June flowers of the day

[Charlie]

Kyle, that's the best photo of Tarzan I've seen to date!

And Darren, what an abundance of blooms you are getting now. How's the hibiscus garden looking now that you've been back from vacation for a couple of weeks?

Charlie

[Charlie]

I just noticed that since this forum opened in 2009 almost 7 million pages have been opened and viewed by visitors. Last month, May, set a new page view record of 228,000 pages opened and viewed.

This is no doubt due to the great photos that have been posted here over the last several years - thanks to all who contributed, your photos and blooms just get better each year!

Charlie

[DavidU]

Wow, that's amazing Charlie and a testament to your beautiful creations!

Darren - glad to see you are back and posting again in full force.  I always get excited when I log in and see a Farmer D blast as I know it will be epic!  I agree with Kyle about Wow Factor.  Charlie and Cindy sent me one pretty budded up already, so I should have some shots of that one to share soon.  While I of course love seeing shots of some of the newer varieties, I really enjoy seeing some of your "classic" bushes like Living Legend and Prosperity.  I have a Prosperity indoors at work that is growing really well, but she has yet to bud up.  I got her late last year, so hopefully soon.  Charlie - will Living Legend ever make a return?  I've been dying to get my hands on one the last couple of years along with Sea of Tranquility and Cindy's Heart whom everyone seems to covet.

Kyle - You're Pinot Noir and Mother Nature on the first page of the June blooms are absolutely picture perfect & your Tarzan has me scrambling to create more room once it returns to the online store.  Loved seeing your Silver Lining as well and now that I have my own we can compare how they grow indoors v. outdoors as I plan on keeping mine inside for the time being.

Ok, my turn.  Here's a few blooms from the last couple of days.

1. First bloom on Silver Lining.  I brought her to my office grow location and also brought along Blue Ballerina which was previously a houseplant under T5 lighting. Since they were sitting together I decided to try crossing them as well.  I'm new to crossing so let's see what happens!

2. First outdoor bloom of the year for me on Acapulco Gold.  This CV is by my parents and was recently brought back out after being overwintered.  I can't wait to watch this plant take off again this summer as it's another classic that we see here often.  

3. Tahitian Magenta Double Star - I post this CV often here, but there's a reason for that and that's because it blooms all the time.  In fact, it's the most floriferous CV I have and I have well over 35 CV's at this point.  It's kept indoors and I can't even imagine how crazy it would bloom outdoors.  The "double" in the CV's title is for it's color rings or stars, but it might as well apply to it's blooming habits as well as it always seems to bloom with more that one flower at a time. I very highly recommend this CV.

4. Marianne Charleton & TMDS - Just showing some of my indoor plants here along with some recent blooms by these CV's which are together.  You may also notice a seedling growing on the side in this picture as well - My very first one as I'm pretty new to crossing and seeds.  I tried crossing Marooned n Blue with a garden variety and managed to get seeds out of it.  The bud sticking out on the bottom of the shot is from Devil's Eye, a pretty neat CV as well that I believe has made an appearance on the forums once or twice.

5. Lastly, here's is a shot of myself along with my very first hibiscus, a typical red garden variety bloomer from Home Depot.  Perhaps someone here knows what this CV is actually called?   This plant is where it all started for me about 3 years ago and led me to research more about tropical hibiscus which then led me to here.  This plant has been pruned several times over the years but I decided to let it grow out over the winter and here it is growing over 6 ft. tall indoors at work and getting ready to begin putting out blooms again.  I'm about 6 ft. exactly so you can see the size comparison.

Lots of plants starting to bud up now in the various locations i have plants growing so stay tuned!

  

[farmer d]

Hi Charlie!

After being gone for three weeks I came back to very happy plants.  The drip system is working it's magic now that I have added micro sprinklers to the drip lines.  The drippers are not enough to properly feed in ground plants.  The addition of micro sprinklers to make sure the ground is sprayed with ferts is the big key as the rootballs are so large they cover an area that the drippers only get a small part of.  The plants are so big they need way more juice than what one dripper can give them.

Now I am onto a much better soil too which is totally scary as that means that I have all my plants in soil that is too dense and with the addition of the micro sprinklers I run the risk of them getting root rot.  That or the very strong El Nino predicted for this upcoming fall/winter could cause major problems.

This is what things looked like the day after I got home

Farmer D

[farmer d]

David that is a great photo spread!  Your blooms are looking very good and your plants are so healthy.  A testament to your ability and level of care you provide them!  Good to see the man behind the plants too!!!!

Farmer D

[farmer d]

A gorgeous 9" Kilimanjaro and some amazing depth of color on CH!

Farmer D

[farmer d]

SOT is a definite two day bloomer and the second day the yellow comes out - first opens as a brown or orange with dark grey.

Farmer D

[farmer d]

1st bloom for Midnight Tryst - this one is a total stunner from photos I have seen this year on Facebook.  It is now starting to win awards at quite a few flower shows in Florida, Texas and Louisiana.

Farmer D

[farmer d]

Farmer D

[farmer d]

Farmer D

[DavidU]

Thanks for the compliments, Darren! Your yard looks insanely awesome! It's been great seeing how your plants have developed there over the years here on the forum.  Looks like you may need to start filling up your neighbors yards soon  

Beautiful first bloom on Midnight Tryst - the bush on this CV is really attractive too. Can't wait until mine starts taking off!

[Kyle]

Farmer D impressive set up being able to leave for an extended period of time, your Kilimanjaro has changed in the last few months and is fascinating.   I hope the improvement to your drip system works out.   
David I'm looking forward to seeing your blooms including more of Silver Lining.   

Look what pulled out of the magician's hat on Sunday.   A few weeks ago I set my Time for Magic houseplant outside for the summer.  It is now 1 year old  and it has been a real challenge trying to shape the bush over the winter.      Heavy rains weighed it down over the last few days but the bloom opened and it was an 8" whopper.    Green is my favorite color in a hibiscus and I only have a few months window to be able to bring it out.  The 2nd photo was an afternoon shot. 

[farmer d]

Thanks Kyle!  You are getting top rate results on your blooms as well.  Add in the fact the weather is a continuous challenge where you live and the results are all the more impressive.  I enjoy viewing your posts!

Here are some photos I have seen recently on Facebook.

Midnight Tryst & Sweet Persuasion are grown by Angela Blakely on the Big Island of Hawaii.  She lives on the slopes of a volcano at about 1500 ft elevation in a cloud forest.  So not a lot of sun, tons of rain and very humid but not too hot conditions.

Mountain Mist & Time For Love are grown by Gil Friedman near Miami Florida.  He probably has over 200 plants now and is feeding them all by drip system.  All were potted but now he is working on putting the first big batch in ground.

The last two photos are from Brad Daniels in Santa Barbara.  I really love Brad's approach to growing hibiscus as he utilizes compost tea as one of his main sources of nutrients to feed his hibiscus.  The results are amazing and these two blooms were during winter.
 
Farmer D

[Renee]

Beautiful flowers All!

Farmer D I agree with David, beautiful Midnight Tryst...can't wait for mine to bloom either

First bloom on my Angelique and I think I've had this one close to a year now.  Thought I was going to lose it because of the frost we had here in Ventura County in early January but it has bounced back.

The other is one of my very favorites, Blue Opal ... in fact, I have 3 of them

[Renee]

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