Calling all faithful readers! I am looking for information regarding the lovely flower known as hibiscus. I have developed a very recent, impossible to ignore craving for iced hibiscus tea, which I have been drinking every day since. I have never cared much for this tea before. I am looking for any and all information regarding this plant: herbal, botanical, folkloric, agricultural, whatever. Does anyone know which cultivars to grow for the tea? I am also interested in any information about other related plants- rose of sharon, hollyhock, manihot, mallow, you name it, I care.
3 comments:
I know nothing of those specific plants, though hibiscus grows well here and a man at the farmers market who mixes it with lemonade and a fresh crushed mint leaf. I have been reading a book called Color which explores the history of different paint pigments, very interesting and a color still used widely ( in red lipstick, and Cherry coke) is made from the crushed cochineal bug which grows on cacti. There is saffron for yellow and orange made from the red stamen of crocuses hand-picked at midday. And Momie brown which was made from Egyptian mummies. And Indian yellow a beautiful hue made from force feeding mango leaves to cows until they would pass these stones which would be ground up for pigment. innerersting stuff, Love,
Meg
kathy mulvaney (ie. arachnophobia) is here and she says she loves rose of sharon. plant it in the shade.
that is all. i know nothing more. i actually have an orange thumb, rather than a green one. but mmmmmmmmm. i *do* love hibiscus tea. come to visit and we will enjoy some of it al fresco.
I got a hibiscus plant for $2 from Patryk Battle a few months ago at the Wednesday FBFC tailgate market downtown which he said is the very variety used for "Red Zinger" type teas. It looks like it is going to be a while before it blooms, but you can have some of the flowers when it does...
Patryk said that he sold a large quantity of starts of the same variety to some dude who was going to grow a boatload of hibiscus for tea and sell it (locally?) ... you could probably find out who that is, since it's such a small town.
Post a Comment