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Post by macmex on Jun 27, 2017 6:28:14 GMT -6
I think you can start picking about a week after the flower. Last year I let all the seeds reach maturity. So I waited longer. But I understand you don't have to do that. I also understand, that like okra, if you pick while the calyxes are not fully mature, the plant will produce more than if you wait.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 16, 2017 16:57:09 GMT -6
The Roselle is loving this hot, humid, weather. It's finally starting to take off and grow like it should, though it is way behind this year, just like the okra. Maybe things will start looking up after this much-needed sunshine.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 24, 2017 21:59:21 GMT -6
July 24, 2017 The Roselle is really starting to branch and leaf out nicely. Another "feel good" plant for Oklahoma gardeners.
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Post by macmex on Aug 2, 2017 8:17:03 GMT -6
Yesterday I spotted the first Roselle flower of 2017! If more immediately follow, then August 1 will be the date I expect flower to begin, in future. The plants in my main garden are looking very healthy. They are quite bushy and about 2 12' tall. The plants I planted in a flower garden, with quite a bit more shade, are looking healthy. But they are much less bushy. Yesterday, our hours of day light were 13 hours and 58 minutes. I assume that the plant was triggered to bud sometime while the day light hours were around 14 hours. Tahlequah never receives more than 14 hours, 33 minutes of day light at its peak.
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Post by glen on Aug 2, 2017 14:57:16 GMT -6
George, I never mentioned it but now that you have informed me about this plant I now notice it being grown here in Panama. We never have more than 12.5 hour day length here. It gets as short as 11.5 hours of daylength. I would have to look at a chart to see how it exactly breaks down. So, is it possible that I have a variety that grows here that is different than yours? Or, is it just that this plant will bloom in long day lengths as well? I am not seeing large Roselle plants now. The dry season killed all of the large patches of Roselle that I was noticing. But, in these areas I am seeing the little shorty's coming up. Most roselle here seems to grow as volunteers once the original plant is planted. They aren't blooming here yet. I have never heard of anyone actually using roselle for anything here. Before you mentioned it I thought it was just an attractive purple flowering plant. Good information. Oh, in our sun starved rainy season I think that is one of the reasons the plants are still only about 18 to 24 inches tall and not putting on any blooms. If things change and we start getting consistant periods of good sunshine that would be interesting.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Aug 3, 2017 13:00:53 GMT -6
Good eye George!
I wonder if our extremely cloudy weather coinciding with this early August cool front might have affected the hours of direct sunlight? We'll have to document this through the years to see if it varies from year to year with the changing weather. I'm going to go check my Roselle this evening when it cools off a little. I've felt a little under the weather today and haven't done my chores yet.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Aug 3, 2017 13:05:15 GMT -6
George,
I just now noticed the Japanese Beetle munching your Roselle plant, near the bottom left of the photo. They've really chewed a lot of leaves off of my sweet potatoes this year. We might be due for another beetle trapping session.
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Post by macmex on Aug 3, 2017 19:14:43 GMT -6
I count myself fortunate, that the Japanese beetles are only causing minor damage. I crush them when I see them. But I can live with the level of damage they are causing. It's not like what I've heard others are suffering this year.
Glen, I suspect your local Roselle is a different variety. But I have not proof of it. I've heard that Thai Red is the best for longer day length areas. I also read that the plant has become endemic throughout Central and South America, indeed, all around the southern Pacific Rim. It's been there a LONG time. So I suspect there are some variations.
We'll have to keep a log of observations on when this variety blooms and produces, here in our area. After a couple years we'll have it figured out. Once again, I'm THRILLED with the way it's thriving in my neglected garden. The ones in the main garden are shouldering aside weeds. I planted them, forgetting just how bushy they become. They've formed a hedge which almost prevents me from getting to a planting of bush beans.
Notice in the pictures, that there are little buds forming. So more flowers are soon to follow.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Aug 3, 2017 20:17:53 GMT -6
Mine have tiny buds, smaller than a pencil eraser. They are so small you can barely tell they are there. It won't be much longer now.
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Post by macmex on Aug 5, 2017 18:38:13 GMT -6
I think you'll find they become quite productive. Last year I got mine in late and neglected them; had to hack them out of the weeds to find them, around the end of June. But they became quite robust by the end of August. I did better with the 7 plants I put into my main garden, this year. They're looking more impressive than the plants last summer. I tore out some Rose of Sharon on the North side of our house, this spring and put in 9 roselle in that spot. They're not as bushy. But I think they'll produce. We're excited. This is one of the few crops which seems foolproof for our climate.
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Post by community gardener on Aug 7, 2017 13:08:03 GMT -6
I first heard of this plant on this site, I was interested so I planted some at the Community Garden. They are doing great! Hoping to seen some buds soon!
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Post by john on Aug 8, 2017 6:16:59 GMT -6
My plants are nice and bushy and about 2 feet tall. I am hoping that they will produce some flowers, I don't see any yet. It is a beautiful plant! Probably worth growing even if I don't get it to mature. I believe I read somewhere that you can bring it inside for the winter and cut it back and get a good jump start on next years season. Maybe I will try that if things don't work out.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Aug 8, 2017 17:43:20 GMT -6
A few of my Roselle plants are covered with little buds about the size of English peas. All are sporting tiny, heavy, eyelashes, they look like little Betty Boop eyes looking everywhere at once.
I'm Still waiting on the first bloom (which shouldn't be much longer). Thanks, George, for the seeds. These have been a pleasure to grow.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Aug 8, 2017 17:55:35 GMT -6
Bon,
When you mentioned watering plants by the drip of the A/C unit, it reminded me of something that has worked very well for several years now.
I have my air conditioner next to my house, so the constant drip was creating a mud puddle there next to the foundation. The heaving from too much water in one spot and dry soil everywhere else was cracking the foundation. One day, I placed two joints of 2" inch PVC pipe under the condensate drip line to catch the water and now, the condensation drip is gravity fed to my blueberry bushes.
Blueberries can't take drought and need constant watering in the heat of summer. I never could remember to water them consistently and they would suffer poor health as a result. For the past several years, my air conditioner has been watering them for me. It's a nice added benefit that more than offset the minimal labor involved.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Aug 9, 2017 6:45:18 GMT -6
I found a group of Roselle bushes last evening that I had forgotten I had planted. These Roselle bushes were planted in my blueberry patch that is watered by my air conditioner's condensation drip line that I piped over there through 20' feet of 2" inch PVC. When my A/C comes on, it automatically waters my blueberries, and subsequently, my Roselle as well... These forgotten Roselle bushes have been woefully neglected since the blueberry season has passed. The Bermuda grass there is almost as tall as the Roselle itself, proving even further the unusual hardiness of this medicinal and highly nutritious plant. As I walked past the blueberry thicket last evening, a spent Roselle bloom caught my eye, then I noticed several more spent blooms, I also noticed about a dozen red calyces below those spent blooms. Apparently, these plants have been blooming for a few days now and had not been noticed, due to their location behind the grape arbor. As far as I can tell by my notes, I seeded these Roselle plants into trays atop a heating pad on February 15th, 2017. I did not note their transplanting date. I'm guessing from the appearance of the red calyces that first bloom was sometime around August 1st? If the seed setting date is accurate, that puts my days to bloom at about 165 days after seed germination. None of my other Roselle plants have bloomed yet. According to my notes, the others were seeded indoors, in seed trays by mid-March. image hosting sites
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