Getting Hibiscus Wood to root/ growing seeds

[kris]

are these ur own hybrids or did u purchase the seeds?

[Nievesgirl]

are these ur own hybrids or did u purchase the seeds?

No not my own I bought a batch of 6 from ebay seller and the rest where bought from Barry Schlueter

[Nievesgirl]

Update on jiffy Greenhouse so I decided to not put lid over greenhouse since we have been having nice weather in Los angeles. I notice no new seedlings sprouting at all I dug a few seeds up to see progress ( nothing ) . I put lid back on , on Tuesday , and last night and BAM they are sprouting ! The growth seems unreal. I even noticed the 2 pair of leaves on the older seedling grew a lot in one night !

[Nievesgirl]

update

[Nievesgirl]

I transferred two seedlings last night to 3" clay pots I hope they do well. I also found a better mini green house I will buy for the next seedlings I try to grow, it comes with a heating mat.
Right now the jiffy mini green house gets heat from the cable box I place it on top of 

[Charlie]

I think you will find the heat mat very helpful for both growing seeds and even for stressed plants that you can put on it as a sort of hospital as needed.

Good luck with the new setup!

Charlie

[Nievesgirl]

I think you will find the heat mat very helpful for both growing seeds and even for stressed plants that you can put on it as a sort of hospital as needed.

Good luck with the new setup!

Charlie

It seems that my seedlings have been growing slowly because of the weather , I saw a picture of a 8 week old seedling and I was floored  I have seedings that are about a month old and they are no where near the size in the picture I saw.

The seedlings got some sun for two days and their real first leaf is starting to grow. That good news so far.

I also had a question about the seedlings. Could you make assumptions on what kind of growth these plants will be like at this age ? I only ask because I planted 5 seeds at the same time of the same cross and 4 out of 5 sprouted at the same time . I have one that has 5 leaves and the other still has the baby leaves

[Nievesgirl]

Forgot to say , where can i get plastic 3" containers? I am not liking these clay ones since they suck up too much water. I can not find any at home depot or armstrong nursery. 

[Charlie]

Hi Nievesgirl,

Don't be too concerned about the rate of growth. It is way colder here in southern CA than it is in TX and Florida, especially at night, and that affects the growth tremendously. Our "hot season" is just about to begin and you will see much faster growth July through October. Also hibiscus growing from seed increase their rate of growth the older they get. Once you get yours into 6 inch or larger pots the growth will really take off. Always keep in mind that top growth and root growth are intimately connected. You don't want to overpot but at the same time hibiscus top growth responds strongly to new root growth so you don't want to hold them back by keeping them in smaller pots than they are ready for.

You can make assumptions about young seedlings based on their current performance but it is just as likely to change as not later on. I don't feel like I really know a new variety until I have grown it for several years and grown plants propagated from the original seedling plant. The one thing about hibiscus that you can count on is that they will surprise you, and no "rule" ever goes unbroken for long.

I'm not sure where to get the small plastic pots. Surely some garden center has them - maybe someone will make a suggestion.

Charlie

[Nievesgirl]

My seedlings are taking off finally. I guess I miscalculated how old they are. They barely just turned a month old ! I was freaking out because I thought they where too small.

I will post updated pictures soon.  I am awaiting new seeds so more seedlings to come.

[helixturnhelix]

Thats good news!  If you want something to plant them in, and is a bit more earth friendly, there are compressed coco fiber pots that I saw at Do it Center a couple weeks ago.  They last and are completely biodegradable!

[Nievesgirl]

I have a few questions about my seedlings

Is this normal for some of the leaves to look like this ?





Here is what they look like now

[Charlie]

Yes, they look normal. Seedlings show a fascinating range of leaf types and colors. Alas, they lose these interesting looks as they mature.

Charlie

[Nievesgirl]

Yes, they look normal. Seedlings show a fascinating range of leaf types and colors. Alas, they lose these interesting looks as they mature.

Charlie

Ok thanks Charlie , I thought something may have been wrong with them lol

I received 150 Seeds ! They finally came. I did not expect this much at all. I have a seed starter kit with 72 cells , I will grow half and start other seeds later. Since I am having success getting the seeds to grow I will probably have a huge jungle soon lol.

[helixturnhelix]

ROFL, you have your work cut out for you!  Now you just have to make room for your own hybrids, are these all ebay purchases?  If you really want to set seed, Belle is really good.  I have three seed pods forming atm, and they were pollinated when the temp has been around 95-102 every day.  Its even warmer now and the seed pods still look good.  I'm going to give her a break for now, her blooming has slowed down since the seed making, so I would like to see more blooms.  What also appeals to me about Belle is she is pretty compact growing, so you could get her to produce alot of flowers/seeds only taking a little space.  I know you don't want to use pinks, but she is such a good seed setter in even hot weather.  Saffron was pretty good in cool weather, hot weather not so much.  Maybe Charlie can give some incite as to how many of Belle's offspring are pink, so you can figure out if you want to use her for setting seed.