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Manihot Hibiscus

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by Patty S on October 24, 2006 03:03 AM
Yesterday morning my Yellow Manihot hibiscus blossomed! I have it in a pot for now, because I wasn't sure where I wanted it next year. (Started it from seed that Jimmy sent this spring.) I brought it into the house on Saturday when I thought it was going to get cold at night, because I don't know what temperature range it likes. [dunno]

Before church it looked like this...
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...then later in the afternoon it was like this!
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What the heck happened? The whole plant was all saggy & tired looking, as though making a flower had worn it out or something! [nutz]

It's fine again today, but the flower is still all folded up, like it's done! [shocked] I've never had a hibiscus before... don't the blossoms last for more than a day? (or a HALF day?) There are 7 more buds on it, so I'm going to get more flowers, but it sure doesn't seem like it's very happy when it blooms!

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by TulsaRose on October 24, 2006 04:40 PM
Patty, that's a gorgeous Hibiscus. The blooms last just one day but you'll have tons of flowers when the plant is more mature. Your's probably is just reacting to being brought indoors and will straighten up in a day or two. It will need lots of light and you'll want to be sure the soil is moist...not soggy. [Wink]

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Rosie z7a
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by Patty S on October 25, 2006 07:27 AM
Thanks, Rosie! [kissies]
The darned thing perked back up later that night, then the leaves sagged down again yesterday until it evening came along... & now today it's behaving! (Weird!) [nutz]

It's been in the mid-to-high 70's during the day here, & dips down into the mid-to-upper 40's at night (which I think is cold), but I'm still not sure what kind of temps it likes. Do you know? I've got it in a bright sun lit room inside the house... is that OK, or should I move it over where it can have full sunshine? (Or back outside?) I want it to be able to do its thing, since I think it got a late start.

I'm assuming that the little knob that's forming where the petals fell off is the seed pod. [dunno] But... since there were no bees or butterflies in the house, should I assume that those seeds aren't going to be viable? [dunno]

Sure am glad I can ask all these questions here, cuz I don't know diddly about some of these flowers... & I assume that somebody else knows the answers!

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by TulsaRose on October 25, 2006 07:31 PM
Patty, I think the Manihout is a Tropical Hibiscus but let Jimmy give you pointers. The "rule of thumb" is to bring them in when temps hit 50 and below. If you are still having decent daytime temps, it probably won't hurt it to take it outside each day. They do love the sunshine!!!

I just brought in my one and only tropical yesterday (it got down to 35 overnight) and sat her in front of a south facing window. They go into full dormancy here and drop all their leaves within a few weeks of coming inside. I've never had success with keeping them going in a "green" mode over the winter.

Years ago, I had one that kept its foliage and even bloomed sporadically...I even decorated it as a Christmas tree one year. It was a real hoot to see the look on people's faces when they saw it. [Wink] I managed to kill that poor beauty by not bringing her inside early enough and the deep freeze got her. [Eek!]

Almost forgot the other question...mine has never set seed pods, indoors or out. Must be sterile.

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Rosie z7a
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by Patty S on November 20, 2006 05:42 PM
This plant put out a few flowers, then started losing leaves... maybe because indoors it wasn't getting the full sun it likes. (It stayed cloudy for a few weeks & there was no dirct sun anywhere.) It's just about done looking like a plant at this point.

The Copper King Hibiscus that Patti had sent me earlier this summer is outside. It never did flower, but I had it in pretty poor soil before I moved it, & am expecting it to do better next year. I understand that the stalk that the leaves were growing on turns into a dead stick, & a new stalk will come up next year. (Right?)

OK, so what I need to know is if the Manihot is going to do that too. [dunno] Also, will being outside hurt it, or should I put it in the garage for the winter?

If/when it freezes here, it doesn't last long (as in... it might freeze for 4 hours) & only gets down around 30*.

