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��� Tip cuttings should be taken during the warmer months, September through April being the most ideal. Cuttings of hibiscus require a moist and uniform 70-80 degrees F atmosphere and well-drained media.

��� The media should consist of clean sand and peat moss holding the ratio of 3 sand to 1 peat. Five inches of drainage material, such as crushed brick, should be put in the bottom of the propagation box before adding the mixture. Gently and evenly water to settle the media. Then use a nail to punch one-and-a-half inch holes for the cuttings.

��� The cutting should be cut cleanly across just under a leaf node. Some of the lower leaves should be removed, and a few of the larger ones remaining cut in half. Cuttings should then be pushed in the holes until firmly in place. The box should now be watered again.

��� The lid of the box should not be closed tightly, but raised slightly to allow for some ventilation. Do not allow the cuttings to dry out or become wilted. The media should be kept moist, but not wet. Keep the box in a place where the temperature stays fairly constant. Within 4-5 weeks roots should appear. After the cuttings begin to grow well start allowing more ventilation to gradually harden the plants. Open the lid completely for about one week before transplanting into 4� pots.

��� Hardwood cuttings are usually taken in the Spring or Summer, or all year long if you have a greenhouse.

��� Select straight wood that is about as thick as a pencil or a little larger. Remove all the leaves, and trim to approximately 4-6 inches long. Taking a sharp knife, make a cut at about 45 degrees just below the node at the base of the cutting. The bases can be �wounded� by taking a sliver off the stem to expose the cambium layer 1-2 inches on one or two sides. (This procedure increases the root-producing area.) Next apply a rooting hormone in powder, liquid, or gel form. This is not essential, but will promote earlier and more vigorous root growth. The cuttings are then placed in individual propagating tubes or small pots.

��� Place the cuttings in a shadehouse to protect then from wind and to prevent their drying out. Coarse river sand will cause good rooting, but the risk of this drying out is great, and it is safer to add a little peat or perlite to the medium to hold moisture. Mixtures of perlite, peat and perlite, peat and sand, however, have all been found to work well. Once the cuttings have rooted, they can be potted into larger pots using a good quality potting mix.� ��

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��� New varieties or cultivars of hibiscus are created through seed production. This process is called �hybridizing�. Two different varieties are selected to produce seed. Each seed will produce a genetically different plant with it�s own set of characteristics.

��� Your best chance of getting hibiscus seed requires fresh pollen and fresh receptive stigma pads that will allow the pollen to fertilize the ovules within the ovary at the base of the bloom. The ideal conditions are 60-80 degrees F and high humidity. (This slows the drying of the pollen and the pads.) The transferring of the pollen can be done in different ways. Some use tweezers or surgical forceps to remove the pollen sacs from the style. Others use a soft brush to remove the pollen and apply to the pads. The pollinated bloom must stay on the plant for the seedpod to form and develop to maturity.

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��� If this has been done successfully, the bloom will fall off in a day or two leaving behind the stem and base of the flower. The ovary in the base will swell over the next few weeks forming a pod the size of the end of your thumb.� The pod will then ripen, turn brown, and open in 6-14 weeks, exposing fuzzy brown and black apple-sized seeds. A ripe pod can begin to turn brown and open within 24 hours and the seeds can spill out and be lost, so watch it carefully. The pod may contain anywhere between 0 and 60 seeds, but 10 to 20 is more common. Some plant immediately, others will put in envelopes in sealed jars and store in the refrigerator for weeks or months, and yet others will store at room temperature in a dry place. If the seeds have been allowed to dry, you may soak them overnight and carefully nick the black seed skin on the back of the seed with a razor blade.

��� Seeds can be planted in a commercial seed starting medium or a mix of sand, perlite, vermiculite, and Canadian peat. Plant the seeds � to �� deep in the mixture. Germination should occur in a week to a month on average. It is best to keep the temperature about 75-80 degrees F and the medium damp, but not soggy. Styrofoam cups with a drainage hole punched in the bottom and 100% perlite to start the seedlings may be used, or else 4� pots. After several sets of true leaves develop and the stems begin to harden and become woody, they may be moved to a larger pot or even planted into a bed. Gradually introduce these small seedlings to the sun over several days, and avoid temperatures in the 40s. After 6 to 18 months the seedlings will begin to bloom.�����

Web Links

http://www.australianhibiscus.com/info/prop1.htm

http:///www.trop-hibiscus.com/cprop.html

http://www.trop-hibiscus.com/hibseed.html

http://www.trop-hibiscus.com/rooting.html