Texas star hibiscus winter over. They start dying back now they should do find if you plant them now, they will die back to ground most of the time but not always. This cold-tolerant perennial is hardy from zones 5 through 10 and produces some of the tallest plants for the flower border. Scarlet, star-shaped flowers are produced in abundance to the delight of the ruby-throated hummingbird. The foliage is a striking glossy-green and maple-like. In the landscape, create an exotic look with large banana plants growing behind one of these shrubs, or plant a yellow bush-form allamanda in front. Combine them with cannas and elephant ears. Place them to the back of the border to hide their giraffe leg-like stalks. Though considered a plant for all soils, requirements for the Texas Star hibiscus are much like those of other perennials. Plant in well-drained, well-prepared beds and use a good layer of mulch to keep the soil evenly moist through the season. This hibiscus is found growing naturally in sandy, moist, acidic soils in Georgia and Florida. Plants can easily reach 6 feet in height and width, so space on 3-foot centers. Choose a site with plenty of sunlight. Morning sun and filtered afternoon light are just about perfect in our state. Hibiscus blooms on new growth, so it is important to keep it growing vigorously throughout the season. Keep them well fed and watered during periods of drought. Many gardeners think the prolific flower production of a hibiscus requires a lot of super-bloom-type fertilizers high in phosphorous, but this is not the case. Hibiscus prefers a balanced fertilizer given out in small, monthly applications. Water daily if you are growing hibiscus, or any other plant, in containers during the summer. Nutrients quickly leach from the soil, so apply a diluted, water-soluble fertilizer weekly or add time-released granules per label recommendation. Periodically, we get calls from gardeners who get aphids. Before using an insecticide, make sure yours is labeled for hibiscus. If possible, simply pick the aphids off hibiscus buds. A little extra patience on your part may bring on ladybugs at just the right time to do your aphid control naturally. If you are treating hibiscus, roses or any other plant with an insecticide during the summer, water them well a couple of hours before the insecticide application. After the Texas Star plants have frozen in the fall, cut them back to ground level and add a little extra mulch. I always go for nursery-grown plants, but many gardeners ask if these can be grown from seed, and indeed they can. It does help to lightly scrape with sandpaper for easier germination. I know nothing about the rest but they should handle any cool warm weather we get someone else might have better information on the rest. I just took a look and the rest are tropical

Basil is an annual in most cases. You can pot it and bring it inside for a while, but it's only meant to live it's life cycle out within a year and after a while it will go to seed anyway. There are a couple varietals that are perennial, but typical sweet basil is not. In addition--the hot temps and direct sun that basil prefers are generally not found indoors.

Kimmsr now that I know what we had...I agree. But my husband does not do well with any insect. Our house is sprayed to keep bugs away. So he was putting something on it. Until I found out what would treat them. We set it outside and treated it. We've had hard rain...and a possible tornado. We have some people from the weather center coming to our area to check out the damage. Many homes with trees. We were fortunate to be spared...though two large branches that hang over our sunroom wa torn off. But were tossed into the ravine beside our home. Running on a generator... The hibiscus was knocked down...but seems alright. With all the hard rain surely all insects are gone.

Hibiscus Seed Capsules Seed saving is a lot of fun and it's easy to do! This is how I do it....and these are general and universal instructions. Mother Nature is pretty easy to figure out if we keep with the idea that SHE needs to keep it simple too. Take a good look at a flower. When the flower fades leave it where it is, do not remove it. Eventually at the base of the flower there will be some swelling. This is where the seeds are forming. Do keep the petals where they are and let them fall naturally...I don't touch it or bother it, I just leave it be. The base of the flower will swell even more and soon you'll notice that the flower stem and the swollen base are turning a papery-brown. This is a very good indication that the seeds are almost fully ripe....in effect the plant has achieved it's goal of reproduction for that flower...it has produced viable seeds and no longer needs to expend energy to keep it alive, so it doesn't sends it's sugars and water up to the stem anymore. That's why it's turning papery-brown. It's no longer being supplied with nutrients and so it's dying back. The drying action will continue and as the swollen pod continues to dry you will see it start to open....some pods will open in a starry design, plants like poppies create a ridge of tiny little circles near the top of the pod....they make themselves into something like a little "salt-shaker" (sorta...but you could imagine it.) All flower pods will open in some manner when the seeds are ripe....it's so they can disperse their seeds. When you see that the pods and stems are both brownish in color, AND you notice that the pods are starting to open you can then collect the pods. I place the pods on an open plate or in open bowls in a safe place where they won't be disturbed and let them continue to dry naturally for another week or two. Then I remove the seeds from them. To assure that the seeds are thoroughly dry I let them dry on an open plate for a few more days...I even will stir them every now and then to make sure the bottom layers will get a chance to dry too. Storing the dried seeds is easy. I use paper envelopes. I make my own with my printer, but you could use coin envelopes or even mailing envelopes will do fine too. Label them so you know what's inside. Store them where they'll be away from heat or direct sunlight. I use cardboard file boxes to keep my seeds in and those do just fine. Another good place to keep them is in your dining room drawers. Those are dark places and your dining room is sure to be safe from extreme fluctuations in temperature. Good luck with your seed saving! Trudi