PlantFiles: Roselle, Jamaican Tea, Maple-Leaf Hibiscus, Florida Cranberry, October Hibiscus, Red Sorrell
Hibiscus sabdariffa

In my area its not perennial, so you have to store it over the winter. Pretty not spectacular though. Can be rangy.I bought it 8 years ago at a herb show, my little 4" pot grew to be 3' x 2' in the garden. I couldn't find info about hardiness at the time, and it froze. However if you were growing it purely for culinary purposed it would be worthwhile, the flavor is delish and rather unusual.

This plant was grown as a vegetable plant in Burma, where I grew up. They are grown seasonally. They are mainly used for soup. The Burmese add fish to it and make a delicious sour soup. Add a few chilies and you get a very tasty soup that is very good for clearing up your sinus system! This soup is especially good because it is winter (that's when this plant likes to grow when no other vegetable want to bother). Both leaves and seedbags (the budlike things (fruits) in which the seeds are stored) can be eaten. Use only the skin of the fruit. You can also put the flower in the soup to make it creamy! Now in the US, I didn't know what this plant was called or does it exist in the US? Then I remembered the flowers kinda looked like hibiscus so I searched for keyword "edible hibiscus" on Google and boom, I was provided with a link to Dave's Garden on the search returns. The reddish maple-leaf-like foliage is both beautiful and delicious, (beautilicious?!). Now that I know the name, I can do further research to see if I can find some seeds here in Louisiana. One thing though, the ones we had in Burma are sour, not sweet. It was the whole point, sour. I can imagine people who use it for salad and tea purposes wanting it sweet though. But I must find this sour variety here in the US! I must make that soup I grew up eating. Yummy!

Beautiful and It grows fine in zone 10b, coastal Southern California, but it got off to a slow start. It would not germinate outside during our mostly cool summers. Hot weather comes in Sept and doesn't last long enough to allow much time for the plant to produce prolifically. Now, In early Nov., the plant is starting to get downy mildew from the bottom(from overnight & morning fog perhaps?). No one knows which parts of the plant to use or how to dry or prepare it. Attempts to dry resulted in mold. Any suggestions?

Roselle is a WONDERFUL plant in the home landscape and one that I am truly impressed with for it's ease of care and beauty. Fifty years ago it was widely grown in Florida as a summertime hedge and for its edible calyces and I don't know why it still isn't! I have found these to be PEST FREE, super easy to grow, will take FLORIDA full sun with no problem and require NO TRIMMING to form a beautifully shaped shrub.

The dark green leaves contrast nicely with the red stems and petioles, making it a beautiful specimen even before it starts to bloom. In the fall the plants EXPLODE with flowers that start the day yellow with a light blush of pink and end the day as a dark, dusty rose color. Although each flower is only about 3" across and lasts only a day, they bushes are covered in new flowers each day. Just when other plants are starting to fade, these really liven the landscape during the fall!

The edible calyces (fruits) are a bonus!

At the bottom of each flower, enclosing the bases of the five petals, is a fleshy bright red cup-like structure called a calyx, The calyx is about 1 inch in diameter. The calyces of roselle are used to make juices, sauces, jellies, wines and pies.

Place roselle where it will have plenty of room. This is a large annual, so thin plants to about 3 feet apart. Roselle is often planted in rows where it forms a dense hedge by mid summer If planted from seed in spring,

If you ever go to a Senegalese restaurant, ask for a drink called Bissap. It is the Senegalese national drink and is made from the dried flowers of this Hibiscus.

I thought it was pretty good, but I forget exactly what it tasted like.

this plant is known all over the caribbean and latin america for the tea made from its flowers which is a popular soft drink. the dried flowers are sold in bulk in the markets and brewed and sweetened to taste. i do not know the chemical properties of the drink but it is very tasty and has the tartness of cranberry. i have grown it here in west central florida and it is quite available if you keep a lookout on the roads or ask other gardeners.

I was born and raised in Sebring Fl. As a child we made what we call the Florida cranberry jam. It is made from the sepals of the seed pod. I am very much interested in obtaining a plant or some seeds. It will not take the cold weather. I do know it will grow here in Sebring as we are about mid state and do not have the extreme cold weather.
I am very fond of the plant. and would like to grow it again. I am retired.

I have two plants that I started from seed in the middle of the year they are about four feet tall now (11/02). The flowers are a light burgundy with deep burgundy center, about two inches in diameter. I obtained the seed from a lady in Ocala,Fl. and I live in N.W. Fl. I don't know if they will live outside through the winter or not, I have them in pots in the green house. More info.as I follow their growth and fruiting,if they do fruit.