Yes! I always nick the seeds and soak them for about 24-48 hours before planting. They should come up in 7-21 days maybe longer. Hibiscus are one of my favorite plants.
Happy Gardening
Mike

I WinterSow my hibuscus seeds both annual and perennial. Put them out in February and they germinate by mid April. Usually my perennial don't bloom till the second year. No need to nick or soak if you WS the seeds.

Mike I have lots of the large "dinner-plate"size bloom
seeds. The seeds look like bee-bees. Can these be germinated between a damp paper towel after soaking overnight? I also have a 'Luna' variety and the seed pods look much different. I litterally have a grocery bag full of pods I just picked. How do you germinate the 'Luna' variety. I also have the braided tree trunk Tropical and wondering if it has seeds?
Thank you for any help with germinating these Hibiscus.

I, like littleonefb, winter sow my Hibiscus (moscheutos, coccinea, syriacus and the annual manihot)....no need for seed preparation.

They are very strong plants and not a bit of legginess.

Some even have buds and will probably bloom this year.

Same here,WS,this Spring and they are ready to flower,any time now.

Thanks for all the help! Winter sow? In MI? That sounds coolllllddddd.

hi everyone,

I stink at seeds and am trying to learn more so I kill little germinations less often. I am in florida and have lots of hibiscus. My question is this (and pls forgive me if this is dumb)...what is the advantage of germinating seeds if you can simply take a cutting and stick in the ground?

michelle

Well for me it is complete satisfaction from growing my own plants from seed.The Hibiscus I grew this year are a color I didn't have.There is just something about having gardens full of plants that you started from seed and grew on yourself.

TX - Do you still have the dinner plate hibiscus seeds? I would be willing to trade something for a few to try.
Thank you,
Maggie

wildlifegarden, those of us in colder zones, I'm in zone 5 New England, don't have a long growing season like you do in Florida. We would have to buy a plant to start with and they run $25 in my area so that we could take a cutting. I'm not sure how well it would work up here and how large a cutting would get before the cold ended it's growth for the season. It's 41 degrees outside right now where I live.
By sowing the seeds and I WS them, I have a plant that is at least 2-4 feet tall by August and if a perennial, may or may not bloom the first year. The second year it's the size of those $25 ones and blooming away.
I've never seen annual ones sold up here, so starting those from seed will give me the blooms the same year.

Hey all,

I planted some hardy hibiscus seeds a la WS way in a milk jug last month and left it in shade. Nothing has come up yet but some of perlite (white stuff) is getting a little green with algae or moss. I'm worried that it's too humid and will just rot the seeds or kill the seedlings.

Should I worry?

I saved seed from my pink perennial hibiscus (name unknown) last year. I wintersowed a few seeds and they germinated and are doing great. A couple I planted have not bloomed because the location is not sunny enough. The ones in full sun are about 20 in tall and have been blooming for several weeks.

Karen

Here is a link that might be useful: winter sowing

Jardin, put the container in the sun. They may need a little bit more warmth to germinate, it's cool in the shade. Make sure the cap is off so warmed air can vent away.

Trudi

Also, will the jug get too hot inside or is that OK? I guess the cap off will moderate that. Thanks again!

J