Bought Some Gumamela Plants from Mahogany Market

When I saw the gumamela (hibiscus) plants at Mahogany Market, it elicited happy childhood memories. Mom had it in her garden when I was growing up. I used to get flowers from it to make bubbles. I asked my Malaysian friend if they would grind some gumamela flowers, add water and detergent to make bubbles (and use alambre to blow bubbles with). He had no idea what gumamela was used for since they probably had ready made bubble juice in his generation. #signsofoldage

I had no plans to buy flowers when we went to Mahogany Market. I ended up getting four pots of gumamela on a whim. Aside from Mom having gumamela in her garden, I remember we had them in school too. It used to be very common also in our village. I don't see it often nowadays and probably plant collectors don't see much value in them. It's valuable to me because it brings back happy memories. 

To be honest, it took awhile to figure out how much water the plant needed. I read it liked its soil to be moist. The plants shed leaves and the flowers soon died after they opened. I immediately read more about hibiscus care and figured out it probably needed more water. I checked the soil in the afternoons to see if it was dry. It was, so I experimented for a few days to see how much water it needed. 

The plants have been with me for a month now. They look healthy. I've started to remove new leaves as instructed by Manang Lydia. She said I should do this to encourage the plant to grow more flowers. Since they re-potted the plants already, I will probably add some fertilizer by month end. That's one thing hibiscus plants need according to my research. 

I hope the plants last long with me. My plan is to also see if I can propagate it so I can give some to my friends.  :)

#BeKind #StaySafe