Heartbreak Hotel

[Nievesgirl]

I would like info on this one also. Is HVH getting some in stock soon ?

[Charlie]

Heartbreak Hotel is a slow growing variety, like many Barry Schlueter cultivars from that period of time. Another example is Double Date, which although it won Hibiscus of the Year is almost never found available because it grows about a foot high in 2 years time. Slow growth means little wood available to stick as cuttings or graft onto rootstock. Heartbreak Hotel is not as slow as Double Date but our stock plants only provide wood for a few plants a year.

So, although I like the flower of Heartbreak Hotel it is in short supply and usually sells from the Waiting List instead of the online store. For anyone not familiar with the HVH Waiting List, we do keep up with it  - view the form at http://www.hiddenvalleyhibiscus.com/pages/waitinglist.htm

Below is a photo of a 3 year old Heartbreak Hotel in a 2 gallon pot that was blooming well just before we shipped it.

Charlie

[nina]

What a nice specimen!!!!!!!!

My HBHs are three years old, and really small. They do not only grow slowly, but they are lazy to branch, too. But the bloom is really exquisite, so I like it, in spite of the drawbacks. And it blooms a lot, again in spite of few branches.

[Nievesgirl]

 I located a heartbreak hotel plant , Its really nice and upright. It has a bunch of blooms can't wait to see them open.

[helixturnhelix]

Hi Nieves,

where did u find one?

[Nievesgirl]

I am not sure if we are allowed to post other vendors

anyways here is a picture of one of the blooms

[helixturnhelix]

ah ok.  The bloom is awesome!  Looks alot like palm springs in that pic.   

[Charlie]

Interesting anecdote about Heartbreak Hotel. Around 1997 I had a contract with Barry Schlueter to introduce his new hybrids to the marketplace. He was looking for one that he liked well enough to be his namesake and had already chosen one that then disappointed him for some reason or other and so was renamed California Dreaming. That one is rarely grown these days but after that he chose another one to be 'Barry Schlueter'. Then summer came and it did not bloom well in the summer heat in TX where he lives so he changed the name to 'Heartbreak Hotel' and it has remained that every since. The big grower Hines later tried to use it in their program but could not propagate it well enough so never did release it through their garden center customers. Meanwhile, a trickle of them continue delight hibiscus enthusiasts around the world. Unless you live somewhere too hot it blooms steadily throughout the spring, summer, and fall seasons.

Charlie

[kris]

Charlie,

Find a CV worthy of your name sake yet?

[nina]

Oh, HBH is an ex-Barry Schlueter, interesting!
Also interesting, I have never had problems with my HBH blooming in the summer heat, while I do have problems with some cvs that are not known as "difficult" in summer.

[Charlie]

Hi Kris, no namesake hibiscus for me yet. So far I've not named hibiscus after people. It's a nice thing to do for friends or family but I prefer to give each variety a name that suits it. We sort of broke that rule this year by naming one after a girl who died of cancer, after her mother requested it. Her name was Joy and we thought that was a great name for a hibiscus as well. It's a lavender and pink that will be released next year.

I also watched Barry agonize over his namesake, and then in the end select a cv that I doubt will survive the test of time. Maybe it's just me but I find major fading of flower color a serious flaw in most cases and the B Schlueter fades badly. Personally I think he should have waited as over time hybridizing is resulting in better varieties. I expect to see improvements over the next decade that will make 99 percent of today's varieties outdated.

The other aspect that is more difficult is that you never really know a cultivar until you have grown it for several years. It needs to be propagated using wood from the original seedling and the clones compared to make sure you are evaluating a typical specimen. Some cvs do not shine until they are 2 years old or older and even then a change in conditions may reveal something unexpected. However, by that time the cv usually has a name and if it has been sold it is not practical to change the name. Take Simple Pleasures for instance. I always liked it but It took several years before I appreciated what a great potted plant it makes due to natural branching and early budding up as well as consistently large flowers that present themselves well for blooming.

Anyway, thanks for asking. Interesting question!

Charlie

[Charlie]

Hi Nina - interesting to hear that your Heartbreak Hotel does not have a problem blooming in your heat. I know from what you have said that it gets really hot in your greenhouse. Actually, I never had that trouble either but since Barry said he did I just figured that TX heat in summer was more intense than what we have here.

It could be that he did not water enough that summer to keep the buds on it. That is my opinion of the cause of the lack of summer buds that most people report. Lack of water stress when it is hot can stop blooming of many cvs, something for all of us to watch out for!

Charlie

[nina]

He,he, Charles, and Cindy's Heart??? 

You are very right  that cvs should be evaluated for several years to see all of its potential or faults. And what is also stressing, a cv performing well in one sort of conditions can be bad in other...

[Charlie]

Hey Nina - you got me on that one! I plead guilty for naming Cindy's Heart after my wife Cindy, but plead temporary insanity due to happiness when she agreed to marry me.....Actually, she does have a great heart represented by the deep color of that cultivar so I could say the name is mainly descriptive.   

I also sort of broke the rule by making P's Purple the official name of another cv. That was the casual name by which I referred to a soft lavender flower that was hybridized by my first web master, Yvonne Forsling, who hybridized it in Sweden and then sent the seed to me to grow out. P was her nickname so we just called it P's Purple as an easy way to refer to it.

What was so unusual about that variety is that the parents were both European varieties and as far as we knew had no "blue" color genes in them. P's Purple has the fine growth habit of many of the Euro hibs, but the flowers are small and simple and I had no idea if it would be popular here. We have been pleased that it sells well and it is turning out to be decent for hybridizing, too. A cross of it with Nightfire recently bloomed with 2 first blooms the first day and 2 more the second day. The flowers are red and purple and 5-6 inches across and the bush is naturally well branched. I don't think anyone has done much hybridizing between the Euro hib varieties and the modern exotic varieties but I believe there is potential there.

Charlie

[Darkhorse]

I love that you named Ghost after your kitty, though.  I have three cat children (hope that doesn't make me sound crazy...?) and when I eventually get some seedlings that "match" them and I think are good enough, they will each have a hib named for them.  I can't see naming a hibiscus for myself, though.  Would be weird to me I guess.