Hardy Hibiscus ?

How do you take cuttings from a dinner plate hardy hibiscus and get it to root?

Use tip cuttings with no flower buds. :)

tip cuttings with no flower buds? All these stems have flower buds........lol

It's my mom's and I wanted to get a piece of it so I can take one home :)

LOL You should have gotten there last month. What color is it?

Duh, forgot to say, you can always get a few cuttings and just snip the tip off with the buds. They are prolific seeders if you can beat the bugs. You can also divide them, but it might ruin the show for this year. I have on occasion taken a saw right through one and taken the whole blooming thing with me. :)

edited because i am on my way to bed.....

This message was edited Wednesday, Jul 23rd 7:41 PM

well, as far as seeds go........do they have really tiny seeds because these pods just get brown and fall off and only have a very small round pod in the center and it has very tiny seeds and they aren't even brown. The other hibiscus that I've seen get really large pods with nice size seeds but these are really tiny, about the size of columbine seeds but still white :(
Are these just not seeding right? This stinks!!! I really want one of those, they are a really deep burgundy red and very large

I have a hibiscus question, too. Hope someone can help. (I'm in zone 5a, like flowox). With my Park Seed order, I got an "on sale" (90 cents) hibiscus plant H. moscheutos Sweet Caroline, in a 3" pot. The "stick" was broken in packing (got refund). But two shoots came up from the roots.

Now it's obviously late July and I have not planted it. It is 8 inches tall with quite a few leaves and I want to give it a good chance. Can I put it in a big pot to grow some more, then bring it in for the winter to get bigger? Does that work, or do H. need to go dormant in the winter?

Would the same thing work for the bargain Rose of Sharon I got with the same order? (H. syriacus Blue Satin)

My bareroot Park's Candy Lilies are doing great, though, so I'm not "all un-green thumbs"!
Any advice is appreciated for this newbie!

Susan, they should get little round brown seeds about half the size of a BB. H. moscheutos is what I am thinking of, with the huge flowers. Is that what your mom has? Here are some pics of the flowers and seed/pods. http://plantsdatabase.com/search.php?search_text=hardy+hibiscus
New Yorker, these are hardy to zone 5a. Depending on how big it is, it really should be put in the ground. They are deciduous and die back to the ground each winter and come up in late spring. Some of mine are blooming and others have buds. Rose of sharon is also hardy.

Badseed,
Thanks for the note. I'm sorry I didn't make myself clear. I know that they are appropriate to my zone; that's why I chose them. But I would like to give them an opportunity to get bigger indoors over the winter, if it will not hurt the plant, in order to give it time to grow large before I plant it next spring when I plant it. I just want to know if this is acceptable. Like I said, Sweet Caroline is 8" tall (not a woody stick, just a green shoot). The "stick" part of Blue Satin is 8" but it has little branches with leaves.

Must I put them in the ground? What happens if you keep them indoors to get bigger - does it mess up their internal flowering/growing clock or anything?

Sorry for the confusion! Thanks for the reply.

No problem at all. I don't imagine one winter inside would hurt them if they are that small. They would be about that size if you grew them from seed anyway. My biggest concern would be the size of them if you kept them fed, watered and under lights for six months! LOL

Butting in here. I think I would go ahead and plant it in the ground so it can be developing a big root system. That is more important than putting on top growth. The top growth will come along anyway. JMHO and I have several hardy hibiscus, most started from seed. Good luck, no matter what you chose to do with your plant.

well this thing isn't seeding the way it's supposed to then as the pod inside never dries up before the whole thing falls off. Here's a picture of the flower

I think it may be the heat Susan. Mine are dropping immature pods too. I think I just bought this one for $4 at a local nursery. They had a bunch of the Southern Belle Mix for $4 per plant. They are only two stems but about three feet tall. I got the pale pink and white swirled and the dark/hot pink one. Want me to try to save you seed? I think that one has a few pods.

Badseed, Brugie, and all...Thanks so much for your helpful advice, and for allowing me to horn in on your conversation! It helps to have all of these points of view. When you're learning, every little piece of advice and information helps!

