Lets see your new additions to the family :P

[Charlie]

Jordan, isn't it nice to have room to space them out like that! Should cut down on your pest problems plus you can clearly see each one and what is going on with each one. If you can keep them well watered and fertilized I bet July will be the first of many months of blooms for you. Lots of great flowers in that group.

Charlie

[helixturnhelix]

Awesome Jordan!  I am jealous of all that space, and all those CVs!

I cant wait to see your Confection Perfection, Heavy metal looks great!  I am sure that you will have a bunch of pics come this summer

[Darkhorse]

The space really does make all the difference.  Before I had nowhere to quarantine them, and boy does a garden hose make all the difference for leaf washing!  My plan is to build a greenhouse on the south side of the house at some point... probably not this year but hopefully I will only have to overwinter them one more time inside.  I already have a better plan for this coming winter, although space will be drastically decreased compared to outdoors.

I should have a Confection Perfection bloom within the next couple of weeks.  I've been starved for blooms all winter so I can't wait for the year to really get going!!!

[helixturnhelix]

A greenhouse is my dream, that will probably not be realized for several years   I figure with a greenhouse it doesnt matter where you live, you can enjoy flowers all year

[Charlie]

Jordan, the hose washing outside idea is a good one. Once the plants are rooted well enough to hold in the soil what I do is tip the pot over on its side with the plant lying on and being supported by the ground. That exposes the undersides of the leaves and you can blast away at them with the hose. I usually turn the pot 1/4 turn and spray the leaves in each of the 4 positions so that all leaves are well washed, at least in theory.

I've been thinking the same thing, Chris, about having a home greenhouse wherever I live. We may stay here and do this til we drop but we've also talked about retiring to the mountains some day and that's where I would have my fantasy greenhouse. The main drawback is paying for the heat when it's really cold out but that can be partly handled by good greenhouse design and construction.

Charlie

[1.618]

Well with so many others posting pics of their new arrivals I simply can't resist getting in on the fun! Mine were probably part of the international batch that Charlie mentioned. They arrived a couple of days ago after a long trip and were in their boxes for a week. Look pretty good in my opinion considering. I have never seen another nursery do as good a job of packing and shipping their plants as Hidden Valley.

Ian

[helixturnhelix]

Very nice Ian!  Where are you? and what did you get

[Charlie]

I can't remember what Ian got but he's in Canada and those black square pots are what we call 4 inch size. The goal with those this year was to deliver lots of side growth already happening so no precious summer growing time is used up with pruning to force branching. In most cases this was accomplished as these plants show.

Charlie

[Nievesgirl]

Well I think the rest of my babies are coming tomorrow LOL

[1.618]

There were 21 varieties in total mostly in the 4 inch size and there were some I passed up in January like Silver Dragon and Lady in Waiting that I regret now. Maybe next year!

Ian

[Charlie]

Ian, you didn't miss out on the Silver Dragons because they turned out to be mistagged. I was so hoping that variety was finally propagating better but no such luck. Next year I'll graft them instead.

Charlie

[Pachrian]

I think I'll try to take a group shot like this one maybe once a month to see the change. Not much blooming today (can't blame them, it's been cold and overcast FOREVER now ), but lots of buds.

10-inch pots: Bridal Path, Chariots of Fire, Voodoo Magic, Fantasy Charm, Fallen Hero, Belle du Jour
8-inch pots: P's Purple, Belle du Jour, Voodoo Magic, Russ Estey, Dragon's Heart, Russ Estey
6-inch pots: Simple Pleasures, Arabian Princess, Acapulco Gold, Saffron, Cranberry Muffin

[motherof4]

I was at a local nursery today and picked up a flash dancer....charlie could this be the same one? I was surprised

[Charlie]

Uli, that is such a pretty display of your hibiscus. You live near us, next county to the north for those who don't know southern CA, and our weather has been the same as yours. This past week the local news reported that we are breaking records for the coldest days San Diego has experienced in July since 1909. One weatherman said El Nino has given way to La Nina for the west coast, whatever that means. It sure is weird though to have seen maybe 4 hours of sun in almost a week. In a normal July San Diego has sun dawn to dusk every day and no rain until the following December.

Anyway, as soon as it warms up and the sun comes out your hibiscus should be primed to bloom and bloom. Our outdoor garden is the same way now - only a few flowers on big old plants that usually have lots of them.

Charlie

[Charlie]

Hi Lynette, couldn't stay away from that Armstrongs, eh?      It used to be more fun to go on treasure hunts at Armstrong's stores because I was selling Armstrong Growers (which supplies the stores with many of their plants) lots and lots of varieties in small numbers and you never knew what would turn up at one of their garden centers. Then they asked me to supply only a dozen varieties in large numbers for efficiency sake and I wasn't set up to do that nor did I really want to. They started carrying Dupont varieties when I did not come through and that is what you mostly find now, a dozen of those in large numbers. However, they still do have some that I supplied them like that Flash Dancer and occasionally you will find something rare and beautiful like that. They still want me to supply them and I might but doing wholesale of fewer varieties in large numbers is an entirely different type of operation. My focus is still on developing new and better varieties and exploring all the potentials that hibiscus have.

Charlie