Roselle: Florida’s Hibiscus Tea Plant

If you’ve ever sipped a tart, ruby-red hibiscus tea and loved the taste, there’s a good chance you were drinking Roselle. This beautiful plant, also called Hibiscus sabdariffa, isn’t just for tea lovers t’s a powerhouse crop that thrives in Florida’s heat and adds beauty, flavor, and health benefits to your garden.

Roselle is a member of the hibiscus family, but instead of showy flowers, it’s the bright red calyces that steal the spotlight. These fleshy pods form after the flowers fade, and they’re what you use to make hibiscus tea, jams, sauces, and even natural food coloring. In Florida’s long growing season, Roselle does incredibly well, especially in Zones 9 and 10 where the summers are hot and the rain is plentiful.

Planting Roselle is simple. It loves full sun, well-drained soil, and warm weather. Seeds can be started in spring once the soil warms up, and the plants quickly grow into chest-high shrubs. By late summer into fall, you’ll start to see the iconic red pods forming. Each plant can produce pounds of calyces, giving you more than enough for tea all year long.

What makes Roselle so popular around the world is its health benefits. Hibiscus tea has been studied for its ability to support heart health, reduce blood pressure, and deliver a strong dose of antioxidants. Many people buy it dried from health food stores, but growing your own in Florida means it’s fresh, organic, and essentially free after the first planting.

Beyond tea, Roselle is surprisingly versatile. The leaves have a tangy, sorrel-like flavor and can be tossed into salads or cooked like spinach. The calyces can be used to make syrups, relishes, or even mixed into baked goods. Some gardeners use them to make homemade holiday drinks that taste just as festive as store-bought punch, but with a natural, homegrown twist.

Adding Roselle to your Florida garden also brings beauty. The plants have deep green foliage, hibiscus-like flowers, and striking red stems. They look ornamental, but everything about them is useful. Unlike many crops, they don’t mind Florida’s summer heat, and they’ll reward you with harvests right when other plants are winding down.

Roselle truly is the Florida hibiscus tea plant. Easy to grow, full of health benefits, and endlessly useful, it’s one of the best crops to add if you want beauty, flavor, and resilience in your backyard.

If you’re ready to grow your own hibiscus tea plant, check out my GrowFitFL YouTube channel where I show you step by step how I plant and harvest Roselle.