When to plant Roselle in Wakiso

Central, Uganda

Known here as choya

Roselle — you may know it as bissap, zobo, karkade or sorrel — is a tall, warm-season hibiscus grown for the fleshy red cups (the calyces) that swell at the base of each flower once the petals drop.

Roselle in Wakiso, rain-fed and with irrigation
Measure	Rain-fed	With irrigation
Fit	Favourable
When to plant	20 Jul 2027 – 29 Aug 2027 opens in 42 weeks	21 Jan 2026 – 1 Jan 2027
Expected harvest	about 1.0 t/ha	same
Harvest	From 17 Nov 2027 to 25 Feb 2028, depending on the planting date
Ready to harvest	120–180 days after planting
Work it takes	85–175 days per hectare, by hand
Rain meets its needs	92%

Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.

If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 9 Aug 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.

This season's rainfall outlook for Wakiso is close to normal, so these dates match the pattern the area usually follows.

Planting after 29 Aug 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.

What decides this in Wakiso

Rain and temperature	96%
The soil	96%
The lie of the land	60%

For roselle in Wakiso, the lie of the land is the tightest of the three at 60%. You cannot flatten it, but you can farm it: plant along the contour rather than up and down, ridge or tie ridges to hold water on the slope, and expect shallower rooting than the crop would manage on flat ground.

The 2025 season in Wakiso

When the rains are expected	January 2025 to January 2025
Rain in a typical year	About 1,017 mm
This season's rain	Rain close to usual — plan around about 1,017 mm falling roughly when it always does
This season's heat	Hotter than usual — about +1.0 °C over the growing months. Heat makes the same rain do less, so a dry spell bites sooner: do not plant late, and shade or mulch what you can.
What that supports	enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season
Ground this covers	One kind of ground throughout.

last updated 17 September 2026

What roselle needs to grow here

Soil it likes	well-drained sandy loam or loam soil
Soil sourness (pH)	Happiest between pH 5.5 and 7.5
Spacing	80 cm between rows, 60 cm between plants
Feed it most with	nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium

What it takes to grow roselle in Wakiso

Nitrogen (N)	About 40 kg per hectare
Phosphate (P₂O₅)	About 15 kg per hectare
Potash (K₂O)	About 55 kg per hectare
In the shops	A basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. A nitrogen top dressing — urea or AN — goes on once the crop is established.
Hand work	85–175 days per hectare, by hand

These are the nutrients a roselle crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.

What to watch for

Pest/disease risk — manageable

Grow Roselle with a plan, not a guess

Everything above describes Wakiso as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.

Or check your field first

Roselle in nearby districts

How to grow Roselle, step by step Land preparation to harvest — every task, in order

Frequently asked questions

Will roselle grow well in Wakiso?

Wakiso rates as favourable for roselle.

When should I plant roselle in Wakiso?

Typically 20 Jul 2027 to 29 Aug 2027, forecast-adjusted.

Is this exact for my own field?

No — these are readings taken across Wakiso, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.