Texas Star Hibbies .. hehehe

Ok they surived , finally got them to start growing in the house after the approaching winter temps
toss them into croking stage. LOL .. I watered them with warm water for about 2 weeks then they
started to grow a new shoot .. woo hoo .. there alive ..

Ok , now there just going nuts .. growing and growing .. i might have to cut a hole in the roof
if they keep growing this fast ..

question is .. can i top these and will they branch out .. ?
Then i can root the tops and get some more plants started ( hopefully )

pic 2

Hi Sparky,
I gave my sister in St. Louis, MO one of these plants in 2000. It has survived outside during the winters and has even been moved to a new location and thrived. Therefore, last year when it got too large (7 feet high and 3 feet across), she cut it back to stumps and it most certainly did branch out and come back with strong growth. The plants freeze to the ground in winter, of course, as do our "hardy" hibiscus.

In light of her success, I now have 3 plants in the ground here in SE MO (Zone 6) and next year when they get about 6 inches tall I plan to pinch them back.

I can't tell you if cuttings will root, but they probably will.
Good luck,
Toxi

I was reluctent to leave them out for the winter since i only have a few of them
till i can propagate somemore from what i have.
thanks for the info..

Ever propagate these from seeds, guys? I have 92 seedlings up and growing under lights in my basement and the seeds were 2 years old! Germination was about 90%. Grew 15 last year for the farmer's market and sold all but one (kept it for my garden) in a very short time. 'Course they were blooming and that always gets buyer's attention.

I put the seeds in a small container and poured boiling, hot water over them. After the water cooled, I added about 1 tsp of hydrogen peroxide. They germinated at room temp in about 3 days. Fished out and only planted the seeds that had a white root showing. I left the ungerminated seeds in solution for about a week more because some seeds were a little slow to germinate. I'm going to try this method on some hardy hibiscus seeds that I saved from last year.

Digs

Good morning Digs,
I would love to find out how you did with the hardy hibiscus. Can you post it so we can find out. Thanks

Yes, I started all of mine from seeds. I soaked the seeds in warm water for a few hours then planted in a very warm location (85 degrees). Got excellent results every time.

Sure can rose_mallow. Will start some this week and will post as soon as I can.

Digs

Started soaking seeds of some hardy hibiscus in boiling water laced with hydrogen peroxide on Friday am and they have sprouted roots. Had to plant them today before the seed root got to long. Germination at about 90%.
Digs

Thanks Digs - will start mine tonight. Thanks
Rose M.

Well these things are aproaching 3 feet tall now and if they keep it up
i will have to remove the roof from the room... LOL ..

Well im gunna top these and re-root the tops and see what happens ..

Oh dear,
Hope mine don't grow as fast. The seedlings are about 2 inches high. If they can just hold off their growth spurt just one more month.
They may get bushier if you top them. Last year I didn't do any pruning and they grew straight up. Hope you're successful with rooting the tops.
Digs

Digs how much water HP ratio

I was afraid someone was going to ask me that. I just guesstimate but I think the ratio is suppose to be 1:10, HP to water. Let your hot water cool down completely before adding the HP. In the event I used too much HP, I leave the container open to allow the HP to break down to oxygen and water. When I use it on other seeds that take longer treatment such as daylily seeds, I change the water and add more HP. I only use boiling water on hibiscus seeds. I don't use the HP treatment on all my seeds. It's hard to sow the seeds once they are wet.
Digs