Hidden Valley Hibiscus Forum

First and foremost my condolences to you and your family John for the loss of your dad.  That no doubt is a tough one.  It sounds like you were able to spend a lot of time with him to the end and be there for him.  I'm sure your heart is full of so many wonderful memories of him to cherish forever...get better quickly!

Beautiful blooms everyone - winter cannot stop us...just slow us down temporarily!

John - lovely blooms as always, may they help you heal quickly and get back on your feet.
David your BP bloom is exactly what I hope for in all my blooms - color perfection!
Erny - is that your first Secret Heart (very nice!) I don't remember it before?
Deb your indoor jungle is hot hot hot - I wouldn't even venture outside with the temps I have been seeing for your neck of the woods lately and that is not even counting the wind chill...

Black Dream out of nowhere had 6 blooms today and they were all pure dark winter bliss.  This plant just thrives in winter - sorry for all the pics of her blooms but I can't figure out which ones to delete.

Farmer D

This last two weeks I have been removing quite a few leaves off of my plants.  A chunk were from being burned a couple of weeks ago when were around freezing for 4-5 nights.  The other chunk was from over watering which was a tough one since right after our cold snap it jumped up to the 80s for a week!  It was really dry and kind of hot so I put on the sprinklers for a few days and that was a mistake.  Apparently the cold snap zapped my hibs to the point of not wanting much water if any.  So within a few days of sprinklers significant amounts of yellow leaves starting showing up everywhere.  They have all been removed now but the plants definitely look much more thin now.  I guess spraying with Supernova cannot prevent that dramatic drop off in metabolism from the cold, but they are all still growing - even my Meteor Shower has perked back up already!

Farmer D

Darren, Secret Heart has been one of the best bloomers and I posted a number of them in the spring and summer. Like you, I have been removing lots of leaves but am also seeing lots of new little ones on the branches I have snipped back. My two Black Dream plants have not been blooming nearly as well as yours.

Erny

Very nice Darren and Erny!

Deb, where do YOU live in that apt so filled with hibiscus :)  You photo made me smile as I know I am not the only one.

Well its been about three weeks since my move to Oregon, and the plants are finally settling in.  I see new growth and buds developing. 

Riptide:  Seedling I showed last year, Charlie has a cutting of it so hopefully next year others can see this beauty too.  Really interesting edge and eye.  It has been blooming smaller for me lately, but the color is still good.  About 6 inches.

Thunderegg:  The color has always been great with this one, but the form is a bit wild at times.  Good bloomer and interesting leaves. 

Torch Song:  This is one for you indoor growers!  Huge blooms even indoors, good color and compact growth habit.  I wish it consistently set seeds or had pollen so i could cross with it more.

Chris, good to hear that you and the plants are settled in. Riptide and Thunder Egg are looking great. I've had Torch Song on my wish list from day one (hint).

Erny

Thanks everyone for all your kind words.

Wow!!! Chris, many people seem to like Thunder Egg its nice and I can see why, but to me your Torch Song is stunning, easily the best bloom I have seen for a while.

John your AG is looking pretty darn nice for middle of winter.  Wish mine had that much color currently.

Chris I agree with David that Torch Song is just amazing!  That is what I love about this forum - we have quite a variety of blooms to view from a wide assortment of growing conditions and circumstances.  I could never grow any dark blooms like that outdoors - they would so get burned to a crisp in an hour or two in summer.

Erny thanks for the update on your leaves too.  I cannot tell you what a help it is to be able to compare what I am doing and seeing and know thanks to your efforts that things are pretty much where they should be.  The good news is no El Nino this year so at least part of our winter regime won't happen.  Let's see if the groundhog was right the other day and spring is coming early.  Can't wait!

Farmer D

Nice AG myself today and a lovely Cranberry Muffin.

Chris,
Riptide, Thunderegg, Torch Song - all of them are great! I've never seen Torch Song so beautiful!

David, very nice prolific AG and your Cranberry Muffin is simply the finest I've ever seen of that cv.
Warmer temps here=more blooms; some even starting to resemble their normal spring or summer colors.

