Saga of a Newbie Hibiscus Grower in Texas

[jpiper82]

Background:  It all started last year in 2008 when I had the whole backyard landscaped.  I had four planter boxes installed to go with our Colonial Williamsburg theme. My friend has been growing Hibiscus on his patio for years, and when he was out of town I would take care of them.  He bought the local variety of Hibiscus from the local nursery stuck them in “Miracle Grow” potting soil, three per container, watered the plants daily and had great flowers all season long.  The first freeze in Texas was the end of that year’s journey.  He threw them out and stared all over again the next year.

So with all that background information I decided to do the same thing. “Except everything is not always equal.”  My landscaper filled up my Planter Boxes, I went to the same local nursery bought my plants, stuck them in the ground, and did the same program my friend uses.  
The results were not great, had average flowers, and then all kinds of problems. Problems, that I had never seen before with my friend’s plants. So as my friend did in the fall I pulled the Hibiscus out and threw them out!

Well that experience really “Ground fine on me” (It’s a Texas thing)” I started to look around for a different solution, searched the Internet and found the HiddenValley Hibiscus website.
The Journey Begins:  Around February 15th 2009 I contacted Charlie Black, and told him what I wanted to do with my Planter Boxes. He was very helpful and made several suggestions about how to proceed.  I started out with the idea that I was only going to replace some of the potting soil in my planter boxes that measure 17”x 17”x 17”. While continuing my education of the Hidden Valley Hibiscus web site I found that there is a substantial difference in potting soils.  I changed the plan and ordered 4 ten gallon bags of the HVH Potting soil.  Cleaned out my Planter boxes and was ready to receive my new Hibsicus.

Plant Selection:  There are so many varieties’ to choose from. It took me a week to decide which ones I wanted.  I choose the “Magic Moments” for two of the planter boxes, and “Bridal Path” for the other two planter boxes.  I added one “Allure” for a clay pot that I have in front of the House.  I chose these plants because I like big flowers with Majestic coloring.

The Wait: Now that all the big decisions have been made what do you do with your time?  Instead of driving my whole family crazy (as I usually do) I decided to learn everything I could about growing Exotic Tropical Hibiscus.  I studied the web site for hours, and then bought Charlie’s “Growing Hibiscus at Home” CD.  Installed it on my computer and began to study.  There is so much information there I continue to go thru it all the time.  I am the type of person that needs to read things several times.

What I learned was that I needed several more items if I was going to be successful growing Hibiscus.  Out comes the old credit card again to buy those necessary items.  I feel that if you are going to go with a program then one should use the products that are recommended by the grower.

I bought the HVH Fertilizer, Worm castings, (I did not even know what they were!) and a couple of other things.

Meanwhile, I continued to e-mail Charles Black, with questions that he promptly answered, giving me his thoughts and guidance.

The Magic Moments and Allure Arrive!
Around May 15th, the plants arrived, and I was so excited.  They all ship by UPS and arrived in perfect condition considering the 2500 mile trip in the back of a truck.  The Magic Moments had buds on them and only dropped a few in transit.  The Allure also had buds and also dropped several.

I potted the Allure in the clay pot in the front of the house, and then put the Magic Moments in the back planter boxes. Two to a box, then watered them in using the HVH fertilizer, water, and a little SuperThrive.  The HVH potting soil is so much different than like “Miracle Grow” potting soil that I knew that I would have to make adjustments.  The ingredients of the HVH potting soil make it very light and airy.  It also retains water so much better that one would think it would be easy to over water.  I checked the plants three times a day using my trusty moisture meter, and settled into watering twice a day varying amounts based on temperature.

Temperature:  As stated earlier I live in Texas, specifically McKinney, TX a suburb of Dallas, TX.  With the plants being planted May 15th the daily temperatures were running between 65 deg and 85 deg on average.  The Magic Moments acclimated very well as the temperatures were well within their comfort range. They are young plants just transitioning from the greenhouse where they grew up in to the real environment of Texas. While the temperature was not that high the Texas sun was blazing and they were in direct sun all day.  They started to show some slight signs of sunburn, but no bud drop.  I kept them well watered. Once again the HVH potting soil helped with water retention.

See Weather Graph for May.