Good luck, flowox, with your seeding difficulties. I'll be watching the thread to see how it turns out!

Thank to y'all!

good news!! I looked today and it has 4 pods that are actually big enough to carry seeds and they are looking very good. I'll be taking 2 of those pods if they brown in the next week as I'm leaving the Monday after this next (Aug. 4th)

By the way, it's called a Disco Belle Red :) Found the tag today......lol

Thanks for the generous offer Chele but if I can get a seedpod of this one my mom has, then I'll have plenty as I don't have too much space :)

And you will probably want to send your extras to your friend in Texas? Who has a granddarling who loves, absolutely loves, hibiscus and has a Lord Baltimore all her own and will be happy to send some to you if there are seeds. I never even thought to ask, as it's in SA, but will do so asap. I bought and planted it for her when she was just under three years old.

flowox, my guess is that some of the pods were fertilized and others were not. You could assist the seed set by spreading some pollen yourself. I have no luck with rooting hibiscus cuttings (H. moscheutos), but they are easy from seed, and will bloom first year when started early.

NY'r, I'd get them right into the ground and they will be fine. I've grown them from seed under lights, and they will get big fast, and start to get lanky. You mught even get blooms if you have two frost free months left!

Par ~ Really?! Thanks! Sounds like all of you think that, overall, it's best for the plant to be in the ground. Ok, ok, I'll stop being impatient for my plants to grow up, and just let them do their thing!!!

I bow to the Masters... ! ! :) :) :)

Is anyone still out there on this thread?

If so, I have questions about training a hardy hibiscus (maybe a dinner plate/Mammouth) as a tree. If you can help, please go to the Trees and Shrubs section and see my post. You are all so helpful and knowledgeable! Thanks!

I tried this myself, braiding small ones. They do well for the one season but since they are decidous, you have to start over each year. I don't know about the tree thing since mine seem to grow more like shrubs. I bought some a couple of months ago and they were single stem but there was no tree effect since they don't branch. More confused than ever?

Yeah-Confused! No, not really. I don't have to braid it (you're so fancy, Badseed!). I can keep it indoors while it gets big, and clip off the side shoots. One local gardener did that here and the rose of sharon is a 7 foot tree now.

I'd like to do this to a dinner plate hibiscus, maybe one of those Mammoth varieties! Have you seen these pictures?!
http://my.pclink.com/~harley/hibiscus.htm

ANewYorker, that's the size of the one in the picture above that I posted of my mom's. This thing's blooms are just humungous (did I spell that right?)

I cannot remember where, been awhile ago, but I did read once that H.syriacus (rose of sharon) work well for espalier. At one time I wanted to do a belgian fence. Never did. LOL I have a bunch of rose of sharon bushes though. sigh

B ~ I read that, too, about R of S and espalier - that would be cool. I wonder how long it would take. Maybe that would be a better project than the 'training the tree.' Or an additional project...

F ~ Are you back from your mom's house? Did you ever get the seed that you needed? Without a frame of reference, I didn't know that your flowers were that big - wow!

I still miss the hibiscus flowers in Hawaii *sigh* (especially when we have 2 feet of snow!)

Yes, I'm back home..........been home since the 28th now. I didn't get the seeds as they were not done but will have Mom send me some :)

I saw a "Rose of Sharon tree" in someone's yard. The couple was happy to let me take a picture of it. The man says he just keeps the bottom parts trimmed. I thinks it's cool! They are both about 7 feet high in these pictures. Wouldn't a dinner-plate hibiscus look great on this kind of "tree"? I'm gonna try it!

Here's the other one - more of a "tree" - the trunk must be 6 inches in diameter...

flowox, BS, have ya'll heard of this one yet?

http://www.cp4.hctx.net/mercer/inbloom/july/mp14jly2lg.htm
LMK

no, haven't seen that one. It's pretty :)

Hello:
I have three Hibiscus. Bought at a local nursery.
One of them is blooming constantly.
All are red.
Does anyone have a link as to what the seed looks like?
Sandy

Here's a great seed/seedpod site, with Hibiscus syriacus (Rose of Sharon) and H. "many" images: http://theseedsite.co.uk/db10.html

Is yours a "rose mallow," H. moscheutos, a dinner-plate hibiscus? This site didn't have those pictures specifically.

