Hibiscus plants from seed

Question

I have a mature red hibiscus plant on my window sill which was blooming the last few summers – I often counted 15 buds at a time. I tried pollinating with a cotton bud and was overjoyed to get a couple of seed pods which I allowed to mature and dry out. From the seeds that I planted, I got about 10 little plants but they didn’t all look the same. Seven of them had leaves like the mother plant, whereas three had slightly different leaves – narrower and split into 2 or 3 ‘slices’. How can this be? Is there such a thing as a male plant and a female plant? I can send photos if you wish. Thanks in advance, Malcolm

Answer 1

There are not male and female plants. Likely, the ones that are different are reversions that are from a previous cross that was used to get your particular hibiscus. Many plants’ seeds will revert to a previous parent plant. They may also be sports, otherwise known as genetic mutations. Many plants people love actually started out as a sport. Let them grow and see what they turn out looking like. It can make it exciting to see what the result will be.