May Flower Photos of the Day

[Charlie]

Hi Jordan, yes, Dark of Night is one of our new ones for this year. The Gallery description describes it: usually the 5-7" flowers have one or more petaloids, making this a crested single. The deep purple-gray-blue color comes from the cross of two blue flowers, 'Midnight Blue' and 'Blue President'. We only had a dozen of so 6 inch pots this year, they are almost ready to ship now and I'm really liking the bush with its very dark but also glossy foliage.

I hope one of your 4 mystery plants is In The Mood. It could well be since this cv seems to be one of the tougher bushes that lives long. If so you will know it because it will get big and fat eventually. It seems to take forever to flower but once it is ready it buds up with lots of buds and makes plenty of flowers. It did not root well so all future ones will be grafted. Of all the double lavender flowers I've seen come along over the last decade In The Mood is the best overall plant by far.

Charlie

[Charlie]

Hi Chris. Your Dragon's Heart is budded up now? It takes awhile for that one to bud up but once it starts it blooms well. Your climate should be great for the flower. It looks its best in spring and fall in hot places but should look great all the time in cooler locations. I never got any seeds when working with it back when you suggested some crosses but hopefully you will have better success. I was trying in outdoor shade during the heat of summer which may be why, but it's also possible that Dragons Heart does not set seeds as well as its parent Dragons Breath. Dragons Breath does have that annoying habit of making big fat pods that turn out to be empty but it also can make a lot of seeds.

I agree about Creme de Cacao as a parent - lots of different results in the offspring! I do get a fair number of lookalikes and a number of browns with red or orange centers but also a lot that do not look like itself. Usually the bushes are good and the wood roots, though not every offspring does so, as would be expected. Below are 2 photos that show the same cross as the seedling you liked - Creme de Cacao x City Slicker and all 3 are quite different. The last one was a surprise because it is a very large flower at 8 inches, bigger than either parent.

Charlie

[Darkhorse]

Ok I remember Dark of Night now.  I might try to snag one at some point.  Love those unique blooms!


I will have to post a picture of the little plant I have that I think might be In The Mood.  The leaf shape is similar, but I tend to over-analyze leaf shape to the point of not being able to come to a conclusion unless it's someone obvious like Silver Memories. 

I'm almost sure that one of the mystery cvs is Valentine's Day.  It grows like crazy and I *think* I deliberately planted it in the pot it's in...

One I think has about a 50/50 shot at being Bridal Path.  This aforementioned little one and the other, larger mystery plant frankly I have no idea.  Could be any on my "missing" list.

I thought it would be a great idea to take all the tags off and have a nice surprise when each plant bloomed.  Haha, yeah..... won't do that again.

[Nievesgirl]

WOW chris great colors on RRG

So I went to SD zoo and found all of Charlie's goody's there lol  
Here are some pics

Rainbow christie

Renaissance Blue

Not sure what this one was ?



They had , Bonnie B , Silver memories , the path a few others but they where not in bloom. All are located in front of the reptile house and there where some in the flamingos enclosure.

I then went to the quail botanical garden and took a picture of a very big high voltage plant. ( i will get pics up soon)

I wish each Cv had more blooms but they did not

[Charlie]

What a great hibiscus adventure, Kerry! It's too early in the year for the hibiscus at the Zoo to have many blooms but I'm glad there were at least some. The last time I was there most of the plants were really tall, like over my head, except for the few that they trimmed down so people could see into the flamingo exhibit. That orange single is Rosalind, and will become double in a month or two when its warmer there. The Zoo is just a mile or 2 from the bay/ocean and is protected from freezing but also it does not get really warm there until July.

I need to take Cindy to Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas. I'm pleased that their High Voltage is hanging in there and hope some others are, too. I donated a dozen big plants to them about 8 years ago. They have a similar situation to the Zoo, close to the ocean so its mild both winter and summer. Ross Gast donated a nice collection of hibiscus to them about 50 years ago but the hibiscus lost out to the citrus in a turf battle after Ross died and the citrus trees took over the old hibiscus area. Bummer!

