Hibiscus

Hibiscus is found all over the world in tropical climes, and Barbados is no exception. As a child, only the common red one was found in Barbados, and it was everywhere. Hedges and shrubs were in every garden - lines of green littered with bright red flowers. and I loved it as I used to eat the flowers - I still find them quite delicious. Only the common red ones though - the hybrids that come in almost every colour of the rainbow are much coarser and don’t have much flavour. Right off the bush, Hibiscus makes for a tasty snack. Hibiscus is in the same family as okra, which I like equally as much.

The common red Hibiscus is very easy to propagate. Get some cuttings from a mature plant, strip off the leaves and place in water until roots appear, then plant out. The hybrids can be done in this way too, they are just harder to get to root and then flourish in the ground, but once you’ve got them past that delicate stage, they are quite hardy, and a bit of water during the drier months will be appreciated.

Hibiscus leaves have serrated edges and are either a nice rich green or variegated as shown in one of the photos. I am only aware of the variegated variety having a red flower. Notice also that the unopened flower bud in the common red Hibiscus is quite different from that of the hybrid red. The common red buds are also very delicious.

Unfortunately, slugs and snails also find Hibiscus quite delicious, and they can clean the plant of leaves in just a couple of nights. I remember going slug hunting on many nights with my dad with bucket of brine in hand, and it really did make a difference. Nowadays, people buy some awful chemical like malathion to do the job instead of a cheap and effective brine solution that you can make in your kitchen. I guess that is what is called “progress”.