Jan–MarApr–JunJul–SepOct–Dec
Planting
Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
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Plant · P-315
Roselle
Sabdariffa gossypiifolia
Roselle is grown for its tart red calyx - the fleshy part left after the flower drops - eaten raw in salads, cooked into jelly and sauce, or steeped into the bissap or sorrel drink found across West Africa and the Caribbean. It is a genuinely good hot-climate crop that also yields edible leaves and stems with a rhubarb-like tang, roasted seed, and a strong stem fiber used for sackcloth and cord. The catch is timing: as a short-day plant it does not flower until day length shortens in autumn, which turns the calyx harvest into a race against the first freeze, so an early-flowering variety and prompt spring sowing matter more than for most crops.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 3–10
- Soil
- Sand · Loam · Clay
- Moisture
- Dry · Well-Drained · Moist
Vertical layer
Shrub- Soil pH
- 4.5–8
- Plant type
- Perennial
- Mature height
- 6–10 ft
- Mature spread
- 3–5 ft
- Plant spacing
- 3–6 ft
- Root type
- Tap
- Spread pattern
- None
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The deeper layer
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- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
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- Byproduct
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Behind the record
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