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

I'm assuming it's in a pot inside a pot? I would remove it from that larger one. place it in a sunny spot to see if it'll dry up. Maybe lightly pull on the other leaves to get rid of any more rot there might be. These are best to be treated like a succulent meaning they should stay dry over winter. I hope it'll turn around for ya.

Your soil looks fine in that photo.......lots of perlite and can't really overwater it. When you water try not to wet the actual crown/leaves of the plant (just the soil/roots), and water on the morning of a bright day. These are both more applicable in winter. Your biggest problem growing that plant was lack of light. Unfortunately those etiolated/stretched leaves will not heal or turn normal. Assuming the crown is healthy, and growing conditions remain good, it will eventually produce another normal pup or two. Keep it under good growing conditions. You may just want to buy a new plant and grow in the better conditions you are providing now.

Definitely time to repot. This so-called soil provided by the producers is not good in the long run. Try a mixture of lean soil (seeding soil works nicely), gravel (very fine, it may be very coarse sand), some seramis and perhaps a little pine bark. Or any not-too-rich soil with lots of perlite mixed into it. The trick is to make the soil very free-draining, then you may water with very little danger of overwatering. I think that wrinkling of the leaves on your plant is actually due to underwatering. This present soil is retentive, but if you water in small quantities or infrequently (or both), the water stays near the surface and roots get very little. While repotting, remove as much of original soil as possible (use your fingers to pry the roots away gently), give your plant a good drainage in new pot, sit it in firmly and DO NOT water for a couple of days after repotting. Good luck with you plant!