[jpiper82]

Now Allure, has a mind of her own.  This is a very lush plant with big floppy leaves, and loves to grow buds and then drop them. She has the best location with shade in the morning and sun in the afternoon.

Because of the bud drop I moved Allure to the back of the house where I could give her early morning sun then shade when it gets hot.
 
I have an Infrared Temperature gun that allows me to taken temperatures of anything. Caution when placing clay pots on brick pavers the temperature of the brick has been as high as 140 degs so far this year. Not a good idea to keep the clay pots on pavers for an extended period of time.


Back to Magic Moments:  On June 5th she bloomed! And very beautiful

Still a very lush plant with beautiful leaves. I was so excited! Everyone was! Notice how lush the foliage is.

Vacation: June 6th we went on vacation for 5 days, and the plants were tended by my friend who also grows hibiscus. He  basically checked to make sure they were watered with my water/fertilizer combination.  I then went on another trip for 5 more days and the plants were watered by my family.

All HELL breaks loose!  During the time I was gone Texas decided to get HOT, and did it ever!

Temperatures soared into the high 90’s and low 100’s, with unbearable sun. Now the Magic Moments were really sunburned, and buds started dropping.  We also got hit with a bug infestation, and I started to spray them with Green Light Spinosad.  That took care of the bug problem, but the Magic Moments were still declining.

Bridal Path arrives!  In the midst of all this heat here comes four of the youngest plants yet.  Arrived perfectly packaged. Bridal Path is very tall for such a young plant, not bushy but straight up and down with mostly green stalk.  I put them in the other two planter boxes and watered them in.

Temperatures when planted averaged 95 deg.  We then had 5 days when the temperature was 100 deg or better.
Bridal Path showed no transplant shock, and started growing immediately. They are checked twice a day for moisture and usually watered in the heat of the day. It is now July 22, 2009, and in less than a month look at what we have!

I am afraid to get to excited!.
We have had over 16 days were the temperature exceeded  100degs  with night time lows in the 80’s. That is pretty stout even for Texas. The heat wave has broken and we have been in the low 70’s at night and 85-92 in the daytime.  We have also had some rain and the Bridal Path were pelted by hail stones last week. It did some damage to some of the leaves, actually punching round holes in them. It did not hurt the buds and as you can see from the picture we are still growing!

Update on the Magic Moments: While HVH has their greenhouse hospital for distressed plants; I decided to open my own!  My Texas hospital basically consists of keeping the Magic Moment plants on the outside porch in the shade.  Allowing them 1-2 hours a day of late afternoon sun.  Taking a page out of the HVH website I bought a quart of SuperNova booster and have changed the watering regimen for those plants in the hospital.  I now am using one gallon of water, two teaspoons of SuperNova and one teaspoon of HVH fertilizer.  This is only being used on the Magic Moments, but I will try one application on the Elusive Allure, hoping it might help with the continuous bud drop problem.
Bridal Path still continues with the water HVH Fertilizer and SuperThrive.


Additional thoughts and comments as of today July 22, 2009:  As I pen this Saga of the Newbie, my first thoughts are what I have not said that I either forgot to say or just now came to me! Well here is the first one:
“Can’t fix Stupid” Unfortunately I did not ask for guidance from Charlie when selecting my plants. I bought the flower not the plant.  He did not know where I was growing the plants. It just one of those things, I overlooked, and figured out later as Texas weather applied itself to my Hibiscus.  The easy thing to do would have been to just throw out the Magic Moments when they were stressed, call up Charlie and ask for his recommendations, buy the new plants and move on.  Well that is just too easy for me and I love the plants and the challenge.  I am going to try and heal these plants and I don’t expect an overnight miracle. I don’t know how long it takes them to revive and become the plants that I originally received but I am going to be patient.  If the Magic Moments are going to survive in the Texas summer they will have to work at the heat and temperature. They may survive better in pots on the shaded porch than in the planter boxes next year. I would still like to try them in the planter boxes but as of now that is down the road.  My backup plan for next year is to get “Cindy’s Heart” Hibiscus to replace Magic Moment in the planter boxes.  Great reviews, from the HVH forum.

