18 months to 2 years ago I received some seeds taken from "Blue Satin". This is a hardy Rose of Sharon hibiscus. The seeds were given to me in a trade and it was said that they won't grow true to the parent plant. This is my first effort at growing hibiscus from seeds and although I really wanted some with blue flowers, I am really excited to see a success in this one, even though not blue. I recall having 100% germination from those seeds.
Last December I moved here from zone 10b. I lost every last one of my tropical hibiscus that I bought in the co-op, 36 of them, many of the names yall are running threads on above.
I had all these pots of tiny sticks (2-3 inches tall, not much fatter than a double fat toothpick) that I had forgotten what they were, either hibiscus seedlings or bauhinia. Since I was unfamiliar with growing things in this zone, I just watched the little "dead" sticks to see what they were and what they would do. None were bauhinia, they all died too.
It was such a surprise to me when these little sticks started sprouting leaves. I have about 7-8 of these left having shared several with gardening friends. The other day I noticed one of the small bushes had some buds on them. This morning one was open and blooming. Although the digital has caused this to look very pink, there is a touch of lavender (not blue though) in the bloom. I will take another photo later in the day when the sun is not quite so bright to see how the color shows up.
I am very pleased with the determination of these plants. I put them along my field wire fence and hope to have them grow up to provide some privacy in the back yard. A while back I accidently whacked the top off of one with the weed wacker, and do you know it grew back almost taller the rest of them?!!!! I can hardly wait to see what colors the rest of the plants will have.
