January Flower Photos of the Day

[farmer d]

Darren... That is such a yellow AG.  Are you sure that is what it is?

Kristen - I totally agree, it looks nothing like AG.  No doubt it is (the white tag from HVH is still on the plant).

I never expected to get so much enjoyment from these plants as the seasons bring out such differing looks.  Never a dull week!

Having these hibiscus outside is more work but I love the variations.  AG is definitely handling winter quite well with more blooms coming soon

Farmer D

[Charlie]

Darren, it is surprising that Acapulco Gold would lose its orange in winter since normally we see an intensification of that range of color. Thinking what else it could be, since apparently you did not see any summer blooms on this plant?, I could not come up with anything that is a good match. Cashmere Yellow is similar, Pineapple Sundae kind of, but neither is a perfect match. We'll just have to wait for summer and see what it does then. If it is Acapulco Gold it will be one of the more fascinating winter changes to be shown. If not, we'll get you the real deal pronto because, frankly, I want to see what you can do with it in your garden!

Charlie

[farmer d]

This must be one of the more fascinating changes you have seen then cause this is AG for sure.

It had plenty of summer blooms starting in July- pics are below.

Here's a chronological sequence of what the blooms have done up to now.

Farmer D

[farmer d]

A big change suddenly occurred in mid Dec when the blooms just went yellow with red eye only.  That was after two weeks of cold nights the coldest of which was 39 several times.

Farmer D

[Louis]

Oh the weather outside is frightfull, as the song goes.

here are a few from today. first bloom on Over the Rainbow, stunning flower. its 8 inches wide.

and a nice bloom from black dragon, another stunning plant, again a large bloom.

Over the Rainbow has the biggest leaves i have ever seen on a hibiscus. see photo with my hand behind it.

they measure 6 inches wide and 6 inches long.

louis

[Charlie]

That's Acapulco Gold all right. One other question - did the change in season and sun position also bring a change in the light that Acapulco Gold receives? I mean a dramatic change, like it's in shade most of the time now? That type of change causes Saffron's color to change from deep orange to yellow so maybe something similar is at work with the Acapulco Gold. Very interesting to see, whatever the cause. Perhaps next we will see what conditions bring the orange back into the flower.

Charlie

[Charlie]

Lou, Over the Rainbow is one of my favorite blooms. We don't see it much since its not the easiest of varieties to propagate. One of these years I'm going to try to remedy that by grafting all the wood I can find.

Your winter bloom is a beauty. Summer should bring a more intense yellow to the edge - adds nice contrast to the bloom. Hibiscus have this great ability to adapt to conditions so when they are warm and well fed but the light is low the leaves can expand to gather more light. When you move a large leaved variety like Over The Rainbow into intense direct sun the new leaves will grow in much smaller because they don't need as much leaf and the larger leaves lose moisture too fast in hot, sunny conditions.

"The weather outside is frightful" - I bet it is! Did the winter weather have anything to do with your getting involved with growing flowering tropical plants? What got you started in the first place?

Charlie

[Louis]

Hello Charlie,

Yes the weather is frightful, as we speak its 12 below zero. it makes your nose hairs freeze together.

I have always been interested in gardening. i used to have a large greenhouse here that i would grow orchids and hibiscus. it kept me sane in the long winters. during the summer, i raise tropical waterlilies. i have been propagating waterlilies for many years. I have 6 creations of my own, named and registered with the International Waterlily Society.

I tried to grow the waterlilies during the winters in the greenhouse, but was never successful. about 10 years ago, i worked out a deal with a friend who lives in hawaii to overwinter my plants. every september, i take the lilies out of the ponds, wash off the dirt, prune the roots and pads and send them overnight to     her to plant in her ponds. they bloom for her all winter and in june, she ships them back to me. i get them for 3 months and she gets them for 9.  shipping is expensive, but lots of time i get free shipping because the post office claims to get them overnight and times does not, hence the refund.

attached are a few of my creations:


have a great day,

louis

[Mike]

Here is another small Heavy Metal that bloomed for my today

[blupit007]

Louis, those are beautiful!  Why do you need to send them off for the winter?  Do they do better if they were in bloom all the time?

[blupit007]

Heavy Metal ROCKS!

[helixturnhelix]

P's Purple and Cranberry Muffin blooming in the rain.
                 Help please.
Does any one know what the name of the plant is below. I bought them at the local shop. If I know what it is then I can research on the Internet as to the best way to look after them. Thanks.

David that plant looks like Mussaenda philippica

Great pics everyone, love those water lilies!

[davidwood]

David that plant looks like Mussaenda philippica

Great pics everyone, love those water lilies!

Thanks Chris, spot on, I checked on the Internet and thats what it is, it has a little orange star flower which is not on the photo I showed you, but I sometimes have it and after seeing it I new for certain you where right. Looks like I need to start pruning.

[Charlie]

Beautiful water lilies and I like those Mussaenda, too. Cindy and I are about to move into a new house 20 miles north and 10 miles further inland. The further inland part means temperatures 5-10 degrees colder in winter and 5-10 degrees hotter in summer. So, we are looking into a whole new bunch of plant species to landscape with. We were a little reluctant to move into a more extreme climate zone but when we found 5 flat, totally useable acres (it was a horse property) we had to go for it. Eventually it will house the HVH greenhouses but for now we are just looking to landscape the area around the house. The previous owner planted a few trees and a grass lawn but we have a different vision for the yard area. I'm sure we'll have photos by and by.

Lou, your story of shipping the water lilies off to HI for the winter reminded me of our favorite orchid greenhouse here in San Diego. They set aside a large amount of space to serve as a "room and board" growing area for orchid collector's plants to live in when not in bloom. From the looks of it this is a popular alternative for people who like their orchids best when in bloom. It makes me wonder if heated greenhouse space in winter might be an attractive choice for some hibiscus enthusiasts whose plants struggle through the winter outdoors. Hibiscus tend to be a lot larger than orchids though, so the boarding fee might not pay for the heat. One of these days I'll do the calculations to see if it could be viable.

Charlie

[Louis]

Louis, those are beautiful!  Why do you need to send them off for the winter?  Do they do better if they were in bloom all the time?

hi kristen,

there are two kinds of waterlilies, hardy and tropical. hardy lilies will overwinter in a frozen pond. they actually develop an anti freeze in their tubers to prevent them from being killed by the cold.

tropicals are native to australia, south america and africa. they will die if temps drop below 50 degrees.

a lot of people treat tropicals like annuals and let them die in the fall. they are much too expensive to do that.

lou