Looking ahead at winter, How to keep the plants alive. Here in Texas I am probably ok until November 15th before the first frost. My original plan was to build this elaborate shelving scheme in the garage, repot them and keep them there under the florescent lights. Well my wife had a fit! So now I am just going to move the outdoor tables into the garage and put them on the tables. Problem solved.  I think I will bring one indoors to keep in my office.
I am thinking that if I can get the Hibiscus out in April and back in the planter boxes they will have a better chance to acclimate before the heat of Texas starts again.

As of July 22nd 2009.
To be continued:
John Piper

[jpiper82]

I thought I would wait a couple of weeks before continuing the “Saga”, but too many things have happened, and I don’t want to miss recording them.
 
Observations:  Were back at the hospital now.  Five days ago I started the Magic Moments on a new water-fertilization-SuperNova program.  The weather has cooled somewhat with nighttime lows around 70 deg, and daytime highs around 90 deg. This has given all the plants a well deserved break from the Texas heat.  Partial cloud cover has also helped.  Watering has been reduced accordingly.  The best Magic Moment has responded to the new program by deepening the color of the leaves, you can see it in the veins of the leaves and as it spreads throughout the leaf.  Additional little leaves are starting to pop out of the main stalk.  VERY small but encouraging.  There is also one small bud on it about the size of a small marble.  I don’t know if it will make it or not.

Two of the other three are also showing tiny bumps and sprouts on the main trunks, good sign!  They have also lost some of the green in their stalks, and now have a little more bark on them.  The third plant needs an IV!  It is terrible, it would appear not to have responded well from prior treatment, but low and behold there is now one new growth  starting on it.  That is it from the hospital, treatment continues.

The Elusive Allure:  As reported earlier it has never had a flower, and is infamous for dropping all of its buds.  Maybe Charlie should have called her “Bud Light” instead of Allure.  I have continued with the fertilizer program, and the spraying with Spinosad.  The plant is still very lush green, have had no leaf drops or yellow leaves.  My thought was to give it a shot of SuperNova to see if that helps with the bud drop.  Using the same hospital formula watering program I am surprised at the results. The plant  has been getting even darker green, AND the buds are still hanging on!  Getting larger (not quite the size of hand grenades) but starting to open slightly. Been there before with her, so we will see.

Having watched Allure, go thru the transition from the HVH greenhouse to my Texas landscape, and all the early weather problems she has endured.  The break in the heat wave has made for a much happier plant.  I believe she really likes nighttime lows around 70 degs, and gets aggravated (It is a Texas word with special meaning) when the temperature exceeds 90 deg.  Only a couple hours of sunshine make her happy!

Ramblings:  If you are reading this by now you got to be wondering what is this crazy guy doing! He can’t even grow a plant!  Well you gotta remember I am a “Newbie” and we are licensed. (For what I am not sure)  The one thing the journey has taught me is patients.  How could anybody pick a project like learning how to grow HVH Exotic Hibiscus when the plants do not talk back!  No feedback! Something’s you have to be thankful for.  We are not growing Cora Vinca’s here.

Next Rambling:  Some people sit around and watch their perfect grass grow, with beautiful lawns.  Then they teach their kids how to run the lawn mower! Another problem solved, and they are still watching their grass grow.  Ok, now that the kids have grown up, you paid for all the schooling, and they have departed their home for the first time, who is going to cut their perfect lawn? Answer: The Lawn Service!
Hibiscus, require no power tools. I like to think I am helping the environment.

Last Rambling:  The thought occurred to me as I was sitting on my favorite porch chair, overlooking the patio in the backyard enjoying all our landscape; Why doesn’t Charles Black, make a DVD covering as many subjects as possible on growing HVH Hibiscus?  Ok I probably should not go there.  But I’ll buy the first one!

Bridal Path:  Is this the day?  I’ll show you some pictures and then add my comments.


I got so excited! I thought this might make the day when they finally opened.


I can’t believe the majestic process of creating Beauty


Oh my gosh! Twins.  Sweet!


It is Twilight time in Texas, and Bridal Path has enhanced the Beauty of the day.
Talk about “Pop” in the landscape, Wow!

As I end this Chapter, I can only think about how much peace and tranquility Bridal Path has brought to our patio environment, and how much I have enjoyed the journey.

