Roselle, Thai red

10 years ago

I finally got some seeds!!!

SESE had a booth at the fair and they had the roselle seeds and tons of others I needed. Yes needed. I am thrilled to get the roselles because where I ordered from didn't carry them and I can't justify paying shipping for a few pkgs.

I can't wait to get them growing. Tips everyone ?

Also got some elderberry starts and juice. I hope it helps I caught some respiratory crud last week and it has hammered me.

Featured Answer

Okiedawn OK Zone 7

10 years ago

I start roselle indoors under lights similar to the way I start tomatoes or peppers. It is very sensitive to cold temperatures and frost, so I generally don't transplant any of the plants into the ground until okra-planting time.

Roselle is a short-day plant and it is photoperiodic, so it isn't going to start blooming until well after the summer solstice no matter when you plant it. I think mine usually start blooming in August and the very first year they didn't bloom much until September. However, they then bloomed heavily until frost, which for me is usually in mid-November or even later. I mostly used them for roselle jam which is my favorite jam or jelly that I've ever made, and the only one we love so much that we never give any of it away. It is sweet but tart sort of like plum jelly but not exactly the same, maybe with a bit more tartness. To me, it is more like blueberry jam but better. I also like to dry the calyxes and use them to make tea. It is roselles that put the "zing" in Red Zinger Tea. They also are used to make a drink called many names, and which I know as Flor de Jamaica. Some people eat the leaves in salads or cooked similar to spinach but I haven't tried that. Roselles are used in many tropical and sub-tropical cultures in cooking, and one way you can read about all the different places they're grown and used is to read the Roselle wikipedia page. It also is used medicinally in some cultures as the roselles are high in polyphenols.

You can harvest and use the calyxes when they still are fresh and soft or after they are older and have hardened. If I'm busier with canning and dehydrating other crops, I just leave them until they are older and hardened. They work fine either way.

They are huge monster plants. Mine usually spread out 4-5' wide and get 6 to 10' tall and it is almost impossible to remove the plant "stump" which is so big by the end of the growing season that it looks like a tree trunk. You cannot pull them up, you have to dig them up. If you grow a lot of them, they take up a ton of space. I space them 5' apart and grow something vining, like sweet potatoes or icebox melons on the ground beneath them as a ground cover type plant, giving me two crops out of the space instead of just one. The plants themselves are beautiful. The flowers are very similar to okra flowers in appearance.

Hope this helps.

Dawn

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Comments (12)

p_mac
10 years ago
There are several former members that posted in older threads about both of those. Owiebrain had a lot of experience with the elderberries and ileneinneok grew the Roselle's. Maybe search the blog-sphere out on the net and find some tips. Both should grow beautifully in your area. Good luck and report back?!
AmyinOwasso/zone 6b
10 years ago
I've grown Roselle in a 5 gal bucket, in a flower bed and a raised bed. I have a stump to dig out in the raised bed, it grew the biggest there. They are attractive plants with edible leaves (lemony tasting). In the fall they get the purple calyces (I looked that up, plural of calyx) and the leaves turn red. I believe in tropical areas these are perennial, but you get the most flowers the first year. The flowers look like okra flowers, though maybe not as pretty. I got mine for tea. They are also called Florida cranberries and SESE has a recipe for cranberry sauce. Also good for jelly I hear.
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AmyinOwasso/zone 6b
10 years ago
I got an elderberry start last year that grew very fast and has leaves already this year. Apparently easy to grow. I have used the Sambucal (brand name) elderberry syrrup and I think it helps.
luvncannin
Original Author
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Thank you for all his information. I am more excited now. The syrup worked very well. I went back and bought 6 more starts. : )
luvncannin
Original Author
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
What about recipes. Does anyone have a recipe or link for roselles.
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
10 years ago
The first year I grew roselle, I just Googled and found tons of recipes, though I did have to wade through a lot of stuff that I wasn't interested in.

The page I linked below not only has a handful of recipes, but at the end it has a few links to other recipes.

Because roselle is used in many cultures, you can find recipes for using it the same way it is used in many different nations, so if you want to make the Mexican drink, Flor de Jamaica, you can find that or if you want to use it in a Burmese soup, you can find that. With roselle being using in so many different ways, the sky is the limit.

Growing & Using Roselle
Macmex
10 years ago
Thanks for all this great info! I ordered some seeds. I had a really bad kidney stone attack, while new in Mexico, in 1988. They gave me flor de Jamaica tea by the gallon for over a month. After that, I had an aversion to the stuff. But I guess time has solved that. I got into some of my daughter's Red Zinger tea and found it to be fabulous!

George
shankins123
10 years ago
So Roselle is related to hibiscus? Just seeing this thread. My dad has always liked drinking Jamaica (pronounced huh-MY-kuh), but I had no idea from what sort of plant it came (just imagined a hibiscus-type plant). I'll have to investigate!
Sharon
AmyinOwasso/zone 6b
10 years ago
George, I'm sorry, I pulled out my saved roselle seeds yesterday and was going to send you some. I think you will enjoy these plants.
AmyinOwasso/zone 6b
10 years ago

Florida cranberry sauce from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, scroll down a little
luvncannin
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you. I can't wait to put some recipes in my binder to try. I do have a little wait yet don't I. I bought some dried at natural grocers to make tea.

I met two sweet people at the SESE booth and the gentleman said that the lady was responsible for SESE having roselle. I only wish there was more time to talk to the vendors.