Erny

John, I hope you are feeling better.
Here is a new Secret Heart with a second or third day bloom below. Also Saffron triplets and Daisy Mae showing nice green growth and six blooms today.

Here Solar Soul and High Voltage are fairly normal looking but I would never guess the identity on Rosalind, Fifth Dimension, or Illuminati. AG still somewhat small and atypical in form and color pattern.

Finally, a different look of City Slicker, Summer Shore, and Black Dream.

David I totally agree with Erny - that Cranberry Muffin is by far the best rendition of that one I've seen too.  I've never considered it before but if it can look like that routinely...

Erny that first day bloom of Secret Heart is very nice.  Also impressed with the Daisy Mae sextuplets - your bushes seem a little ahead of mine right now.  I'm seeing lots of baby buds starting to show up all over.

Cosmic Gold has probably been my most consistent bloomer this winter and by far the best form too.  Very impressed with this cv and it has been growing steadily all winter long.

Farmer D

You wont go far wrong with Cranberry Muffin Darren, its a great cv. Like you Cosmic Gold is probably my most consistent bloomer, the only problem I have with it is it attracts this horrible greedy beetle, it will sometimes attack Samba Dancer which has a similar gold color but leaves everything else alone.

Peppermint Drop puts out a lot of blooms for a month or so and then rests for that amount of time, great when its blooming though.

Nice blooms there David - I must say I have been surprised with my High Voltage plant.  For having it now for almost 3 years it has not grown nearly as robustly as the other original hibiscus I got at the same time.  It was a super tiny 4" when I got it but the growth rate is not nearly that of Charlie's creations.  Maybe with the new soil regime here it will do better going forward.  Either way it's blooms are just fabulous as shown in your photo David.

Farmer D

So many of my blooms look the same - winter dulling all the colors.

This is what happens when you move a plant 6" in an effort to give it's neighbor room to grow.  Now it's a waiting game to see if and when she'll come back (late May is my guess).

Farmer D

Darren HV is by far the smallest of all my cv's, maybe thats just how it is.

Darren, I know what you mean about those winter colors. My Palm Springs looks just like yours and nothing like its spring or summer colors. So many seem to revert to a plainer type in winter. I guess in math or statistics we would call it reversion to the mean. I wonder if some of this is due to our plants being outdoors in the cooler weather. I would be interested to know if those with indoor  or greenhouse plants have the same experience.

Erny

A few more from today: Pepper Spray, Cindy's Heart, and Cherry Glow.

From what I've seen from the HVH online store pics many times there is a cool weather look pic along with warm weather pics which to me means that the temps and/or amount of sunlight fluctuates enough in the greenhouse through out the year to produce the color changes.  Of course it is much more pronounced outdoors.  In my mind we are at the northern most latitudes that one can grow hibiscus outdoors and just by a hair too.  You and I are fortunate to live close enough to the ocean where the night time winter temps rarely get below freezing.  Go into those interior valleys just on the other side of one set of small mountains (barely 5 miles) and it is a real challenge in winter.

One thing that really surprised me this past fall was how my bloom colors started to change before the weather turned cold.  I kind of thought the amount of sun light is not as much of a factor since the hibiscus seem to prefer dappled sunlight.  Maybe they still need more hours of indirect sunlight and if not enough that starts to also aid in the changing of coloration too?

Farmer D

Darren, some good observations and questions on winter colors. I have a vague memory from biology class many years ago that certain plant hormone secretions are directly related to the number of hours of daylight. I would be interested to hear from Chris or Charlie or anyone else more botanical knowledge than I have what factors affect coloration.
Some of today's blooms: Titian Venus, Silver Dragon, Acapulco Gold, Love Story, and Velvet Illusion.

Erny

A few more

Darren, I hope your CH makes a fast recovery.

Thanks John - I'm hoping for a surprise bounce back but probably against the odds...

I saw this wonderful display off of facebook today - go Ukraine!

Farmer D

Had quads today on Valentines Day...

Farmer D

Darren, I'm not sure that this one is from Ukraine...

Good catch Aleksandr - I didn't see this was a repost of one of Jordan's pic actually.  Either way very nice!

