Braided Hibiscus

Welcome to my Braided Hibiscus! When I first had this idea, I just knew that it could and had to be done. It took weeks of testing and failing before I finally completed this project. The braid was definitely the most challenging part of the build, but building the top was extremely difficult, too.

The braid is made up of four individual plants, each one producing a different colored flower. Seven flowers are on the plant, and their colors include: Red, Orange, Coral, and Pinkish-purple.

The flower build is shown in the photo below.

The leaves are in the shape of hearts, the closest I could get to the actual shape of a real leaf. I added 1x1 teeth pieces to give it a more jagged appearance. The leaves are connected to the braid with an assortment of bars, clips, and, one of the most essential pieces, a utensil posing stand (shown below).

My build is actually braided. The braid is made of tree palm trunks, each one interwoven with the other. The method is cross four, twist each pair of two, and then cross again. I highlighted each individual stem in a different color below to show the method which I used.

Braided Hibiscuses usually use this method. Their braids are much tighter fitting, but I wanted to make this build how it would actually be done with in hand LEGO bricks. I tested how tight it could be with some of the palm trunk pieces I have lying around, so the looseness of the braid is based on in hand testing of how it would be done if this became an actual set.

The pot of my build is a typical color for hibiscus plants – a terracotta shade. I added round 1x1 plates on top to give it the potted soil look, and even incorporated a few green and white pieces, which most potting soils have.

The build is just over 1,600 pieces and stand approximately 85 studs tall.