Hidden Valley Hibiscus Forum

Hi all,
in early June I put some Bridal Path pollen on two Belle blooms. Seed pods started developing and they have been the size of walnuts since the beginning of July, if not earlier. Since then absolutely nothing happened. The pods are still green and plump, and firmly attached to the plant. It's been cool this summer and both pods are shaded by leaves.
Is it normal to take this long? Is there any hope that there are actually seeds inside or should I take the pods off to get more flowers ? 

That's a good cross. The hotter it is the faster they ripen but 8 weeks is a normal time for a summer like this. Any day now they will quickly turn brown, crack open, and then spill the seeds if you don't spot them in time. It's quite exciting when you see it happen!

I keep pods for up to 12 weeks. I've learned that at that point they are either empty or there are black (ripe) seeds inside. At 12 weeks I will remove the pod and then break it open manually. This happens rarely. Most likely yours will finish up within 2 weeks and it could be any day now.

Let us know!

Charlie

Uh-oh, curiosity killed the cat...or in this case the seeds. I decided to take one of the seed-pods off and opened it. Don't ask why  ::) Of course it had several seeds growing inside and they were still white but big.

Needless to say the other pod stays on the bush.

That's funny, Uli, and something I'm pretty sure everybody who ever tried to hybridize has done. It's such a painful experience that it's rarely done more than once or twice.  :)

That is actually why I made the effort one year to find out at what point it was safe to force open a pod. My conclusion based on doing it a lot was that at 12 weeks there are either black ripe seeds inside or it is empty. I never found white seeds developing at the 12 week mark. Before that time you can find white seeds, as you just did. More than 90 percent of pods that have ripe seeds inside will dramatically turn brown and black and crack open on their own. Some people make little net bags out of cheesecloth or women's hose or similar material and tie them around the green pods so that if they ripen and open when before you notice them the seeds will be caught in the bag and not be lost on the floor. I don't do that but I've trained my eye to spot the pods as they start to turn color and in many cases the pods open in such a way that the seeds do not spill out immediately. I've even found seeds still in an open pod weeks after it opened, the pod completely dry but still on the plant. That's rare, and you can't count on it, but it does happen.

Charlie

Guilty here to that as well :P

The heat did it for the second seed pod. It started turning brown yesterday and today it cracked open. Woohoo, 9 seeds. I'll leave them out today so the surface can dry and then I'll plant them. Gotta do some studying up on that subject.

If you plant them fresh, as in within a day or 2, you don't have to nick them and the results are excellent if the seeds are viable.

Charlie

Haha, Charlie, did you know I was searching "nicking seeds"?

Thank you :)

I didn't know it but figured you would have to come across "nicking" if you looked into how to plant hibiscus seeds. Hibiscus seeds are soft skinned when the pods open but over time can harden up to the point where water won't penetrate reliably without nicking the hard coating. When they are fresh the water gets in quickly and germination happens within a week or so depending on temperatures. Overwatering kills more seeds than anything else, but they do need constant moisture so it's a delicate balancing act.

Charlie

They're SPROUTING  ;D