Farmer D

Yes, bush is very very nice!!!
Don't be disappointed that this bush is not from Ukraine, I will try to make good shots this summer to promote my country (Ukraine)  ;D

Aleksandr I can't wait to see your pics in the coming months.  Plus you have that exciting greenhouse you're building so that in itself will be a site to see when done!

Farmer D

Darren, very nice Chariots of Fire and Sea of Tranquility. We had a real hail storm here yesterday but I don't see any evidence of serious damage. These are a few pictures I took before the hail.

Erny

Had a nice Cindy's Heart bloom today.

Erny you had the exciting weather the other day - it seemed to all loop below us here and head towards your area.

John lovely CH!

Farmer D

I'm looking forward to spring. But I'll have to wait a little while longer. A light freeze is predicted for Sunday morning.

Old Reliable...

Farmer D

Every bloom a little more color....

Farmer D

very nice blooms!   mine are all in winter mode - very small and not so nice right now.  though my wisteria says spring is here...so my hibiscus should be perking up again soon.

I hear you about the hibs perking up soon.  Most of my plants are currently showing some level of new spring growth.  Helps that the last few days were in the low 80sF.  By Tuesday it will be in the mid 50sF again with some rain.  Not much consistency of temperatures this winter, 2 weeks cold, 2 weeks warm seems to be the pattern lately.

Farmer D

Darren, is that top photo really Burnt Saffron as the caption says? Amazing color change, if so. At least you are getting Feb flowers, that's still an achievement for a winter like this has been.

Charlie

I hate to say it but that was my first ever bloom off of this plant so I can't say for sure yet.  I guess we'll have to wait a while to know as there are no other buds on her currently.  With the very winterized colors for me the last two months I wouldn't be surprised that Burnt Saffron could get this transformed.  It does show a slow growth habit and limited branching which matches the description for BS.  One interesting note is that the cutting for this particular plant is over a foot long so lots of nodes available for future development...

The pics below are all at least 7.5 feet off the ground so I guess that is the theme for this afternoon.  SLIH is slowly filling out and becoming a lot more lush which is great.  Four total hibs in that last shot.

Farmer D

Darren, I love the color on your Acapulco Gold. It really does look a lot more golden in its winter colors. Your bushes are looking good. I'm getting good bush growth and lots of buds but most are falling off before they open.
First bloom on Sweet Caramel yesterday so this is a second day picture today. The second photo shows how small the plant is. I planted it in August from a 4" pot.
Other winter blooms include Silver Dragon and Old Spice.
Erny

More winter blooms: Scarlet Beauty, Acapulco Gold, Chariots of Fire, Rose Quartz, and Illuminati.

Erny you're doing well in the bud department for mid winter.  Your Illuminati has a really pretty mix of colors - impressive for winter.  I am seeing bud drop too but most of my buds are pretty new and too small yet too fall off so I might be a bit behind you there.  My patience is wearing thin with winter as we head into another cold week again.  I'm such a wimp!

Farmer D

Farmer D

Farmer D

Darren, your Black Dream is looking good. Mine has been producing smaller flowers and not as richly colored as yours. I just posted on the Cultivar topic a bunch of bush pictures I took today. It may be of little interest to anyone besides you and Charlie but take a look at them and see what you think.

Erny

A beautiful Wild Grape

John that is a gorgeous Wild Grape bloom - very nice for this time of year!

Today Picante had a really interesting look to her - almost like a skinny Dragon's Breath bloom.  That is what is so fun with this cv, every bloom reflects the weather very much.

Farmer D

Here is a bloom that has been ready to open for over a month and today surprisingly was the day.  This is what happens when a bloom is fully formed and just sitting there for weeks...bug haven!

Farmer D

Today is a great day - why?  Because it is now exactly 2 months since the winter solstice so spring is now starting in my book at least here in So Cal.  Just about all the hibs are showing new growth at branch tips and nodes now.  My potted ones on the porch are the last to go and are just now starting to show some new green.  Also starting to see more blooms too and of decent quality again.

Every time Raging Bull blooms in the winter I am really impressed with the depth of color offset with the white eye - stunning and also always a big size bloom.

