Saving Seeds of Hardy Hibiscus

Can you please tell me how to save my seeds from ole yella & blue river II - do I plant them now, if yes, how - or do I save them and plant direct in the Spring? Please Please help - I'm a new gardener - I fell madly in love with the hardy hibiscus. I have a lot of seeds and don't want to lose them -

This message was edited Oct 1, 2005 12:37 PM

this is my second year for rose mallow and i just took all the seeds and put them in the ground so i'm hoping for a good result i love this plant and i have cars that stop and people get out to look. Ive met other people in cincinnati that have them and grow them from seed and i'm surprised at the result in the first year. good luck

are the hardy hibiscus not hardy in your area? i don't mean that the way it sounds, i'm just curious if your plants are in the ground and you mulch well, will you lose them? debi

Trackinsand,
Yes they are. What do you have? Send pics. I just found out about seeds and this is my first time "saving seeds" I don't want to mess up. People did get out of their cars in the summer to inquire about them. I was very pleased. I'm afraid I lost most of the seeds - I didn't collect them on time. Do you have Blue River II?

rose, i don't have any seeds. i'm not sure what kind of hardy hibiscus you even have, but all i was saying was that i don't see how you can mess up. mulch your plants well and there is always next year to collect seed, right? debi

Rose Mallow, I save Hardy Hibiscus seed when ever they produce them.
A friend let me harvest seed from her Disco Bell 3 years ago. I wanted them because all my old plants stopped giving me seed.
I just remove the entire seed pod, when it turns brown and opens a bit, and put in a paper envelope. I store that in the cool, dry basement. I plant them in flats at the same time as my Tomato seed, the 3rd week of March. I put the flats on a sunny window sill and place a piece of wax paper over the flat to retain heat and moisture. They are easy to thansplant to cells when they have 2 sets of true leaves and they bloom the first year. Planting in the Fall works also but with a lower germination rate due to wash outs that can scatter them all over.
Here is a pic of mine. This was the last one left in the 'nursery' from last years seedlings.
I have seed this year again, I think they will all look like this, too.
Andy P

This message was edited Oct 8, 2005 8:55 PM

Debi, usually hardy hibiscus to us northerners is H. moscheutos, dinner plate hibiscus, but also rose of sharon. It depends who you ask. :)

If you intend to store the seeds or trade them, make sure you give them a spell in the freezer. They are notorious for having bugs in them. Although we are all grown ups that should be accustomed to bugs, opening a pack of seeds crawling with bugs really freaks people out. LOL

rose, I do have Blue River II. Are you looking for seeds? I'll have to look to see what I have.

oh yuck, buggy seeds! don't like that either. thanks for the tip. debi

'Chele, Will the Blue River II come true from seed? Some seed pods just fell off one at my local nursery, just as I walked past. They fell right into my pocket, can you believe it!! I just wasn't sure if what I'll get will be Blue River II or not!

Deb

bad momcat, bad momcat. that happened to me one day with crinum lily seeds. they were so large they could barely fall into my pocket. (tsk tsk) debi

Guess you need bigger pockets!! LOL!!!
Deb

I wouldn't dare guarentee it where other varieties are growing. I have several types here myself. I keep track of what I collect them off of, but can't be sure that is what they will be. :)