October Blooms

[motherof4]

Thanks Denise...I live in southern ca...sanbernardino area....70-80 +hibs....I also have some indoors......I get quite a few blooms but nothing like darren...I think he has almost the perfect climate........as you can see it becomes an addiction...but a fun one....lynette

[davidwood]

Thanksgiving today.

[Denise]

Lynette- 70-80, holy moly. When I first got mine I told myself I only needed a total of 4, to go on each corner of our backyard gazebo. I am realizing I am going to be adapting that plan slightly! Haha! It is definitely addicting!! Not a bad addiction to have, considering some others though, huh?   How long have you been collecting?

Darren- what is your hibiscus count? When did you start?

David- That Thanksgiving is so nice!!

[farmer d]

Denise you can check out quite a bit of my plants and garden on the World Gardens link under Galleries (left side column on any page maybe 2/3 of the way down all the links).  Beware you might get some more ideas and really get going...

Lynette your blooms are probably the best I've seen them so far.  The colors are just beautiful and I love them all.  When do you take them inside and how do you store them?

David your Thanksgiving looks awesome.  Your plants are some of the healthiest I've seen in pots.  To get so many blooms in your conditions is just amazing!!!

Farmer D

[Denise]

Darren- I have checked out your article under World Gardens. In fact, when the newsletter was sent out with your garden highlighted, is when I think I joined the forum! And the craziness just got crazier Do you have Pinot Noir yet?

[blupit007]

Dinise, about your question of which to get Vin Extraordinaire or Pinot Noir... I would say the odds of getting your hands on a VE is much slimmer then PN.  VE is not easy to propagate, so the wait list is long for that one.  PN is one that has my interests peeked too.  It is a beautiful bloom, but what I like most is the foliage it has.  I am in need of a Fascinating Foliage hibiscus...

I have a Vin Extraordinaire and was told many times that it is a hibiscus for the more experienced hibiscusers.  It can be finnicky... Well, so far it has grown and bloomed nicely for me, so I cant agree.  The blooms however are unlike any other hibiscus I have seen.  I have some shots of mine if you look back through the photos of the day this summer.  It is not anywhere as easy as any of my others, but it has not given me any arguments...  Does this help?

[Denise]

Dinise, about your question of which to get Vin Extraordinaire or Pinot Noir... I would say the odds of getting your hands on a VE is much slimmer then PN.  VE is not easy to propagate, so the wait list is long for that one.  PN is one that has my interests peeked too.  It is a beautiful bloom, but what I like most is the foliage it has.  I am in need of a Fascinating Foliage hibiscus...

I have a Vin Extraordinaire and was told many times that it is a hibiscus for the more experienced hibiscusers.  It can be finicky... Well, so far it has grown and bloomed nicely for me, so I cant agree.  The blooms however are unlike any other hibiscus I have seen.  I have some shots of mine if you look back through the photos of the day this summer.  It is not anywhere as easy as any of my others, but it has not given me any arguments...  Does this help?

Kristen- Thank you. I believe your shots of VE are what got me interested....do you also have Erin Rachel? I think those two pics of yours really caught my eye. Very deep vivid colors! I think you are right about PN becoming more readily available. Seems like Charlie is really pushing that one, especially since he made it the CV of year! Hopefully we will both get our hands on one! If I ever do end up with a chance at VE, it's good to hear that it wasn't too finicky for you. Thanks again for the tips!! -Denise

[blupit007]

Thanks for the compliment Denise.  I love photographing my blooms, I think that is the only reason I have so many.  Unfortunately Erin Rachel is difficult to shoot for me for some reason... the intensity of the colors really mush together.  It is much prettier in person.  It is also a great compact bush with many blooms.  If you like this one, check out Charlie's Mai Tai.  It is described as a larger ER.  Got me a thinkin!  I have some more bloom photos on Facebook if you want to friend me.  Look me up under my email.  kristen_emanuelson@yahoo.com

[helixturnhelix]

Hi Denise,

I've grown both Pinot Noir and Vin Extrodinaire, and I would say that Pinot Noir is a better overall CV.  It grows on a strong vigorous bush that responds well to pruning.  Once nice about PN is it also comes back from little mistakes quite readily, it's a soild CV that I like.