A really nice Heavy Metal and a bunch of Valentines Day blooms gaining color quickly.  Also a good idea to take the picture before one sprays the pretty Living Legend bloom and stains it...

Farmer D

Funny how sometimes you get buds right off the wood without a branch involved.  Here is one on Chariots of Fire, though this cv is so floriferous it probably could produce a bud out of almost anywhere.

Farmer D

This plant has me guessing what it is - supposed to be Flickering Flame but all last summer this plant (potted at in-laws porch) produced nothing but full on doubles that looked identical to Samba Dancer.  This looks a lot more like FF so maybe just a weird adjustment phase when transplanted last summer...

And a very fearless hummingbird that has perched just a few feet away from me several times and has nested in the neighbor's front yard so hopefully some great shots soon of her.

Farmer D

Hmm, that sure looks more like Flickering Flame now. I don't have any photos showing Samba Dancer as a single but winter conditions bring out strange effects on hibiscus blooms. I guess we need to see it next summer to be sure.

Charlie

Darren, great pictures as always. I agree with Charlie--that looks a lot like my Flickering Flame which has been a decent winter bloomer.
Our hummingbirds seem to love my Banksia flowers. They perch on the plumeria leaves and then flit back and forth to the Banksias. I think I posted some pictures last year on the hummingbird thread.

Erny

My sunshower bloomed nicely since was in 80's here in Fl an this other hibiscus is nice anyone know what it is I don't no

Hi Rebecca!  Those are both pretty blooms for sure.  Sun Shower is just always so impressive and even more so now that I have seen how Erny's bush of it has done rather well in the ground.  I just planted mine this past week in fact.  As for your other bloom do you know if that is from HVH?  It kind of reminds me of Summer Fun a little bit but this time of year blooms can really appear differently than what they normally look like though your Sun Shower sure looks true to form and being in FL you might have blooms that never get too altered by winter.  Keep posting pics of it as it blooms - even if were not sure it is very enjoyable to look at.

The temps are warming up here in So Cal for at least the next two weeks it looks like so let's see if this helps move the hibs out of winter mode finally....

Farmer D

Farmer D

Here is another picture of sunshower bloom more like the winter colors  cross pollenated my creole lady with my sunshower hope my sunshower will set seed bc CL seems to always drop her seed pods

Orange is just double standard I think

Farmer D

wow farmer d nice growing! It looks like July in your yard not Feb. here are a few from the green house here in San Jose

Sorry about the 3 bottom pics. I used my ipod Touch for the first time posting pics and did not anticipate the small picture size
Norm

Very nice Norm, Soft Spot is really pretty!  Nice form on all of yours blooms especially for this time of year.

Farmer D

Nice winter looks everyone! 

Thunderegg is starting to bloom again, even with its bush full of pods!

That's quite a beautiful Thunder Egg, Chris. Seems like your flowers are pretty consistent - under artificial light, right?

Also a gorgeous version of Ragin' Bull from Darren.

Thanks for sharing.

Charlie

Thanks Charlie, they are all under artificial light still.  There is a south facing window, but winter in the PNW is usually overcast and drizzly, so the lights are still being used.   You are right the color and big yellow splotches have been consistent, the form has varied a bit, but each bloom is eye catching and unique to my eyes.   

Dittoes on Charlie's statement--both Thunder Egg and Raging Bull are incredible.

Erny

Chris, I'm looking forward to seeing your new setup.  Your basement growing success using artificial light inspired me to supplement the sunlight coming in 3 south facing windows with T5 lighting.  The amount of sunlight coming in was never enough because of the roof overhang and the large number of plants.  The plants closest to the windows also blocked most of the sunlight from the others.  The windows are also slightly tinted, don't know if that has any impact.  Now with the sun moving higher there is no direct sunlight coming in.  In previous years this was a major problem as it wouldn't be warm enough to move them back outside until mid to late April and the growth would get a bit lanky and need to be pruned off.  I have lots of pics I can post if my back will cooperate and allow me to sit long enough to do it.  

Darren and Erny, I still can't get over how much blooming you guys are getting outside through the winter and those fascinating winter bloom forms and colors.

dave