To be continued:
John Piper

[helixturnhelix]

Wow John,

Very thorough! I am also a newbie and made a bunch of mistakes last year, losing about half of my plants  I have remedied this and have had awesome results this year!  I guess my advice is keep doing what you are doing, it sounds like you are thinking very carefully about your problems and are developing hypothesis and solutions to them.  I think as far as next year is concerned really look at the tried and true plants on the website.  I have a bunch of them (Living legend, Acapulco Gold, Saffron, High Voltage, Simple Pleasures, Creme da Cacao, Belle du jour, Rainbow Sherbet, Cinnamon Girl) Wow seeing them written out like that makes me think I have a problem...   Your Bridal Path is also part of that bunch and believe me you will not be disappointed with any of these varieties.  They are by far the most vigorous and easy to grow of my varieties.  Of the new varieties I have, the ones that are growing amazingly well considering that this is my first year with them include: Valentines Day (a plant from last year but wow it grows fast) and Rockets Red Glare.  Both of these varieties are very lush and beautiful and have huge bright blooms!  Illuminati is looking really really nice with dark green, glossy leaves, but I still haven't seen this one bloom.  I think it is a special one though.  Good luck getting Allure to bloom, I bet it will start blooming brilliantly once the weather cools a bit, think fall

[Charlie]

Hi John, your record and musings about growing hibiscus is very amusing! Informative, too. I'm glad you have enjoyed the journey and really enjoyed reading all about it!!!

As for us making a DVD, I've been thinking about it. Cindy wants to start with short videos on particular subjects and make them downloadable from the web site. She recently learned how to "unlock" the CD that we offer (locked by previous web master and the key lost by me) so we can now edit that one to include the newest varieties and anything else that comes to mind. I suppose that if the first couple of videos go OK we will have more confidence in tackling a full DVD. I think it is the way to go for some things like transplanting, pruning, potting up, spraying - just about all the normal tasks performed when growing hibiscus. We still have a lot to learn about it but thanks for the suggestions and encouragement.

Charlie

[helixturnhelix]

As far as videos on the website are concerned, it would be really cool to do a tour through HVH.  I know there is a slide show, but with a video you could show so much more

[Charlie]

Nice idea. Our greenhouse is on a 75 acre nursery property shared by 4 different wholesale growers. Due to liability and some Palm Tree thefts that have occurred we are not able to have Open Houses there or have people other than employees drive onto the property. This might be a good way to show the greenhouse since we can't open it up for visits.

Charlie

[Cindy]

Observations for the month of July:  The Weather chart:


We had 12 days of over 100 degs, with 8 days of 80+ deg at night. Rainfall was almost nonexistent except for 3 days and then we got 4.5 inches in the 3 rain days + 1 Hail Storm!

I have done some analysis of the temperatures between Fallbrook , CA and Dallas, TX with respect to trying to figure out what I could have done different when I got the Magic Moments to give them a better start in life.  So with that said, here is the data: I could have put up the charts but the bottom line is there was a significant difference in temperatures and sunlight that the Magic Moments had to overcome.  I didn’t give them the proper time to acclimate to Texas temperatures and Sun.  I was so excited to get them and put them in my planter boxes and get blooms that I forgot I live in Texas! There is 15 to 25 degrees on average between Fallbrook, CA and McKinney, TX.  I think that is HUGE for young greenhouse grown plants to overcome without an adjustment period.  Now we have the month of August to look forward too.  (See Magic Moments Comments section)

Bridal Path:  What a wonderful month this has been for them, and our landscape!  They have never looked back, they have made the Journey, and here are some pics.

Opening in the Rain


Doubles




I have more, but these are the best!

Thanks Charles! You should see these ladies at sundown!!

Magic Moments:  Following up on the weather portion here are some thoughts and comments   (See Magic Moments Comments section)
Hindsight:  We are always so much smarter in hindsight, If I could do it over again I would have let the Magic Moments acclimate to the Texas weather before planting them in my Planter Boxes.  I now know that I overwatered them in the beginning as I started dropping yellow leaves, and the PB’s were too close to the rest of the landscape and that is why I had the “bug” problem.  No bug problems since I repotted them and started using Spinosad/Orthenex weekly.
Now, that I have the watering/fert. Program under control I have not lost 1 leaf on any plant.