Thanks for this report, it's really nice to hear.

Charlie

[helixturnhelix]

Nice pics!  I am hoping that I can get to the SD zoo sometime this summer

[Charlie]

Have you ever been to the San Diego Zoo, Chris? If not, it is well worth going. The plant collection is more extensive than the animals! It is a really beautiful zoo, built on multiple levels through canyons a couple of miles inland from the bay. Cindy and I always used to go to the zoo's other spot, the Wild Animal Park, which is also a special place, but once we went to the downtown zoo we ended up liking it even better. We buy the year passes that make going reasonable in cost.

I found one photo from a trip to the Zoo in Dec, 2004. It shows Rainbow Christi blooming (note big buds higher up) with the flamingoes in the background. Rainbow Christie forms very large buds before they open into 8 inch flowers.

Charlie

[helixturnhelix]

Hi Charle,

Ive been there a few times, and its an awesome zoo, I never looked for any hibiscus, now that I know they are there I will have to look for them!  I am going to have to make a trip there when I make it back to So Cal.  Its a great zoo and since its close to the ocean it is still nice even in the dead of summer.   

That rainbow Christie is a real gem, nothing says tropical like hibiscus.  Speaking of which I visited my parents house and it looks like all the hibiscus survived the winter!  My mom cut them back recently (tip dieback)  but I saw new shoots forming.  I expect that by July they will put on quite a show.  I also took some cuttings of "First Love"  is this one that can be rooted on its own? 

Rainbow sherbet was also moved into the a nice sunny spot in the front of the garden, and it was trimed way back,  I see two new shoots so at least there will be at least two branches this year.  Its going to take center stage when it starts blooming in the summer.  Cinnamon Girl and White lightning are also looking great and covered in buds!  I am pretty pleased with how they overwintered, it will be interesting to see how they look later in the summer when those triple digit days roll in.  I will be making my way back mid July, so I will be taking some pictures then

-Chris

[Charlie]

Hi Chris, good news about the plants at your mother's house. 'First Love' roots easily and grows fast. I look forward to hearing how those plants do and seeing some July photos!

Charlie

[Louis]

hello everyone,

have not been on in a while. been very busy and nothing to show. i have severly pruned the 6 plants that i had over the winter. they are summering under the old oak tree.

i received a new order last thurs and every time i open a HV package, its Christmas again.

i received three plants, rockets red glare, illuminati, and moonstruck. the following photos will show moonstruck and rocket. illuninati wil bloom this week.

atta boys to charlie and cindy. i have never been disappointed in one of their plants. and kudos to the shipping department also. the plants arrived with out a single broken leave or bud.

Sorry if they are out of order, the web site is jumping all over the place for some reason.

please enjoy as i am:

first two photo are of moonstruck.








next 4 of rockets red glare:







and i could not resist this image of the bottom of moonstruck leave, backlight

louis
PS sorry if they are out of order, the web site is jumping all over for some reason.

[Charlie]

Louis, it's such a joy to see the plants in their new home! We've been working 7 days a week in May to get them all out there, and it's very encouraging to see where they end up. Thanks for the photos.

Charlie

[motherof4]

I recieved 7 plants on fri.....and also for me like usual perfect condition....no blooms yet but alot of buds...got them all planted yesterday...thanks charlie

[Charlie]

That's great! It's good planting weather, too, warm enough in southern California but overcast to reduce stress. Not that hibiscus have much trouble with transplanting, as usually they don't even seem to notice.

Charlie

[Darkhorse]

Finally, my first bloom of the year!  It feels a little bit like cheating, as this is not a plant that I overwintered, but I'm going to enjoy it anyway!


Here's Night Runner, for your viewing pleasure.  Typical Night Runner, showing her blooms to the sidewalk.  I prefer to think of her as modest.

[Charlie]

Hard to be modest with colors like that!  Tis true Night Runner is a good candidate for hanging baskets.

Charlie