall and left them outdoors on the patio. They came up the following summer. It doesnt get below feezing here often thou. Dont know if this will work for you. The seeds are not that tough that they need nicking.
But I also cut some branches and just stuck them in the ground where i wanted them, in the summer, and it took. Hope this helps.
I have had the worst luck with rooting cuttings from ROS.. jadajoy how big was the peice you cut??
Here is a pic from last year. They are as tall as the shed
It was just a sturdy branch about 16 inches.
Very interesting. I never get seed on mine. They are doubles. Don't they get seeds? Got cuttings rooting.
Judy
no i dont think doubles do seed.. I read that somewhere anyways.. thats why if you dont want seedlings around your ROS to get the doubles...
Those are gorgeous, jadajoy. Thanks for sharing with us.
Judy
Thanks, Smurf. Thats why I never have seed or seedlings!
Judy
Your welcome :-)
Cool. I'm so excited! I'd wanted something tall on the back fence line of our yard, so these will definitely be started for spring planting. For those who've grown them from seed, should I start them indoors now, or wait until Feb when the days are getting longer?
see when i did it i was taking 6-8" cuttings and trying to root them they might of took i think i just gave up to quick.. I have hardy ones that took almost a month.. I will try again but hopefully have better luck
My g-mom had a bunch of cuttings rooting in a bucket as well. They were longer (14"+), and they all had roots on them. She offered 'em to me, but I'd already collected the seeds.
Do these grow fairly fast (e.g., 10' in one growing season)? Or slower, getting to that height in a couple years? I don't know what variety these are that she has, so I don't know what to look at in the Plantfiles specifically.
Smurf, take a bunch of cuttings and stick them to get greater odds.
They grow pretty fast, I'd say 6 ft in a year with lots of sun.
I think the seeds need cold stratification. So I'd put them outdoors now.i could be wrong But i leave mine outdoors all winter.
i like the idea of rooting them in a bucket.
tricki woo- i have double clusters and they seed. They just take longer than the others. I'm still waiting on them to open. They dont have as many pods either.
"rooting them in a bucket" like in just water??
Yes with just water in the bottom of the bucket to cover the ends. I'd do that in summer thou.
well i will have to try that... my plants started from seed in more shade then sun only got 12" tall..
It might be your zone Smurf. They kinda grow wild here. Also grown from seed, they will take a while to take off. I bet this year they get taller than you.
well i'm not to far off 6B here.. Ya i'm hoping.. I plan to move a few as theres about 10 in a 2 foot square but that was cause i new they were slow to start..
