Gumamela in Landscaping

When you plant gumamela, plan to do it in the spring, summer or fall. They should be
placed about 3 to 6 feet apart.

Hibiscus shrubs work well as hedges. They also make suitable foundation plants and
can anchor structures and buildings to the landscape. To make it resemble a tree,
remove the bottom branches as it grows, so it will grow taller and have a tree shape.

Watering Gumamela
Hibiscus plants require at least an inch of water a week. They are somewhat tolerant of
drought conditions, but in the hottest and driest parts of the year, you should
supplement them with water. Direct the irrigation to the roots and avoid the leaves. The
shrubs prefer to be consistently moist but do not like to be wet.

Planting Gumamela
When you are starting gumamela from seed, soak the seeds in warm water for about an
hour before sowing. Start the seeds indoors approximately 12 weeks before the last
frost or outdoors after the last frost.

You can also start them from cuttings, seedlings or larger plants found at a nursery.
Mature plants can be divided during spring and planted in the ground or containers.

Light Conditions
Hibiscus does well in full sun, and it tolerates partial shade. Sunnier conditions yield
more flowers, while shaded conditions produce more leaves. Too much shade causes a
plant to become too leggy. When you plant the hibiscus, make sure that they are given
enough room for light, so they do not compete with the surrounding plants.

Care for Gumamela

During the growing season, prune it back to encourage flowers to blossom. When you
are pruning, cut the branches back to the stalk. Cut off flowers before they form seed
heads to encourage re-bloom.
Feed them two times a month during the warmer months or amend the soil with
compost to promote blooming. Periodically check the plant for pests such as whiteflies
or aphids, and apply insecticide or pesticide as needed.

What Are the Uses of Gumamela?

There are a variety of culinary and medicinal uses of the gumamela plant. Young
hibiscus leaves are used as a spinach substitute. The flowers are also edible cooked or
raw and contain trace amounts of phosphorus, iron, thiamine, niacin, ascorbic acid and
calcium. They also yield flavonoids, anthocyanins and polyphenols.

The root of the plant is edible, although it’s very fibrous. Other culinary applications
include using it as a tea. To make the tea, immerse the petals of the flower in water.
You can boil the water and add fresh petals or dried petals. Some cooks put the leaves
and the flowers in curries and soups. The flowers can be used to make jams or jellies
and even perfume.

Gumamela flowers are used to shine shoes in China, which is how they earned the
name shoeflower. When the leaves are crushed, the flowers turn black and are used to
blacken shoes. They’re also used to dye hair and eyebrows.

What Can Gumamela Cure?

Certain cultures use hibiscus as an alternative medicine. One primary use is for wound
healing. Petals are ground as a poultice and applied to a wound. This ground-up
mixture is also used to treat swelling and boils. A mixture of the red and white flowers is
a Kelantan antidote for poison.

In clinical trials, hibiscus was used with compression stockings to close ulcers with good
results. Another traditional use for hibiscus is to encourage hair growth. It had positive
results with patients with alopecia. Other studies show that hibiscus may be useful in
treating tuberculosis. Samoans give hibiscus to women in childbirth to ease the pain of
labor.