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Post by Tucson Grower on Mar 29, 2023 10:18:32 GMT -6
Done. I planted it and even planted its leafless sister in the same pot next to it. It has its own 15 gal pot, adjacent to several tomato varieties, each in their own pots. And nearby is the ground cherry and in individual depressions, a little farther south are more than a dozen different varieties of corn. The corn were direct-seeded in February.
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Post by Tucson Grower on Apr 7, 2023 4:56:10 GMT -6
I already soaked and bagged a dozen of the seed I just received from macmex, after 2 days at 80F 4 had begun to germinate and I planted those in a cell-pac last night. Several different batches of okra seedlings, as well as many of my earlier roselle seedlings were/are showing various levels of chlorosis. I hope it's not a virus disease (maybe it's because they're old seed).
I gave the chlorotic sprouts a tiny pinch of ironite supplement. I sure hope that helps.
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Post by Tucson Grower on Apr 12, 2023 6:08:08 GMT -6
The original sole roselle survivor seedling, nearly had its leaves frozen off, but appears to enjoy the heat and sun; it is already valiently trying to grow new, replacement leaves. Meanwhile I pre-germinated 12 of the seed I received from macmex. They have already germinated and produced 9 vigorously growing seedlings. Planning to germinate more, soon.
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Post by Tucson Grower on Apr 14, 2023 10:10:45 GMT -6
Last night I took outside (for hardening), onto my covered porch many of the seedling I'm planning to plant out, soon. The roselle were in the same trays as various watermelon, squash, corn, and okra. Our low last night was 61F, with an occasional brisk breeze. This morning all of the roselle were wilted, due to the cold shock. No other plants demonstrated this cold sensitivity, not even tomatoes or okra. I'm expecting them to recover as it warms up. Maybe I should just move them into larger pots, first.
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Post by Tucson Grower on Apr 14, 2023 13:19:42 GMT -6
Yes, apparently cold shock, it was. It has now warmed up to 75F and all the wilty looking roselle plants are now looking just fine.
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Post by Tucson Grower on Apr 15, 2023 4:41:04 GMT -6
All the roselle plants, still in their cell-pacs remained outside on the porch, it is now 57F at 3:30 am, Saturday, 15 April 2023. Nothing is looking cold-shocked this morning.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Apr 15, 2023 6:19:47 GMT -6
Glad to hear that the Roselle perked back up and are acclimating quickly.
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Post by Tucson Grower on May 9, 2023 5:34:23 GMT -6
I have one survivor from my original roselle seed. It is in its own 15 gallon pot and grows larger, day by day. My newer crop of roselle plants from macmex seed are also coming along nicely. They may be two different varieties. The survivor has many smaller dark red leaves and those from macmex are larger leaved and greener. I'm anxiously waiting for them to reach a point where they burst into larger growth. I have yet to experience roselle as a beverage.
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Post by macmex on May 9, 2023 5:49:23 GMT -6
Interesting observations. Looking forward to what you see as these plants mature. I suspect you will like Roselle tea.
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Post by Tucson Grower on May 19, 2023 12:54:21 GMT -6
Cell phone pics --> This is the 1 survivor.
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Post by chrysanthemum on May 19, 2023 17:21:09 GMT -6
Thanks for the picture. That’s looking pretty good, I think.
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Post by Tucson Grower on May 19, 2023 17:31:47 GMT -6
Roselle, a species of Hibiscus, reminds me of okra. When I was researching documentation that would likely affect my work to create a new variety, many of the research into okra had been done in the 1930's and 1940's; those papers often referred to okra as a species of Hibiscus.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on May 28, 2023 13:17:31 GMT -6
I used to grow cotton here, (just as a hobby), not commercially. Roselle reminds me a lot of cotton, mostly because it's so hardy. Roselle will fend for itself if I ever drop a seed in a spot where I don't cultivate. My okra won't do that. Okra succumbs to weed pressure if I don't keep it tended, but the Roselle fights its way through and overcomes most obstacles along those lines. It's truly one of what I call "Feel Good" garden plants. When all else fails, I can usually depend on the Roselle to pull off a crop. However, last year proved an exception to that rule. The deer and the grasshoppers would just not leave it alone. That was the first year ever that I've had a crop failure with Roselle.
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Post by FrostyTurnip on Jun 7, 2023 7:04:41 GMT -6
I’m only speaking for myself here. I had only one of many Roselle seeds come up in the plug tray. Yesterday I found another that had germinated within the last few days. These babies are telling me they want heat and that they prefer to e direct seeded. As much as I hate it, I’ll do just that next year, probably in mid May and cover them against any cool snaps.
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Post by Tucson Grower on Jun 11, 2023 14:18:10 GMT -6
My largest is really making progress, it even has the beginnings of buds. I'm anxious to see the flowers and try some tea.
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