It's time to start the many months of harvesting the calyxes before the fire ants get to them first!
Consider Roselle an annual. Roselle seeds need to be started in MAY and the calyxes are harvested October to as late as February. Plants are easy to start from seeds and become very large shrubs reaching six foot high. Ours got so tall and wide that the branches have started breaking off. Space them at least five feet apart if you don't plan on pruning them. Next year I plan on pruning to prevent the branches snapping.
Roselle leaves are tangy and we prefer the young, tender ones in our salads. Harvest baby leaves in the summer before they start flowering. Flowers start in September and can continue for months if the calyxes are harvested regularly. Flowers are also edible but I find they wilt too fast for my table.
Harvest calyxes after the flower has dropped and they have swelled and enlarged. They can be snapped off but I have better luck using snips.
Calyxes can be used fresh, dried, or frozen for later use. We simmer ours in water until the calyx literally dissolves and the seed pod is the only thing that remains. Drain off solids and use as you wish. (Compost the solids!) We dilute with water and drink as a beverage. Some add sweetener or rum. These can also be dried or frozen for later use.
For more reading, I enjoyed this article:
https://hort.purdue.edu/
Need a visual of a calyx?
Look here: http://www.scielo.br/img/
