Going for a walk in your garden or sitting on your terrace, when your plants are fully in bloom, gives you a pleasure similar to being in a paradise, your personal paradise.

Enjoying your favorite colors, creating your own designs and doing it all season long without worrying about running out of flowers is priceless.

Warranty? We give it to you.

Today we are talking about Hibiscus, specifically the ones you can buy at Rachel&Co.

They are within our flower range. Although it is a subtropical plant, it has not had great difficulties to grow in Almeria, thanks to the climate we enjoy.

In our company, HibisQs® is the one that is produced in the largest quantity. It is a trademark of a unique series of improved genetics within the Hibiscus assortment. It allows the supply of a very wide range of colors, since we work with more than 17 different colors and their particularity is that they produce long-lasting flowers (LongiFlora™), with a life that can exceed 6 days in some colors. They are also multiflora, that is, new buds are born every week if the plant is located in a suitable place.

This guarantees that the customer will get flower beds for a long time with amazing colors of unparalleled beauty, with single and double flowers.

For more than 16 years, two exclusive producer brothers of our firm, Jesús and Isidro, here in Almería, have been in charge of its cultivation in Spain. They are part of the small group of the main producers of hibisQs® of the Danish firm Graff Breedings® A/S.

These brothers understand that the quality and selection of plants are the key to our business, which is why their HibisQs are reputed to be some of the best on the market.

In addition to using biological control against the usual pests of the plant, they do a lot of round manual work to achieve homogeneity in their batches, specimens very well branched, full of buttons and very compact. This work makes their plant stand out, among many others in the sector, for its quality and thanks to that, we have achieved a clientele that bets every week on these HibisQs®, an impeccable result of the work of these workers.

At Rachel&Co we have them available in bush format, from 1.4 liters to 25 liters and we work with them from January to October.

We know that you are good with plants, but they remind you of their basic care so that they remain healthy and beautiful:

1. Direct sun, although in very hot and dry places, semi-shade is recommended.
2. Water it regularly, but never leave the roots flooded with water.
3. General fertilizer once a year, without applying it during the hottest summer months.
4. New potting soil every two years.
5. Prune once a year, preferably in late winter or early spring.
6. Temperature above 12°C and our plant will continue to bloom until the frost arrives.

As we said, the biological control used in its cultivation guarantees us the possibility of consuming its flowers without risk to health.

In Spain we do not usually eat hibiscus flowers, but it is a flower that can be consumed and has a very pleasant taste.

Among its properties and benefits, the following stand out:

• It fights heartburn and gastrointestinal conditions. It is a good remedy against heavy digestion.
• It fights constipation, helping intestinal transit.
• It keeps cholesterol levels balanced.
• It helps to strengthen defenses, thus preventing colds.
• It can be used as a natural tranquilizer, as it helps to fall asleep.
• The flower has diuretic and disinfectant effects on the urinary tract.
• It protects your cardiovascular health.

There are many popular recipes among hibiscus lovers. For this reason, we take the opportunity to leave you some samples of its use, trusting that you will have the possibility of tasting both the dehydrated flower and the fresh one.

• As a simple infusion: Dry the flowers, take 2-3 dried flowers for every 250 milliliters of water. Boil the water and let the flowers infuse in it for 3-4 minutes.

• As a refreshing drink in summer: it is a good remedy to combat thirst, because it gives a floral flavor to the water, it is satiating and very refreshing. It looks like a red tea because of the color of the infusion.
• As a natural sweet: a good way to consume it is fresh, when the flower begins to open. Caramelize it in a light syrup with little sugar. It tastes so good!
• As a complement in dough or cakes. We show you a recipe, try it and let us know your opinion:

Hibiscus flower cake:

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 free range eggs
• Grated rind of half a lemon
• 200 gr of wheat flour
• 100 grams of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of honey
• 120 grams of butter
• 20ml semi-skimmed milk
• 4 dried hibiscus flowers
• 2 tablespoons raw sliced ​​almonds
• 1 sachet of chemical yeast

Recipe preparation:

• Blend the Hibiscus flowers in a blender and set aside.

• Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

• In a bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, honey and milk for a few seconds at high speed.

• Stir in the melted butter and then the flour with the baking powder. Take out the mixer and add the lemon zest and the crushed Hibiscus flowers.

• Grease the baking tin with butter and sprinkle a little flour to prevent it from sticking during baking.

• Put the mixture into the baking tin and place the flaked almonds on the surface of the dough.

• Put the mould in the oven for fifteen minutes at a temperature of 180ºC and then lower the temperature to 150ºC for half an hour more.

• Pierce the sponge cake with a toothpick and check that it comes out clean, as this indicates that the cake is cooked.

• Leave to cool on a wire rack and enjoy, this Hibiscus Flower Cake is delicious.

And that’s all for now!

Finally, we want to give you some great news: At Rachel&Co we have created an Extraordinary Quality Brand to distinguish some of our varieties of plants from the rest of the standard quality production in any garden. These hibiscus are among the references selected to be part of this privileged range because of all the characteristics they have.

We hope that soon our brand will be available in all florists and garden centres!

We invite you to look for these HibisQs® in your garden centre and we hope you enjoy our plants as much as we do.

Make your space your own paradise with flowers and plants from Rachel&Co.

See you again!