In contrast Vin Extrodinaire is a very pretty flower, but its bush is thin and does not like the cold or change in environmental conditions.  David in living in a tropical climate has had good luck with Vin Extrodinaire's bush because it is nice and warm where he is.  The main problem with Vin Extrodinaire is compared to PN, does not bloom nearly as much or have as robust a bush.  So if you like both blooms, I think you would be more satisfied with the frequent blooming and robust bush of PN, than the less frequent blooming and more delicate bush of Vin Extrodinaire.

If you like hibiscus photos you should also check out Kerry's photos. 

[LJG]

Back to the fertilizer comments, you are right in that plants require more and more when you keep feeding them synthetics. One way around this is to mix in organics. There are a lot of higher NPK options out there now which really helps. I have switched to a more organic approach then synthetic. However I am a palm gardener first and palms really require synthetics with micros in my DG. So all my plants get about 3 months of water soluble synthetic at 1:400. The rest of the time (spring/fall), I do organic only. Since moving to organics I have had a huge increase in worms. I cannot dig anywhere in my garden without scooping a hand full of worms. Someday I hope to be 100% organic with only synthetic spot treatment for plants with deficiencies. Since I plan on staying at my house till I die, I want my garden to be sustainable without having to overload on fertilizers.

[helixturnhelix]

I'm right there with you Lisa, I have switched to all organics and my plants are doing just as well as when I was using synthetics.  Glad to hear someone else using organics as well  

It's amazing how quickly the soil communities bounce back when switching to organics, it also allows you to use mycorhizae, which die when exposed to synthetics.  I have really seen a jump in overall plant growth and health since innoculating with mycorhizae,  it's too soon to be conclusive, but the preliminary results are good!

[roadrunner]

Lisa and Chris,

I've been considering moving towards the organic route in my fertilizer program. What do you use and are the products difficult to find?  Finding products out of the mainstream can be a problem here in Cochise County, AZ.

Thanks,
dave

[helixturnhelix]

Hi Dave,

I use combination of Epsom plus, (potassium and magnessium) once a month in conjunction with Biobizz Bio-grow, which is 2.6-0.2-6.6.  HVH used to offer this but Charlie said his supplier stopped being able to import it.  I have purchased mine from hydroponic stores in my area, but you can order it online from Amazon.  I have also started experimenting with Foxfarm's grow more for hydroponics, which is 4-3-6, and is almost completely organic, it doesn't have organic certification because they use potassium nitrate and a few other micronutrients in their formula, but contains worm castings and other organic goodies.  I like the concentration of micronutrients (cu, fe, mn, etc) in their product which I believe have to be supplemented if you use Bio-grow.  I have only tried out Foxfarm's grow more for about two weeks, so the jury is still out on how it will compare.  Bio-grow used every watering with some sort of sea kelp added (any product that is derived from Ascophyllum nodosum) and application of epsom plus every month (if you are watering more you might need to apply more frequent) has worked well for me in the past.  I hope this helps!    

[motherof4]

Denise I think Im going on my third year.....I also needed just 3 or 4 but that quickly changed when I discovered charlie and cindys website...and attended their wonderful open houses....so much fun...and it just kept growing from there...Its become a really fun hobby......Darren I dont get to many nights of freezing temps...I think last year was the worst in a while...but what I did last year was cover all of them with freeze cloth...worked out ok..just a lot of work...but did not loose any to freeze but did loose a couple from the flooding rains we had....I am really hoping for a milder winter

[Doll]

Chris, do you know any place online that sells Epsom plus?

Today's blooms