Seedlings, Seedlings Everywhere!
Over the last year we have planted about 2500 seedlings, and the earliest ones are just starting to bloom. We talk so much about our hybridizing program, and get so excited about the new flowers, that we thought you might enjoy seeing some of our first promising seedlings for 2016.
These seedlings are not named and we don't know anything about them yet. Over time, you may see some of them featured as a Seedling of the Month and eventually we hope to have many of them available for sale. At this point, all we can do is enjoy them. We hope you do too!
Giants, Giants, and More Giants!
Giant 8-11" flowers are starting to pop out among our new seedlings. Here are the first few that look promising. We can't wait to see how many more giants we get out of our 2016 seedling crop!
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And More Large 7-9" Seedlings. . .
These are not quite giants, but they are still very big and beautiful! We are looking for seedlings with big flowers like these, but they also need to bloom prolifically and have a full, lush, upright bush. We don't know yet if all these varieties will meet those standards, but these new babies are looking hopeful.
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More on Hybridizing . . .
What Does "Improving Hibiscus Bushes" Mean?
Amazingly, one of our own family members asked us this question! Charlie has worked for 20 years to improve hibiscus bushes, and we frequently talk about this goal, since it is almost an obsession for us. But what does it mean? We thought some of you might have the same question as our family member:
What does the difference between a "bad" and "good" bush look like?
A Classic Small "Floppy" Bush
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This is a classic early hibiscus hybrid with beautiful flowers on a very small, floppy bush. We have pruned and pruned this bush, but it never grows up. Even with all the potassium we can give it to strengthen the wood, the branches are too weak to hold themselves up, which makes most of the flowers hang down. We would grow it in a hanging pot, but it isn't bushy and lush enough to fill out a hanging pot. This plant is several years old, and should be very large by now. But instead it has only 2-3 small, weak branches.
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More upright, but still weak branches
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A prettier bush, but can't hold up the flowers
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A fuller bush, but very floppy with weak branches
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These bushes are getting better. They are fuller, larger, and they are trying to grow up. But as the branches get longer, they droop down, and when the flowers bloom, too many of them hang downward so they can't be seen. These bushes still have wood that is too weak to support the large hibiscus flowers. As you can see in these photos, pruning doesn't help. It just creates more weak branches.
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A much more upright bush, but still sparse
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This bush is much more upright, which means the wood is strong enough to hold the branches and flowers up. It is starting to be fuller, which is also an improvement. But leaves tend to grow only at the tops of branches, so bare branches show everywhere. No amount of pruning makes them fill in with lush greenery. This bush is a big improvement over the earlier sparse and floppy bushes, but there's still room for improvement.
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A great bush - upright, full, lush, covered in blooms
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This is a great bush! It is very upright, presenting the large 7-9" flowers so they show on all sides of the plant. The foliage is full and lush, with large, deep green leaves. During the blooming season, it is covered in blooms. This kind of bush responds to pruning by getting fuller, lusher, and blooming more every year.
This is the kind of bush we want for every hibiscus we sell. Some flowers are so beautiful that we continue to sell them even though they grow on a not-so-great bush. But we are doing this less and less every year. The new hibiscus hybrids are getting better and better! It's very hard to wait to see what the 2016 hybrids will bring!
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