Food forest site or unrealistic pipe dream?

spector

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Don't know if this will work in you zone, but cranberry hibiscus is very colorful and a tender perennial also the tea and jam are yummy. I grow mine in ground as well as containers. 5 ft tall !

Planted some seeds today, so fingers crossed!
 

spector

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Okay, the internet gods were watching. Out of the blue, I received a packet of seeds that I did not order. I prepared to freak out over Chinese weed seeds, but then saw it was from a grower I have used before. Inside was a packet of hibiscus acetosella seeds! I planted all 22, and so far, 21 have sprouted.

But the internet gods are fickle. The ginseng I purchased earlier turns out to be a false ginseng. (I *thought* it was growing awfully well for a crop that takes years to harvest.) I got two plants, because the first one came damaged, so the seller sent me another free of charge, and they are interesting plants. They are called Talinum paniculatum, or Talinum ginseng or Jewels of Opar. The roots have some of the same benefits (theoretically) as ginseng panax, but Talinum ginseng is more a border perennial plant. Back to the drawing board, this time I found a ginseng grower (vs. a guy on Etsy), so I have REAL ginseng rootlets on the way. The Jewels of Opar will be relegated to the fence line, which is kind of like Mad Max borderlands. You might survive, if you are tough, and with a little help.

This is only the second time I have been unlucky on-line with plant ID. The first time was when I bought white egret orchid corms and they turned out to be garden balsam!! The seller in that case was super nice when I sent her photos, because she had been bilked by someone who sold her the packet. It turned that I really like garden balsam, and I would never had known that if I hadn't gotten those seeds! Now I grow it every year (from the seeds of the original plants). The bees and the hummers like it, and I think it is a neat background plant.
 

DivingTemptress

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I am so glad you now have the cranberry hibiscus ... the leaves are sooo yummy in salads !! I will be harvesting the blossoms for tea and if it is like my roselle, that will begin in about 2 months. They know fall is on the way long before we feel a break in the summer heat.
 

spector

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As of this morning, the last one sprouted, so I may have some extras to give away!
 

DivingTemptress

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Sorry I can't remember where you live ... I just went back to read previous posts and see you are in Cali .... near wildfires? hope you are staying safe!!

here in Texas, the plants know that fall has arrived long before we feel the weather change. The Cranberry hibiscus is a tender perennial, so if you need to, bring a couple of plants inside for wintertime, then plant in the ground in the spring.

The roselle on the other hand, is an annual, so with the plants I have, I am very busy with harvesting so I get the calyxes for tea and jam at the peak timing so they are not drying out and opening up first.
 

spector

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Yes, in northern California. Happily, the fires are a bit south of me, although I have been having to keep the windows and doors closed because of all the smoke that drifted this way.
 

DivingTemptress

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I hope the winds don't bring the fires your way ... they seem to be keeping Hurricane Laura away from me, thank God !! not even getting any rain yet
 

spector

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I went through my fires last year, when I was evacuated and about a third of my property got torched. Happily, it wasn't the third where my house or animals are!! Glad the storms are avoiding you!

I am considered Zone 9 (a or b, depending on what reference you use), so our winters aren't horrible, but I will overwinter the hibiscus this first year, just because they will all still be babies in a few months, when the cold weather hits. Typically, temps don't drop much below 40F in the winter out here, and that is at night, so I think they might be okay next year.
 
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