4 O'clock & Texas Star Hibiscus seeds for SASE

Hi
I have a few seeds of TX Star hibiscus(have not grown these from seed, so don't know how difficult they are) and quite a few 4 o'clock seeds for SASE.

This message was edited Thursday, Oct 3rd 6:38 PM

Here's a pic of the Texas Star hibiscus.

I would like to do a sase with you. Do you know if the hibiscus are hardy?

I would like to SASE too!

Green_Leaf & belladonna you have mail. All the rest of the seeds are spoken for. Thanks all. I will get them out to you as soon as I receive SASE. Happy Gardening, Jan.

:-) Yeay!

Do you have any left?

I do!

Gloria, I would love some of the Texas Star seeds. Thanks a bunch.

They are yours. I had two rooted plants, Meiyu has one, other went to Brunswick, O. Sorry, didn't know you wanted any.

That's okay. Don't really want to start them right away if I don't have to. Is this one hardy? If not, I'll start the seeds right away.

Yes, It's hardy.

Received my seeds yesterday Luv2Garden. I thank you.

You're welcome. Hope they grow well for you.

Thank you thank you!!

You're welcome. I hope to have alot more seeds to share next year.

Do you have any 4 o'clock seeds left?

Brugcrazy,
It's been raining here for the last several days. As soon as it quits, I'll go out and check if there's any left and I'll Email you.

If you have a few left of either one - - I would be delighted to have some. I would send you a SASE.

Thanks!



This message was edited Wednesday, Nov 13th 1:20 PM

Hi, Do you have any Texas Star Hibiscus left?? I can't do SASE with you from Europe. Maybe a trade is possible??
Saya.

This is a comment, rather than a request.

I stumbled on a bit of information about four o'clocks. It turns out that they are not annuals and not even tender perennials, but grow from tubers that are killed by the least frost, which is why the same plant doesn't come back the next spring like most tubers. But the tubers can be taken up and stored like any other, then replanted in the spring. The plants that grow from established tubers will be bigger and more vigorous from the start.

I pulled up my four o'clocks, and some I found growing wild, and, sure enough, there were tubers -- longer than they are wide, and some up to 2-3" across. If anyone wants to try this along with me, I'd love to know how yours do next spring!

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Addendum:

While I was writing this, I remembered another couple of four o'clocks that were still outside, so I went to harvest the tubers, and I should correct some of what I wrote above.

Don't "pull them up." The spot where the stems join the tubers is brittle and the tubers are well rooted and don't just pop out of the ground. By pulling the stem off at the tuber, you risk (as I did) damaging the tuber or at least leaving a nice big wound for rot or critters to get into the vulnerable insides.

It is better to snap off the plant at the last knuckle above the ground, then dig deep with a spade. The tuber is sometimes neat and potato-like, especially the young to medium sized ones, but the big ones can have long carrot-like roots coming out of the tuber, and you want to get them whole rather than break them off, again leaving an entry for disease and insects.

Since I broke off a couple of those carrot-roots, does anyone know if there is a way to cure the broken end and keep it as a separate viable tuber?

I thought of another advantage to storing the tubers over planting mixed seeds each spring -- you can keep the tubers separated by color and plan where to put each color next year instead of leaving it to chance.

This message was edited Wednesday, Nov 13th 10:19 AM

Planter Rik:

Thanks for the information. I don't have this plant yet, but it sure must beat growing it from seed every year (as I would have to do up here in NY). Love2garden was all out several weeks ago, so now I will definitely have to find me some seeds (or tubers) :) Please let us know how things work out next spring with your 4 O'clocks.

swampmallow,reseed well here,just went out an snagged a couple pods,incase any of you run low.

I did a search on swamp mallow and it gave me back Hibiscus moscheutos - HIBISCUS COCCINEUS - Hibiscus lasiocarpus -- Root Dr. - - which swamp mallow are you referring to??

Looks like photo up top.let me look around,Im just a common name guy.

Alyssum -- I just composted all my bushes, but I'm sure there were seeds on them. (That's just one kind of seed that I hate to collect because it's so painstaking, like picking blueberries.) There are probably also seeds on the ground around where the bushes were (they'd be mostly yellows). If you want some I can go have a look. I also have many medium to small red 4:00 tubers I wouldn't mind sharing -- but I still have to study up on how to store them properly. If you'd like to trade, email me.

Just a quick note on the above by Planter Ric. The Four O'Clocks I have were here when we moved here. We have been here through 1 winter only and had a few freezes last year. I think it got down to 14 degrees F a couple of times (that was the coldest) My Four O'Clocks are growing in an old compost pile and the tubers wintered over there. It also reseeds but you can definitely tell the difference between the seedings and the sprouting tubers. I was told they have been there for years. I also planted some mixed colorers from seed this year in a different location. They only grew about 2 ft tall. I'm not going to dig these and will let you know if they winter over in the ground here in zone 8.

I am having trouble pulling anything up on this plant,I have what is being called texas star,I have always called it mallow,I even went to the library a checked out A-Z enc.anyway picked some seeds.

Root Dr., Guess you really got put to work today. :) I just was not wanting to confuse it with Malva moschata which is also called swamp mallow. Do you grow your Texas Star as a tuber in zone 6a or as an annual?

Planter Rik - - is the Texas Star also a tuber?




This message was edited Wednesday, Nov 13th 1:13 PM

I call it zone 6a because I put a solid cedar fence up that keeps low cold wind down,there is a small spot on zone maps over Kc. I must be there,let me walk across street,nieghbor is pulling 4oclocks.

Planter Rik:

Thanks for the very kind offer. However, I am quite partial to the pink 4 o'clocks in the picture at the top of this thread, and will be holding out for those.

Okay anybody want these reds i just got?

Luv2Garden -- What you say makes sense: The compost itself could produce some heat to warm the tubers, and, if compost has been added since the first 4:00s were planted, it would serve as a protective mulch, which can always give you a one-zone advantage.

Here in 7b, we never mulched, and we never had 4:00s coming back from tubers, just from the seeds it dropped or the seeds we planted.

Alyssum -- I know nothing about Hibiscus or Mallow, except that, to my knowledge, they are in no way related to 4:00s.

If you like pinks, you might have a look at Burpee's "Tea Mix" (maybe "High Tea Mix"?). It is a nice selection of white with several shades of pink and (yes) perhaps red.

I'm in 7a and mine(4 o'clocks) always come back from the tubers as well as a million seeds. They sell the tubers in the spring at Home Depot and Lowes.

My, that's news. (And I thought I had made an earth-shattering discovery!)

My gardening experience began at the knees of old-time gardeners with locally renowned gardens and expertise. When I mentioned it to a couple of those that are still around, they were surprised. None had ever had a 4:00 come back from anything without seed -- that is, if they didn't plant 4:00s in the same location the next year, they never had anything but seedlings to brush away in the previous location. Can there be that much difference between 7a and 7b?

I've never seen them at Home Depot or Lowe's, but, then, this is my first year back in suburban America where they exist. Still, they weren't at Home Depot last spring. (I didn’t discover Lowe’s until the summer.)

Can anyone recommend a brand name or commercial outlet for the powdered fungicide with which bulbs are supposed to be dusted before being stored? Also, should they be washed? [I guess I should be checking the FAQ at the bulb forum, but I'm here and the questions are on my mind.]

Rik, I can suggest to you that a dusting powder is generally used when storing begonia tubers..that would be one and the same...something with a sulfur in it....Elaine

I'll bet you don't have any left!
New to Dave's.
A wonderful place to hang out!

Sometime's I'm overwhelmed.
regards,
sandy