It is hot in San Diego - especially for the end of October. We have had weeks of temperatures ranging between 90 and 105 degrees Fahrenheit (32 to 40 degree Celsius). Many of us are a bit tired of that and would like some rain and temps around 80 or so.
The plants are screaming at me for water. They are drooping and looking all pathetic trying to convince me to take better care of them.
Not so lady Rosella. She is loving it!! For month now, she has been hanging around. Growing, yes, but a bit slowly. Not really liking it too much right next to the Ladies of the Night - the Dragon fruit flowers who love to show off their beauty.
They are pretty, right? And they really like to dazzle you with their beauty.
See how they snuck into this post about Miss Rosella? That is how they are. But, we forgive them. All their splendor only lasts one night - maybe two. They need to get everyones attention fast!!
Back to Miss Rosella.
At the beginning of the heat wave, she was reaching barely the middle cross piece of the dragon fruit cage. No flowers were anywhere to be seen. Look at her now - reaching up to the sky.
And look at my sweet Hibiscus Rosella.
Buds and flowers all over the place!!
Bloom, baby, bloom!!! When those flowers are done, the buds shrivel up and are ready to be harvested for tea after a few days. The flower buds are called the calyx -or calyxes for more than one. But who cares about complicated words like that. Shriveled up spend flower is what you want for your tea.
I always knew that tea as Hibiscus tea, but it has many names in different countries and cultures. If you are interested, Wikipedia has lots to say
One thing I didn't know that the stem is used to make bast. Now, as a child, I made lots of crafts involving bast. But I had no idea that it was the stem of the plant which flowers made the dark red brew we drank at dinner time.
Oh, that tea! When I had my store, many of my Mexican customers bought the flowers to use as a rinse for their hair. Apparently, it makes dark hair shine really nicely.
Pretty useful plant, right? Beauty from the flower and later tea. Fiber from the stem. But what about the leaves?
I am glad you asked. The leaves are not only edible, they are delicious and nutritious. And soon, you will see a recipe using the leaves of this amazing plant.
This is the first year I am growing Hibiscus Rosella and wasn't sure if our climate was warm enough for it to thrive. I wanted it for the tea and had no idea that the leaves are also edible and are the main crop in many countries. Growing a garden is so much fun and learning how to use every part of a plant is even better!
This year, it is certainly warm enough for the Hibiscus Rosella to thrive. Let's hope it turns out to be a perennial plant for me. If it won't survive the winter - I am saving seeds and will get some plants started early next year!