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by Jimmy V on November 20, 2006 09:00 PM
Patty I leave all my tropicals outside until the night time (just before dawn) temps get to 44 and dropping then I bring them in also don't keep your house too hot as there is no air movement in most homes. I try to keep my inside temps at 78 for a high and 68 for a low keep my ceiling fan on all the time to keep air moving. I am surprised it bloomed the first year normally mine haven't bloomed until the second year. Mine sometimes drop leaves when I bring them in but not always. I posted my plants I brought in in Container Gardening you can see for yourself how they look. My house is now a rain forest. Notice the Morning glory tree blooms they put on new each night. Hibiscus blooms normally onl;y last one day so enjoy the beauty while they are in bloom. Did you notice bees outside before you brought the plant in, Did it start blooming outside before it was brought in? If so they may have gotten to it other wise your seed pod may well be sterile but never hurts to plant and see anyway things happen you know.

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 - Meet Clyde my Male Sugar Glider. Clyde says Keep it organic.
 - GOD BLESS THE U.S.A. Pray for our Troops! Jimmy's Photos
 - Jimmy's Blog
by njoynit on November 20, 2006 10:15 PM
I grew one a few years ago(have since lost)its dryer air indoors.try setting it on a tray of pebbles with water so it has moisture& mist it a few times a day or crowding plants(they prespire together making own humidity)
for me its more of a headache to overwinter tropical hibiscus.I even made it easy on myself last year.I only did one.....and its not here today.

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I will age ungracefully until I become an old woman in a small garden..doing whatever the Hell I want!

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by Patty S on November 21, 2006 04:31 AM
Thanks for all the info, Jimmy. I'll keep it inside. I just cleared all my 'winter-overs' out of the dining room (so we can use the table for a change) & put them all on top of the piano, with a high spectrum fluorescent light above them. There is a ceiling fan in this room that's almost always on, as I keep the wood stove going a lot in the wintertime, so it should get plenty of air flow.

The only thing I have to worry about is keeping everything watered, as the air is pretty dry with the wood heat. I also need to do what njoynit suggested & keep water trays around them, like I do for my Orchids. (In fact, I think I should set up the humdifier on the piano.) My Pepper, Basil, Parlor Maple & tomato plants dont mind the extra heat when the stove is going... in fact, they love that. If the hibiscus doesn't like the heat, I can always set it on the floor where it's cooler.

As you can see, it only has a few little leaves on it. (They might be new ones.) [dunno]
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So, do you think it's going to keep on during the winter, or is this stalk going to turn into a "dead stick" like the Copper King does?

I didn't pay attention to whether there were any bees around before I brought the Manihot in, but there was really nothing to the pods of the couple flowers it made, so I didn't get any seeds from it.

Now I'm going over to the Container forum to see your plant pics.......

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by Jimmy V on November 21, 2006 09:38 AM
Patty I bottom water everything in pots year round . In the winter only about once a week depending on humidity I don't use gas or wood heat so don't have to worry about that. It should like the heat just don't let it get too close like any other plant. Mine did drop the leaves but put more on real soon. Good Luck with yours.

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 - Meet Clyde my Male Sugar Glider. Clyde says Keep it organic.
 - GOD BLESS THE U.S.A. Pray for our Troops! Jimmy's Photos
 - Jimmy's Blog
by angelblossom on November 21, 2006 09:52 AM
Patty I was looking at your pic!! What does the sign say that the rabbit is holding??

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Sorrow looks back, Worry looks around, Faith looks up!  -  -
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by Patty S on November 21, 2006 12:24 PM
Thanks again, Jimmy. [kissies] It was so nice outside today that I took all those plants out on the deck & set them in a tub of water for a while, so everything is happy. (I do need to repot them in potting soil the next time we have a nice day though, cuz when I brought them all back in, this room smelled like a cat box because of the garden dirt I'd filled the pots with when I dug the plants up last month.) PHEW!  - I think I'm on the right track now with the Manihot, & will keep you posted.

