Shady Spot Hibiscus

[Denise]

Like everyone else, I'm sure, I am already dreaming about and planning my Spring garden set-up. I have a spot in the front yard that receives only about 2-4 hours of sunlight in the morning, and then shade the rest of the day. I would like to put a hibiscus in this spot, but I'm not sure! Are there any CV's that would tolerate this little sunlight, or (even better!) thrive in it?
I'll list the ones that I have (or will have) that are still looking for a "permanent" spot in my yard. I'm guessing the "blues" might be good candidates for this spot? May I have some expert opinions?

Pinot Noir
Midsummer Night
Confection Perfection
VooDoo Magic
Bienvenue
Sizzle
Valentine's Day
Prosperity

Also- which ones would do terrible there?

Thank you friends!

[davidwood]

Denise two to four hours sun a day is not a little sun, with afternoon shade that's just about perfect for Hibiscus and would not be classed as shady, so your choices are not limited, yeeeaaa great news ha ha. Shady is trying to grow and get blooms on an hour a day or less, then its tricky but can be done. Here is a link from this Website that gives you good information.
http://www.hiddenvalleyhibiscus.com/care/sun.htm

[Denise]

Thanks David! I have read all those pages but it's been a while...guess I need to review! Well, I hope my estimate on the amount of sunlight there is correct. If so, looks like I'm in business! Maybe I need to put some more out front...hmmm.....

The front of my house faces sort of Northeast...more North than East, so it gets the morning sun. I have never actually timed how much, so I think I should do that. Right now during Winter I think it is less due to the sun being lower in the sky...hopefully more sun in the Summer. We'll see.

[topshelf12]

 Hi Denise,
I am in the bay area also. If you are growing your hibs in pots in the front yard be careful or have a big dog. I have heard people mention on this forum that people see the blooms, lose their senses and steal the plant. I have not put any hibs in my front yard because of this.
Norm

[Denise]

Norm!! That crossed my mind! How rude, huh? I guess I will have to give it some more thought. Or get an electric fence to put around it!

[Doll]

Just dig a hole and plant the pot in the ground. That way it will look like they are planted in the ground. Plus they won't blow over on windy days.

[Nievesgirl]

Midsummer Night
Confection Perfection
VooDoo Magic
Bienvenue
Sizzle
Valentine's Day
Prosperity

Also- which ones would do terrible there?

Thank you friends!

Hi Denise

Voodoo magic likes sun , mine did not bloom much under my t5 lights. Its now at my bfs in full sun and has buds.

The rest probably like full sun.If you get 4 hrs daily it should be enough I think 2 hrs is not enough. When I put my plants on my balcony in spring I get about 4hrs to 6 hrs and I get blooms. I mostly have blues and browns.  The ones that do not bloom well under my lights end up being sun lovers or enjoy real sun.  Midsummer dream may do well since its in the purple spectrum My V day didn't do well under my lights.   I do have confection Perfection but I just brought it home from bfs , so I am not sure how it will react to the t5's. It was getting full sun at bfs and has yet to grow for me. This is chris's plant and he also had a hard time.  It may just be too young and needs time to mature.

[farmer d]

Hi Denise,

Good advice from everyone for sure!  Norm unfortunately brings up a very valid point and I also have none of my hibiscus open to the street or sidewalk (all within my walled front yard so some deterrent).

Be very very careful if you want to permanently plant any exotics in ground.  I don't think your climate is warm enough in winter even if you have trees above your plants to protect them from frost/freezes.  John's approach with holes in the ground for your potted plants sounds like the way to go for the bay area.  My lowest normal winter night temps bottom out in the high 30s F (2.7C) and I see some damage on leaves at that point or mid 30s.

I have all of your listed CVs except Voodoo Magic.  They will all do very well with the amount of sun you've indicated and David is right on that that is actually a perfect amount of sunlight each day so you should see some awesome results.

If your front yard is facing north east does it have the ability to get direct sunlight from a lower southern angle of the sun?  As long as nothing is blocking the sun from them you should be ok.  Just mentioning this as my planter in my front yard that faces north has a 2 foot wall that blocks the sun for about 1/2 of the year unless the plants are tall enough to peak over.  The problem for me is that the soil never sees any sun and stays very wet and cold 24-7.  For younger hibiscus this is a recipe for root fungus and I've lost a few in this planter...

Good luck and enjoy planning it out - we want lots of pics as you do your stuff!

Farmer D

[Denise]

Thank you all for the feedback! I love it. I'm really gonna have to take notes on the sun position out there. I have just always considered the front of my house as shady, so I'll have to really check it out and take notes.

Darren!! I did not know you had Pinot Noir! Has it bloomed for you yet? Any pictures? I got mine as a 4 inch in November 2011 and it is doing great! It has new growth and is looking so healthy....I can't wait!

Planting in the ground here is definitely not an option. I actually planted some garden variety in the ground when we first bought our house, back when I was a novice (because I'm such an expert now! HA HA!) and as you may guess, that did not end well. I do have a few garden variety in very large pots now that I leave outside because they're just too big. They lose all their leaves and grow back but I could never do that to my babies!!

Sooo....what if I somehow chain the container to my porch? Do you think the plant thieves would pluck the plant right out of it?

[Denise]

Kerry, I got my Confection Perfection in Spring 2011. It was always in full full sun and seemed to love it. It is still small so maybe it's a slow grower. I did get I think 3 blooms from it, maybe 4 so far? I'm hoping it will take off this year...

[farmer d]

Woops! My bad I was going by Kerry's inserted quote on her reply which didn't show Pinot Noir.  Nope don't have that one yet but it has been on my mind for sure....

I can tell you with my Confection Perfection that I've had since late summer 2010 it is a slow grower for sure.  Slow and steady plus I think the spot mine is in is too wet (rather shady spot) so that will slow things down more too.  But man when that thing blooms there are few blooms as pretty.  So pretty I've been tempted to get another one but c'mon duplicates Darren?  I need hibiscus therapy...

Farmer D

[Denise]

Ah, Darren I see. I was pretty sure I hadn't seen Pinot Noir from you...glad I'm not crazy.

Hmmmm...so I'll try not to judge you if you start buying multiples

But I agree...CF is striking. I don't think the camera captures the brightness of this one....not even sure if brightness is the right word! It's just really striking in person!

[Nievesgirl]

O Denise I forgot to say I have pinot noir. Mine is in full sun at bfs it had buds and bloomed.
It may do well under low lights. I do not know since I took it to bfs right after I got it.

[Denise]

Ok, so the spot in my front yard did not get ANY sun today (so far). I didn't remember to check until about 7:30, so it might have gotten some between sunrise and 7:30, but I doubt it. Now the sun is behind the house for the rest of the day. I could have sworn it gets sun there in the morning during Spring/Summer. Does the position of the sun change THAT much through the seasons? Any scientists out there?

[Darkhorse]

Yep, where the sun shines in your yard can really change through the seasons.  The sun is a whole lot lower in the sky now than in the summertime.  I have a really sunny, bright spot on the south side of my house during the summer.  It gets so hot that I can't keep any hibiscus over there during the summertime; I tried to put my greenhouse there this winter thinking it would be an ideal location.  Boy I was wrong!  The sun is so low during the winter that the neighbor's house and my fence blocked any direct light that the gh would have gotten.