The Hospital:  Dr. Charles and I have consulted, and we are still trying to save them, and get them growing again.  They do have to do this in the Texas environment.  Remember we are trying to bring back three plants that were decimated by Texas climate conditions, and the owner being a “Newbie”.  I have now incorporated in my watering program SuperNova, and Wake Up Spray along with the HVH Fertilizer.  It will take a month to see if we are able to rejuvenate them.

Once again it is my choice to try and do this.  I love the plants and their blooms.

The Journey will continue

John Piper

[Cindy]

August the Dog Days of summer!
The first three weeks of August were Hot! Mostly in the 98-100 deg range for the highs and low 80’s at night.  We only had rain once and that was about 2.00 inches.  Another great opportunity to water twice a day. Here is the weather report:


Bridal Path: In spite of the hot temperatures they continued to grow and bloom. Towards the end of the month the flowers were slightly smaller, and not as many. In the last week when the temperatures came down to 70 deg at night and the daytime highs were only in the low 90’s they took off! Multiple blooms on all plants and now back to their normal size.
Charles recommended that I try using SuperNova on the Magic Moments in the “Hospital and I have, but also incorporated it in my regular watering program.  Now I mix 1 gallon of water, 1tsp. HVH fertilizer, 3 eye droppers full of SuperNova, and ¼ tsp of SuperThrive.  I have been using this formula for almost two months and the plants are now 2 ½ feet tall!  Must be because they live in Texas, and as we all know everything is bigger in Texas!
Here are a couple of pics.







The “Hospital” Good News!  The Magic Moments are responding to their treatment.  As you know from prior installments I bought 4 M/M for my Planter Boxes, and then proceeded to try and kill them. Well here is the good news!

How not to grow a Magic Moments


Just like the Dallas Cowboy’s on the way back!


Magic Moments released from the Hospital!


So let’s talk about how we got them to heal and grow again.  After my “disaster” Charles gave me some more of his wonderful  advise, try Wake Up Spray on them.  Well out comes the old credit card again and now I have Wake Up Spray.  They get my water program and are sprayed per instructions.  Bottom line, we saved two of my Magic Moments. I am now giving the one plant released from the “Hospital” full sun every day.
 They shall continue to heal.

Bad News: I have lost two M/M’s, not that I did not try, so in their memory, I just bought two more so that I can acclimate them to Texas and do a better job next year.  I guess that is what is called a Texas learning experience.

Allure :  Ahhh!!!  She reminds me of an old girlfriend I had  as  a teenager, always teasing.  This Hibiscus is the healthiest of all. But oh you mean “Bud Light”?. She grows like a banshee and always disappoints, always dropping all her buds. Well now she is banished to the patio forever, no more partially covered porch.  (Now that the temperatures are reasonable)  Not knowing what else to do I decided to try full sun for the fall.

Couple of Pics:





I know I have grown this plant well and it is bug free as she is on the Spinosad/Orthenex program and is sprayed weekly.  As I said before growing Hibiscus, teaches one to have patience, and we are rewarded if we do it right.  She is going to be a “Texas Hibiscus”.

Pest and Things:   In the beginning I was behind the curve, and that contributed to my problems with the 0f the Magic Moments.  I have since learned to be more proactive about bugs and Texas Critters.  My Critter program has worked. Here it is:  I use the Bayer Home Pest Spray around the exterior of all my Planter Boxes every six weeks.  I used to have ants trying to get into my PB’s and now no more. More than three months.  I spray weekly with Spinosad or Orthenex. No bugs no problems. Hey with all I have had to learn I don’t need bugs!

OK it is time for “Ramblings”
Moisture Meters: they are good they are bad.  I use the ones bought from Home Depot, less than 10 bucks for one.  My experience says they are only good for about three or four  months, and then they get “Wacky” Throw them out and go get a new one.  Costs less than over or under watering.

Time to make my Plans for winter in North Texas, and how to jump start next Spring.
I can’t tell you how much I have enjoyed doing this and the beauty and pleasure it has given me.

See you next month, let the journey continue.