May Photos of the Day

[davidwood]

David, I really appreciate your reports from Vietnam. Seeing Samba Dancer bloom in the heat is very encouraging. Doubles are so often troublesome but we may have found one that is much less so thanks to your experiences.

Charlie

Thanks Charlie, its incredibly hot here at the moment so a good test for my new cv's. I can already tell which will handle sun better than others by the leaves and I can usually tell in a few short weeks. And I know now that Sherlock's Mystery is going to be a real sun lover, all my cv's spend a few days resting after there travels and are slowly introduced to the sun, some get moved back in the shade after 30 minutes some 1 hour etc as they slowly adapt, not Sherlock ,8 hours a day full sun and its already starting to bud up,it came as a 4 inch 1 month ago and if it carries on performing like this it will overtake Hot Pepper as the number 1 sun lover.

[Charlie]

Darren, finding a knowledgeable plant sitter is as rare as it is wonderful! I hope you have a great time and return to warmer weather and the many blooms that are coming.

Charlie

[blupit007]

Great blooms everyone!  Yash, I think we are getting all that week long rain you had!  It has been rainy and nasty since Saturday, and it is supposed to go until this Saturday!  UGH!!  Unfortunately, I had worked so hard hauling my plants in and out for 2 weeks getting them used to the sun and they were doing so good, now I have to start all over when the sun finally comes back! >:-/

[davidwood]

Dark of Night twins, its the end of the day now and been in the sun all day, still not to bad and hopefully they will stay for tomorrow.

[Charlie]

Just love your rooftop garden, David! This photo had me thinking of a gigantic chess set and your pots and supports the oversized chess pieces. Even the squares are there for moving about. 

Kristen, hang in there! Summer can't be too far away, can it?

Charlie

[Charlie]

Here are 4 flowers blooming in the greenhouse yesterday. 2 are the new reds - both big flowers with subtle differences.

Red Cape - with a hint of yellow markings that might come out in hotter weather
Scarlet Beauty - an all red flower (no eye) that just glows in the greenhouse
Simple Pleasures - huge flower yesterday, good color, too
Magic Moments - these giant double flowers looking very nice on a rainy day.

Charlie

[helixturnhelix]

Wow Great blooms everyone!  I am sorry to hear that is rainy and cold still in CT,  I think someone nudged spring into coming in WA, great weather up here high 60s, low 70s with sun predicted for the rest of the week!  This better coax my CVs to bud up...

[Yashodhara]

Darren - Mahalo nui loa... Have a safe trip and an awesome vacation!  

The sun finally came out this evening (Yea!)... Virtually sending some your way, Kristen!  

To celebrate, my baby Black Dragon opened her first bloom (a 7 inch one)...
'Booster shots for everyone!  

Deb

[helixturnhelix]

Yash, your place looks like quite the jungle!  Are those big ones your H. arnottianus?

[Yashodhara]

Yash, your place looks like quite the jungle!  Are those big ones your H. arnottianus?

Yes... In the 8" and 10" pots: There's Baby Arnotti on the far left (46" soil to tip), H. Storckii next (51"), Big Arnottianus (57"), Belle du Jour on the near right (44"), and Liliiflorus on the far right (27"). Big Arnotti is full of seed pods at the moment, Lilii is resting (new pot), and the rest have decided they would rather expend their energy becoming trees than producing blooms... I'm hoping that will change once they start soaking up that western-exposure sunlight.

[helixturnhelix]

Amazing!!!  Once that western light comes they should hopefully bud, I am in the same situation, come on and bud already, the weather is nice now!

What type of growlights have you been using?  Seems like several CVs are liking that artificial lighting, which seem to bloom and grow the best for you under these lights?  I am trying to "cull" my collection down to CVs that bloom well under lights and low light conditions, since those are the conditions I have up here in WA! 

If you are looking for good growers under lights I can endorse:
Raindrop
Heaven Scent
Sea of Tranquility
Cosmic Gold
 

[Charlie]

It's great to see how well people are doing with the low light, in the house way of growing hibiscus. Deb, your plants are HUGE and obviously happy. Seedpods on the Arnottianus. Is that the especially fragrant one that we have at HVH? I've never been able to get fragrance using it in hybridizing but have to admit I have not tried nearly enough since this is a very worthwhile goal.

So Chris, do you expect to remain in WA for at least another year?

Charlie

[helixturnhelix]

Hey Charlie,

I guess I have no idea where I will be in a year.  Quite the tumultuous job market these days, but I will be in WA for the summer at the very least...

Really good conditions up here to get CVs to set seed, I have one growing on CDLC atm

[Charlie]

That will be a first, getting a seedpod with ripe seeds on Creme de la Creme. I hope it works because the pollen from CDLC has given us several worthy varieties. There will be more plants of CDLC available before the summer is out - something I have been tardy about for too long.

Good luck with the job search!

Charlie

[helixturnhelix]

Thanks Charlie!

Here is that CDLC x Raindrop pod, looks good to me!  What is also interesting is I used my stored pollen to pollinate this bloom, so if this pod takes it will be a first on two levels.

If all goes well, we will probably get some Rainbow Christie eyes in the offspring, I am hoping that we get raindrops awesome bush. Seems like the F2 of garden x exotic varieties like Raindrop, you get the big blooms with nicer bushes, CDLC could really use some of RD's vigor.