Diane...
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So far, the critters have heeded the bunny's sign... (do I have to admit that he lived in a patch of deer-proof plants all summer?) [grin]

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by njoynit on November 21, 2006 09:01 PM
I need that for hubby but have it say "Don't think of harming a hair on these plants!"

you can get a cast iron pot for top of wood stove and keep water in and can add scents(orange peels,cinnamon,apples.......)adds humidity& scent.

Like your angelwing begonia....what color?I have Lucernia with coral blooms lighter pink in winter.

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I will age ungracefully until I become an old woman in a small garden..doing whatever the Hell I want!

http://community.webshots.com/user/njoynit03
http://community.webshots.com/user/njoynit
http://photos.yahoo.com/njoynit03
by plants 'n pots on November 21, 2006 10:46 PM
Diane - isn't it a funny coincidence that Patty has the same bunny that you sent to me??? I think she said she won it in a raffle in a gardening club?

Here's mine...
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Patty - those flowers look great!
Got seeds??? [Big Grin] [dunno] [grin] [tongue]

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 - Lynne's knitting journal  -  -  -
"I'm spayed, declawed, and housebound - how's YOUR day going???"
by Patty S on November 22, 2006 12:22 AM
quote:
I need that for hubby but have it say "Don't think of harming a hair on these plants!"
You have one of "those" hubby's too, huh? [Big Grin] Mine doesn't purposely hurt the things I put in the garden, but the first year I tried growing Nigella (my favorite) it had finally come up nicely but wasn't close to flowering yet (when they first come up they looked like the beginnings of carrot plants). I was sick in bed & my sweetie thought he would surprise me ...he pulled up every darned one of those plants & came in beaming with pride, "I weeded the whole bed all along the front of the house for you!" [shocked] (Yup, I was surprised alright!)

I didn't say anything to him about it at the time (had to REALLY bite my tongue), but it takes Nigella 3 months to sprout!  - I was kicking myself for having told him once, "Whatever there's more of in a garden, you can bet that 90% of the time those are the weeds"!

I can't believe that you spotted that Angelwing!
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I have no idea what color the blossoms are going to be... (right now it's just green & freckled!) [grin] Sarah (Barleychown) gave me that as a rooted cutting just a year ago, & it hasn't flowered yet. It was about the size of the smaller one next to it in the pic, that a friend gave me recently... that one just started rooting in water. I've sure enjoyed watching that thing grow, & I must be doing something right, cuz it seems pretty happy! (Is there something I need to do to make it bloom?)

Good suggestion about the pot on the woodstove! I hadn't thought of that, but the stove isn't on 24/7 like when the only source of heat we had was wood. (I kept a pot of soup going all the time back then.)

About the bunny... I just like Lynne so much that I wanted to have a garden toy just like hers! [lala] [grin]
Good memory for trivia, Lynne! I did win that rabbit on a monthly drawing last Feb from a MSN seed swapper group! I stumbled across it 1 day when I was browsing around, then I did the daily sign-up for the drawing before coming here every day... & won it the very first month I'd joined! (I went back & posted a thank-you, but haven't been back since!) [Embarrassed]

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by angelblossom on November 22, 2006 08:17 AM
Patty I have angel wing begonias too I just love the blooms last spring was my first for them , I brought them in but there in the garage I guess maybe I should put in the house I wasn't quite sure where to put them I'll bring on in this evening!!! Jimmy has told me to bottom water everything in pots too so I'm going to do that these cold months that I have to bring plants in.. He's house plants always look great and he always bottom waters' [thumb] also my first winter for hibiscus so I'm glad you started this thread I'm learning along with!!!
Funny Bunny --Boy they sure do mulitply Huh? [dunno] [Big Grin] [Big Grin]

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Sorrow looks back, Worry looks around, Faith looks up!  -  -
http://photobucket.com/albums/e374/2thtek/  -  -
by ServantsHeart2003 on November 30, 2006 10:41 PM
Manihot is supposed to be an annual and I have never been successful in keeping it going even bringing it inside over winter. There are a couple Hibiscus like that unfortunately but the ones that survive the winter make it all ok!! hehehe

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