Roselle hibiscus is known under various names including Jamaican sorrel and Florida cranberry.
Nevertheless, it remains a stunning plant that will provide delectable color to your garden for the entire growing season!
If you are wondering how to grow a roselle plant, you’re in the right place.
Our guide provides all the information you will need to get your roselle from seed to mature plant with little trouble.
What Is Roselle?
Roselle is a plant with many names and is considered native to the tropics.
Some people will refer to it as Jamaican sorrel and some will say red sorrel or Florida cranberry. It’s scientific name is hibiscus sabdariffa.
What is interesting, is that while it is a perennial, most people grow and treat it as an annual.
Roselle produces beautiful blooms that last throughout the season and calyces that have a bunch of flavor.
If you were to taste the calyces, you would find they taste fairly similar to cranberry; which is probably how the plant got it’s nickname.
The calyces have many uses including, jellies.
They are often used in place of cranberries when making “cranberry” sauce for Thanksgiving and other holidays.
In Jamaica – locals prepare the plant into a special drink called rosa de Jamaica. This drink is also common in Mexico. If you go to a Mexican restaurant in the US you will probably see the drink, Jamaica, on the menu.
The leaves, flowers and pods of the roselle plant are edible and can be eaten in various forms.
The leaves taste much like spinach and are a popular food source in many different cultures across the globe.
They are made into teas, jams and used as a salad leaf. You can also cook the leaves.
Interestingly, the roselle also serves a unique purpose. The stems of the plant are often used in place of jute to make burlaps.
When Is The Best Time To Plant Roselle?
It’s essential to ensure that you plant your roselle seedlings at the correct happy time.
You want to make sure the soil temperature is at least 75-85ºF for germination to occur.
You will want to plant the seed at least a half inch deep and place 2 or 3 seeds in each hole while adequately spacing your plantings about 3 feet apart.
Usually you plant in early spring. In desert areas like Arizona, this would be in March when temperatures start to warm up. If you live in a little cooler climate you should wait just a little while longer and ensure the last frost has passed.
Of course, it would also be possible to start your roselle plant indoors just before the last frost, and then plant a slightly older plant outside when weather cooperates.
Finding The Right Spot For Roselle
There are a few things to keep in mind while trying to think about where to plant your roselle plant.
If you want this plant to flourish in your garden, you do need to think about some of its complicated requirements for growing, and in terms of ease of growth- a typical roselle plant requires a moderate amount of care.
These plants can get massive, so there should be ample room for them to grow- even after cutting them back.
As we have said, you need to make sure that the seeds are at least three feet apart- If not more apart. The good news is that you probably will not need more than two plants for a decent size harvest.
You will want to make sure your roselle is adequately supported.
Rebar steel is a great support and will only need 12 inches hammered in the ground for each plant.
This is an excellent option to use because the branches can get extremely heavy when they are wet and so you want a strong and stable support.
Its also important to choose a spot in your garden where it gets six hours of direct sunlight per day.
If you live in a very hot climate, a spot that get a couple hours of shade in the afternoon might be better, but otherwise, roselle cannot tolerate shade.
Additionally, although it is a tropical plant it does not like freezing conditions and prefers a higher humidity.
It’s also important to get the correct soil for the roselle plants. They do like well draining soil, and it should be rich, but not too rich.
If the soil is too rich you will find that it will get very large in size, but the calyces will not be as plentiful.
How Often Should You Water Roselle?
Roselle plants thrive in humid conditions; moisture is their ally.
For This Reason – You’re going to want to ensure the soil is uniformly moist at all times, during the plant’s maturing.
That said, it is very possible to overwater roselle and in this case it becomes difficult to manage as the plant will most like experience root rot.
To reduce this case, ensure that you use a well draining soil.
Harvesting Roselle
Your perseverance is about to pay off when it is time to harvest the lovely roselle plant.
You will need to wait until the blossoms have faded. The blossoms will generally wilt and then drop off completely.
Once that happens, you will get the calyces, but we would recommend waiting around 7 days before harvesting them.
You’ll know they’re ready when they have a red calyx usually about an inch wide, and the seed pod will be tender when fully matured.
You will need to take care when harvesting as you could potentially damage the branch while retrieving the calyx. The best way to deter that is with some clippers.
If you’d like to maximize the yield of your roselle plant, it is important to keep the plant producing by harvesting as early and often as possible to increase future returns.
Are There Any Problems With Growing Roselle?
Day length sensitivity is one of the main growing concerns regarding roselle.
You may not immediately recognize that phrase, but it simply means that the plant will not flower if the photoperiod is shorter than 13 hours of light.
Usually, this means that you slowly progress towards flowering during the time leading up to this, depending on the variety you have chosen to grow. The Thai red variety will still flower in July.
This means you will want to plan on giving the plant as much time as you can to mature prior to the longer days.
Following the recommendations we previously discussed for the best timing to plant will provide the best outcome.
However, it is not impossible for a roselle plant to flower if you planted it in August but your overall yield would not be as great.
Along with timing, you must consider that roselle is susceptible to quite a few pests.
Some of them are:
- aphids
- flea beetles
- meally bugs
- nematodes
Heating the soil will likely control nematodes and other pests can usually be controlled wash out and remove. Although this will take time, it does clean everything up.
From a disease perspective, one of the main concerns with roselle is root rot. Root rot is an issue from overly moist soil but we have discussed ways to avoid this with good drainage.
However, the plant can still have a different issue of bacterial root rot. In this case, you will have to dispose of the plant by taking the plant out of the pot and trimming up the roots that did rot off.
In replanting, be sure to provide clean soil and to prune the plant well.
Conclusion
Roselle is amongst the most stunning tropical perennial plants that can grow in your garden.
Additionally, the edible calyces make for wonderful flavored jams and jellies akin to a cranberry flavor.
These plants are moderate care plants and with just the right care, they will grow large producing abundant crops.