ediblelandscapingsc said:
What are the steps to saving hardy hibiscus seeds? How long do you dry them before packing them up and do you store them at room temp or in the fridge after being packed? Lastly do they need cold moist stratification? Thanks in advance.
I pick mine as soon as they are all brown and let them crack open inside to keep them from getting wet and molding. I let them dry until they crack open and then give them 2-5 more days until all the seeds get hard.
Then I keep them in clear ziplock bags at room temp for a couple of months and wait for all the weevils(?
) to hatch out, kill the bugs and discard the empty seedcoats. I haven't kept any long enough to store, but they probably keep longer in the fridge.
Cold stratification is not needed. Scratching the seedcoats with a nail file or sandaper before planting is the key to germination. (In nature they often get sanded in a duck's gizzard and pooped out along the edge of a pond - sanded, soaked and fertilized!) I like to soak mine for a day before planting.
They are usually starting to come up in 4 days. They can be started inside any time under growlights or in a sunny window sill. They do well in a greenhouse also. They can be planted outside as seeds or seedlings after all danger of frost is past.
Natural habitat (Hibiscus moscheutos ssp. lasiocarpos lining the shore of a duckweed covered millpond yesterday.):smily:
Natural habitat (Hibiscus moscheutos ssp. lasiocarpos lining the shore of a duckweed covered millpond yesterday.):smily:
