You Can Save Seeds From Your Hibiscus Plant To Grow Next Year

Harvesting hibiscus seeds from a plant is fairly simple. By late summer, a healthy hibiscus will start producing seedpods along with the flower blooms.  To harvest hibiscus seeds for next year you will need to:

• Distinguish seed pods from flower pods
• Allow pods to mature on the bush
• Pick pods at their peak maturity
• Remove seeds from the pods
• Dry out seeds

How To Identify Seed Pods

The seed pods of the Hibiscus plant look just like the flower pods before they mature into full bloom. The seed pod, which is about one inch long, is initially green and oval shaped. As the pod matures, it begins to dry out.   Eventually, it turns brown and the petals start to open.

When To Harvest Hibiscus Seeds

Seed pods hold about 20 to 30 seeds.  Once you are able to identify the seed pods from the flowers, you will want to wait until the seeds inside the pod mature before picking them. Initially, the seeds are small, delicate and light green. When the seeds mature, the outer petals of the pod dry out revealing larger, brown seeds that appear fuzzy on the edges.

This is the time to harvest the seeds – before the birds discover them!

How To Collect Hibiscus Seeds

Cut or pull the mature pods from the bush.  The more mature they are, the easier they fall off the stem.  Gently pull away the dried outer shell of the pods and let the seeds separate onto a flat dry surface.  Make sure to remove anything that is not a seed – gently removing any other parts of the pod that may still be attached.

Allow the seeds to air dry for about a week.  Then, carefully place the seeds into a plain white envelope.  Seal the envelope and store it in a cool, dry location until you are ready to plant indoors for an early start in the spring.

Air drying the seeds can also be done with a DIY screen setup as shown in How to Collect and Dry Sunflower Seeds.