Southwest Florida Gardening

Cranberry Hibiscus, or false roselle as it is sometimes called, is one of my garden favorites. The technical name for this beauty is Hibiscus acetosella and whether I eat it or not, I love the plant.

Cranberry hibiscus has striking red leaves similar to a Japanese maple. It can be planted in the spring and kept pruned for an attractive annual shrub and may be grown as a temporary hedge. It doesn’t mind being cut back and will branch out much nicer if it’s kept trimmed. Left to its own devices, cranberry hibiscus will become a very tall, narrow plant with a single thick stem. Since it self-seeds easily, you will over time end up with a clump but there will likely be a lot of dead stalks in it from last year’s growth. I much prefer cutting it back in late fall or early winter and then let it grow back from the stump if we haven’t had any freezing temperatures. The stump will sprout and branch out in the spring and within a very short time, I have a nice little bush.

Cranberry hibiscus is nematode and insect resistant and does very well in my sandy soil. Sometimes, as I’m removing young plants from odd places and various garden containers, I almost think it does a little too well but I’m not about to eliminate this plant entirely. I just find another home for the babies and we’re good to go.

The young tender red leaves have a tart flavor and are an attractive addition to salads, slaws, or stir fries. In the fall it has deep pink blossoms. About thirty blossoms can be picked at dusk after they have folded, and blended with lime juice and sugar to make a beautiful and tasty drink. The petals add a bright red color rather than any special flavor, so you’re essentially drinking limeade but it’s just so much prettier.

Cranberry hibiscus was one of the first plants I bought at Echo nearly twelve years ago and it’s survived long periods of neglect as well as Hurricane Charley in 2004. It will grow happily in the ground in southwest Florida or in a container garden further north.

If you plan to try it in your Northern container garden, either save the seeds and replant it or bring your plant into a frost free area before that first frost can damage it. It will “die” and turn brown. Water it very sparingly during the winter months and then move it back outside in the spring. Cut the dead stem back, leaving just a few inches at the base. It should grow back from this stump. If it doesn’t, you will most likely have plenty of new little sprouts from seeds that fell during the last growing season. It can be grown the same as any other annual in the northern states. Simply save a few seed pods each year and replant as you would any annual flower.