Black Dream

[Charlie]

Black Dream is one of the few Black Dragon offspring that shows the unique darkening of color that Black Dragon is famous for. Black Dream also fixes one of the persistent problems with Black Dragon and many of its offspring - the growth habit of the bush. Black Dream grows nicely upright and branches better than Black Dragon. The flowers are not quite as large as the flowers of Black Dragon but are still a respectable 6 to 8 inches and are more consistently well shaped than its famous parent.

Black Dream can also be compared to Burnt Saffron, both sharing Black Dragon as one parent but having different second parents. Burnt Saffron is Saffron x BD while Black Dream is Evangeline x BD. Burnt Saffron also shows the blackening effect and in several side by side comparisons made here at HVH we see greater blackening in Burnt Saffron but better flower form in Black Dream. Both are excellent for those who enjoy the black/red/orange flower colors.

Below are photos of both Black Dream and Burnt Saffron.

Charlie

[blupit007]

I see Burnt Saffron in my future.  I really love the richness of it.  It looks like velvet.  I especially love how it has the contrast of sunshine around the border. 

[Doll]

Black Dream just keeps getting a deeper red as the weather cools down. The flower today was the nicest yet. This is a wonderful cultivar.

[Charlie]

Yeah, that's a pretty one. It looks like Black Dream's color is going to be quite sensitive to the weather. We'll know more about it by this time next year.

Charlie

[farmer d]

Black Dream has been one of my best plants in 2010.  It is already approaching 4' in height, is very well branched and blooms like crazy.

What I like most about Black Dream is the colors it achieves during colder temps.  Being my plants are all outdoors I was hoping blooms like this one would really darken and boy did it ever.  

Personally I really like a very deep blackish red color and Black Dream really delivered here.  As you can see from the pics below the color combinations were just amazing and I also was amazed at how waxy and shiny the blooms became.  

For anyone with this cv I recommend trying to place it in a cooler location and see if you can get the blooms to darken as well.  That is what really sets this hibiscus apart from other reds.

Also easy to grow, bloom presentment is great and a very lush bush with leaves that are more rounded and shiny.



















Farmer D

[Doll]

Darren, my Black Dream blooms are rarely as dark as yours. The one I had today was my nicest one yet.

[farmer d]

Wow John, that definitely works for me.  This one is showing it's Black Dragon side more.  Lovely!!

Farmer D

[farmer d]

Updated Black Dream pics from summer now...

Out of 70+ plants this one right now is the doing the best.  At least 4 or 5 blooms per day and growing like crazy.  Best part for me is that the blooms are all still very dark with swirls of black.

For a monotone bloom this one is always something to behold.  Very impressed and surprised by this one.  Oh yeah, super easy to grow.  Only issue it had was one branch with die back disease in the dead of winter (that's understandable).



avg size of most blooms


starting to re-leaf in spring


2 months later & too many blooms to count















Farmer D

[farmer d]

More pics...

Farmer D

[Charlie]

Great pics, Farmer D! I'm glad Black Dream worked out so well for you. It seems to like southern California conditions and might do better here than in the hotter Gulf Coast region it came from.

We shipped most Black Dreams as big plants in 2 gallon pots, older and more fully established than the 4 inch and 6 inch potted plants. I think part of the reason it stands out in your yard is due to being older and better rooted to start with than the smaller, younger plants that also went into the garden. That's not to take anything away from Black Dream which is a great grower and bloomer but just to point out a good example of why we offer the 2 gallon size of older, tougher plants. We will have more 2 gallon Black Dream available in fall and next spring but after that the 2 gallon size will probably be sold out for the foreseeable future.

Charlie

[farmer d]

Charlie that is a great point.  I can't emphasize enough what a difference it makes starting with a more established plant.  All the plants I lost over winter were the 4" sizes while Black Dream never even blinked all winter long.  Constant blooms and leaves even stayed on to some extent.

If you see a 2 gallon Black Dream available I would not hesitate for a second to get it.  Super highly recommended.

Farmer D

[dayvedayve]

It seems to like southern California conditions and might do better here than in the hotter Gulf Coast region it came from.

  Gulf Coast here.  I have two smaller plants.  The heat is extreme this season  and I can tell that they dont like it.  Many blooms tried to open but never did.  Almost if they were glued shut.  Same thing happening to my two Dragon's Hearts and 2 June's Dragons.  Temps in the upper nineties with Heat Index over 110.  We spent the past Sundy putting up shade cloth trying to reduce the stress on our hibiscus.

[Charlie]

Shade cloth is an excellent idea. Hibiscus can deal with high temperatures or high sunlight but the 2 together are very tough on most plants and particularly potted plants. Any time temperatures are in the high 90's and above we just have to wait it out, watering well and fertilizing regularly.

Charlie

[Doll]

My Black Dream has acclimated to the heat very well. It probably helped that I moved it to a 3 gallon pot in the spring.

[farmer d]

For those interested in the possibilities my Black Dream today had 16 blooms at once.  I never imagined any hibiscus could do this at such a young age.  I bought this one as a 2 gallon last April so I figure it is probably around 3 years old?  I've never pruned it once (doesn't need it as it has branched wonderfully on it's own) so to get this many blooms is really amazing.




Farmer D