|
helixturnhelix
|
 |
« Reply #75 on: August 01, 2010, 07:51:15 PM » |
|
I was surprised to see Geronimo and glad that I was able to get it. It is an usual seed setter with dark blooms  Moving around for school Figuring out a career is one big adventure... Right now just living through my hobbies lol |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
blupit007
|
|
« Reply #76 on: August 05, 2010, 08:45:41 PM » |
|
Your going to love Space oddity and Gator Pride. Gator Pride is really sensitive to thrips so be careful! Its a great bloomer, if you get the chance you should check out lisa's pic of her GP with 10 open blooms on it! I don't know who Lisa is. What is her screen name and where is the photo. I would love to see it. I am very excited about my new purchases! |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
-Kristen
|
|
|
|
blupit007
|
|
« Reply #77 on: August 10, 2010, 05:33:23 PM » |
|
So I have spider mites again!! They started on Belle so I quarantined her to the back of the house. Now that I am inspecting everyone, I found Voodoo Magic crawling with them, no yellowing yet. As well as The Path, same sit... I sprayed everyone because this makes me nuts. So I probably will loose my seed pods that have been swelling huh??
My neighbor who works at the garden center her family owns saw me spraying and stopped by. She suggested I get a Systemic granular and bury some in the soil monthly. Does anyone have experience with this? Does it work? And if so, what brand do you suggest?
Thanks everyone.
Kristen
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
-Kristen
|
|
|
|
Charlie
|
|
« Reply #78 on: August 10, 2010, 08:30:37 PM » |
|
No, Kristen, it won't work against spider mites. Only the new and expensive Kontos has shown any systemic activity against spider mites. A systemic miticide is the holy grail of pesticide research but it is very difficult to achieve due to the way mites feed.
On the positive side mites don't do much to cause any viable seedpods to fall off. They can cause complete loss of leaves which is a big stress on the plant and that may ultimately cause pods to fall but they might not fall either. No direct cause between mites and pods falling. However, there is a big relationship between heat and pod failure. No one ever hybridized in the summer in the past but I have had some success doing it in conditions that are almost entirely in shade or inside our house in summer. Most failure of seeds to set in summer is simply due to it being too hot. October through March is the traditional season for hybridizing hibiscus.
Charlie
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
blupit007
|
|
« Reply #79 on: August 10, 2010, 08:34:09 PM » |
|
Oh, OK, good to know. Last time I had the mites, everything fell off, even blooms. Is it because I used that concentrate too strong? Woops! This time I used the proper dose. And I do have a swollen pod from crossing Belle on to Saffron. I hope I don't loose it. Have you ever crossed those? If so, anything good??
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
-Kristen
|
|
|
|
helixturnhelix
|
|
« Reply #80 on: August 10, 2010, 08:35:43 PM » |
|
Hey Kristen thats a nice cross. If you look up the CV "Sweet 16" that is a belle x saffron cross.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
blupit007
|
|
« Reply #81 on: August 10, 2010, 08:48:52 PM » |
|
Ooohh! Really Pretty!! I wonder what else came out of that pod? I am so excited to be able to get to that point.
Charlie, This is the only shot I have of belle, I think I took it last week when she bloomed after recovering from her first bout of Spider Mites. Not a great shot of the bush, but close enough. She lost a bit of weight while recovering, but bounced back quickly and looked good for a week. I guess they really wern't done with her yet. I hate them!
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
-Kristen
|
|
|
|
helixturnhelix
|
|
« Reply #82 on: August 10, 2010, 08:58:05 PM » |
|
Hey Kristen
Belle and Saffron are two great ones to use. Here are a few new seedlings that I saw in a old newsletter. I dont know how many of these are still in the running, but here they are.
1) Ingenue: Cindy's Heart x Saffron
2) Mai Tai: Belle du Jour x Simple Pleasures
3) Spotted Pony: Saffron x Some like it Hot
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Charlie
|
|
« Reply #83 on: August 11, 2010, 06:55:43 AM » |
|
Chris, Ingenue did not root last year but it is even prettier in person so I am trying it again this year. Mai Tai got lost in the shuffle but I am determined to find some plants and get it back on track. Spotted Pony should be available this coming year - makes an excellent bush with lots of branches as it turns out.
Kristen, are you saying you sprayed the concentrated oil on some hibiscus that lost leaves and all? Whoops is right. Jordan (Darkhorse on forum) did that last year, too, with similar results. She tells about it in a funny way earlier in this thread or in another thread. I better stick warning labels on those bottles - must be diluted before using! Except for snow scale but then it is only used on woody stems and not leaves.
Your Belle does look good still so you are winning the mite battle. Those creatures go for many sun loving plants, including roses, but nobody has yet found a way to permanently get rid of them during summer. You can release predatory mites that feed on spider mites onto the plants but you have to do it about as often as you spray so it is not any better. A garden with lots of different plants around to serve as a reservoir for the predatory insects that control mites is the best bet but not always easy to achieve.
Charlie
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Darkhorse
|
|
« Reply #84 on: August 11, 2010, 09:33:56 AM » |
|
Yes, I don't recommend spraying the concentrated oil on your plants... lol... to say the very least. That's wasn't the brightest thing I've ever done in my life, anyway. You can tell the oil is too concentrated if the leaves start to turn black. On a completely unrelated note... I'm BAAACK!!! Got my iMac the other day and hooked it back up to the internet. The monitor is HUGE!  |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." -Edgar Allan Poe
|
|
|
|
Charlie
|
|
« Reply #85 on: August 11, 2010, 10:17:51 AM » |
|
Congratulations on the new computer. Aren't the colors bright and pretty on the iMac!
Charlie
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Darkhorse
|
|
« Reply #86 on: August 11, 2010, 10:24:47 AM » |
|
The colors are AMAZING!!! I hadn't realized how out of date my old pc was. The store even looks better with new font showing up now. My next hurdle is photo editing without my old Corel Photopaint program.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." -Edgar Allan Poe
|
|
|
|
blupit007
|
|
« Reply #87 on: August 11, 2010, 09:28:49 PM » |
|
Naw.... I did dilute the concentrate....on page 3 of this forum, I told you about my horrible math skils, and you told me they were wrong. Well I only used 1 tbs for the 32oz spray this time. Nothing is falling off yet. Last time, I had no buds for the entire treatment. It was torture! Do you think that it was because of my over oiling or the mites?
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
-Kristen
|
|
|
|
Charlie
|
|
« Reply #88 on: August 12, 2010, 06:45:57 AM » |
|
Jordan, I know what you mean about having to learn a new photo editing program. I had always used Paintshop Pro on my PCs for this purpose but Cindy had the venerable Photoshop on the iMacs so I had to tackle that one when I switched over. Using Macs is easier overall and I bet you get the hang of it quickly.
Charlie
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Charlie
|
|
« Reply #89 on: August 12, 2010, 06:57:09 AM » |
|
Kristen, oh yeah, I remember about the oil now that you mention it. Probably the overdose of oil fried the small buds or the stress it put on the plant caused the plant to generate a hormone that causes bud drop. Mites don't really do anything to buds - they are after the chlorophyl in the leaves. Let's hope the current dosage works well.
I'm not sure when we ended up recommending hort oil by itself over the other good organic treatment - Clean Leaf. Clean Lead is oil but it also has soap in it. Both materials are hard on insects but safe for the environment and the applicator. If oil alone doesn't work well enough perhaps the addition of soap will make it better.
Charlie
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