Oh, I like the white one!! I am headed back to the grocery to get the big red is it lady or lord baltimore. Nice big plants for $8! I will post a picture of seed pods and seeds when I get back if it is still needed. Is there one on here on the PDB?

Chele, that one that my mom has is a Disco Bell

It should definately make seeds Susan and they are very easy from seed. You just have to check the seeds for holes because bugs like to munch them-badly. On another note, boooohooooo booo hooooo. I only went back to Kroger a couple of hours later and all the big red hibiscus were GONE!! Woe is me. I'll keep watching and also check the Kroger next to work.

mom said she has some seeds Chele but won't be able to send them for a couple of weeks yet. I'll share if you want some :)

Badseed,
Is "Kroger" a grocery store? If so, are there a whole bunch of them in Cincinnati? I'm a "mystery shopper" for fun in my area, and there are always so many mys. shop. jobs at the Cinn. Kroger stores - I was always curious about what they were!

What color did you say they were Susan? I have the pink and white swirled, dark pink, pale pink with a red eye and creamy white with a red eye. LOL I have to hit the other Kroger and see if they have the red one!
Yes NY, Kroger is a huge grocery store chain. How do you get those mystery shopper jobs? LOL I only ever see the ones where you have to pay for the privelage. I have five kids so I spend a LOT of time at Kroger. There are several very close to me, but I usually use the same one. I don't guess I'd be much of a secret though cuz they know me and my kids by name. ;)

looks like a deep burgundy almost. It's called Disco Bell Red

SORRY TO INTERRUPT the hardy hibiscus discussion, but I thought I'd post this publicly, in case others are curious...

Badseed,
You'd be perfect to mystery shop at Kroger because they'd never suspect you! The ones I do pay $20. (for Lord and Taylor/May Company), but Kroger pays $12.00 per shop. There are other ones for other chain stores, all paying various amounts (Merle Norman $10.00; Aveda $12.00, some jewelery store, etc.).

YOU can pretty much get jobs weekly with just Kroger, since they have so many different stores around Cinn. Go to www.serviceevaluation.com http://www.serviceevaluation.com/iss/program/home/default.asp and it'll tell you what to do. Check out the "available assignments" - there are 144 for Cinn.! You have to read their rules and take a little test, then they sign you up. After you're signed up, you'll be able to "view" all 144 "shops," which give you all the details you need. I can view them as a signed-up shopper, and there are jobs at Kroger on these roads: Harrison, Enright, Ferguson, delhi pike, wooster, eastgate, etc.

You have to call them (long distance) to get your "first shop" assigned, because they assign you a shopper # over the phone. After you shop, you enter the info into a questionnaire online and submit everything online.

After your "first shop" (I guess they figure you know what you're doing; and you have a shopper #), you can pick out all of your own assignments online and submit everything online - you never have to call them again. They send me a monthly check for all the shops I did in that month - it adds up. (You choose to report earnings or not to IRS up to $600./yr; over $600/yr, then they report your earnings to the IRS) - PLANT MONEY !!!!

A friend and I have been working for this company for years, and it is very reputable. The thing I like is that I can do all of the paperwork (after the first shop, which you call to have assigned) online and contact them via email and postings. I work for a few others, too, which are reputable, when I have time to take the assignments.

Again, SORRY TO INTERRUPT THE THREAD!! If anyone has specific Q's, feel free to email me! NOW, back to Gardening with Hardy Hibiscuses...
- Cheri, A.NYer

Hey Cheri,
Thanks much for the info! I went and filled out most of it and got registered. I need to go back in a do the test. My computer was acting up. :(
I was just really bad. I just got home from the grocery. They had Lord Balitmore again and also Blue River 2. I got both! LOL There is a burgundy one I may go back for.