Hidden Valley Hibiscus Forum

Yep that Thunder Egg is such a unique bloom - never could have imagined such a look for a flower.  Mesmerizing...great stuff Chris and Charlie!

Nice Black Dream twins today at the in-laws.  Also second bloom ever for Expect Miracles.  This bloom is looking more winterized than the first one back in late November.

Farmer D

Farmer D

Several of today's AG blooms are dead ringers for Lemon Life - a softer and pretty look in winter.

Farmer D

Farmer D

Darren, great blooms!!

- Gabriel (very strange)
- Torch Song

Darren, you're getting a lot more and a lot nicer blooms than I. I think the Santa Ana winds have been hard on my plants.
Aleksandr, thanks for sharing those wonderful photos .

Erny

Erny no doubt those winds and very dry conditions lately are making it tough on your plants.  If it is any consolation my plants are currently looking their worst in probably a year.  I'm not 100% sure but if I remember correctly this time last year some similar results.  Just when the plants are all starting their spring growth spurts the leaves that have been on all winter start to really look bad.  I wonder if it is their version of shedding old leaves to make way for new ones.

I've noticed on all my citrus trees they have all started doing that now as well.  I know we're talking tropical shrubs to trees but I see some similarities in what is going on this time of year.

First ever blooms for Scintillating - must be super winter colors to be all red and pink plus eerwigs living in the blooms took their toll.  Great plant by the way - got it last spring as 4" twig and it has grown very well in ground with giant sized leaves too.

Farmer D

Gorgeous SB & SLIH - I don't mind the winter colors on SLIH at all as it is a beautiful red bloom.

Farmer D

Keep those pics coming Farmer d
I have 1 from the greenhouse
Norm

wow I need caffeine.. wrong picture

lets try this again
sorry
Norm

Thanks Norm for the enthusiasm - the more the better!

Some real stunners today with Rodeo Drive being my favorite and T Royal Court looking totally different than I've ever seen her...

Farmer D

Farmer D

Aleksandr you're doing well to have nice blooms in the middle of winter - keep the pictures coming!

Vin Electrique gets better with each passing day - really unique blend of lavender and red...

Farmer D

Farmer D

Farmer D

Farmer D

Farmer D

Farmer D

 Farmer D nice Erin Racheal looks really nice even without the orange that it usually has

Here are a few. looks like the warm weather has woke some of these guys up
Norm

Norm I agree with you about ER - pretty cool bloom even without orange.  I really like your Porcelain Doll and that Voodoo Magic is quite fun!

Had 6 blooms today on Acapulco Gold.

Farmer D

Farmer D

Very nice Norm, near perfect blooms, I am jealous as I am getting about 90% bud drop at the moment, from now till mid May its ferocious sun with a lower humidity and really hard on my Hibs.

thanks David. We don't have high temps here but I do have an issue with not enough air movement in the greenhouse. I have a couple plants in trouble.
Norm

Farmer D

Farmer D

Farmer D

Farmer D

Farmer D

Nice ones! 

Not too much flowering for me yet, but Torch Song gave a large dark bloom the other day.  One of the best for indoor growing because it seems to always bloom in big 8+ inch flowers, whereas many CVs bloom smaller indoors. 

That's a beauty Chris.  I really miss mine, hope Charlie is propagating some more.

Have you finished your setup in your new place?


dave

Hi Dave,

Yeah Torch Song is really nice, I think that it is a harder one to propagate, worth it since it blooms big and alot. 

The set up is doing well,  I am going to go through the collection the next month and find homes for the plants that havent performed the way I wanted over the last year or do not have the right growth habit for my grow area.

I also had a St. Patrick's day pair of blooms, Green Elf.  How is the wood from that one doing for you Charlie?  Really is a cool green color, bush is nice and upright as well. 

 

Really nice Torch Song Chris. Reminds me why I have it on my Wish List.
Took a break from watching endless hours of college basketball today and noticed that I have some decent blooms after weeks of nothing worth showing. Some are even starting to show spring form and color. Magic Crystal is loaded with buds and blooms. Tahitian Sophistication is trying to remind me why it is one of my favorite flowers. Prosperity and Love Story also looking good.

Erny

Whoops! Forgot to add the photos:

Saw my first ever bloom on Fuschia Delight today. I suspect this is still winter color.
Also Delta Dawn, Chariots of Fire, Daisy Mae, and Hollywood Starlet.

Black Dream is also returning to normal form and color. Also Victoria's Touch and Inner Compass.

Chris that is perfect timing with Green Elf.  Such a unique bloom for sure!

Erny that is quite the set of blooms!  Some really surprising looks there for some of them.  I must say T Sophistication is looking amazing already and your Black Dreams look really nice too.

Have a nice trip!

Farmer D

Farmer D

A rather large sized True Love bloom today looking more like summer form.  Very nice...

Farmer D

Farmer D

Getting a little more color in AG each week...can't hurt that it is the first day of spring.  Bring on the light!

I also love the updated picture for Dappled Dandy.  Wow that is a fun bloom, it looks like this would be what it looks like before it hits it's peak of an all yellow edge?

Farmer D

Does a quick change in weather effect blooms because almost all my buds dropped today was so disappointed wanted to see my dutch windmill bloom only have one bud left ony rockets red glare I really hope I can see this plant bloom my best plant so far that hasn't been effected by weather is my solar soul which keeps bringing me beautiful blooms an a lush bush

Rebecca that can be a cause of bud drop, especially when there is a sudden and drastic dip in temps.  When a plant gets stressed so it eliminates non essential parts first to focus energy use on the more vital parts of the plant to stay alive.

Yesterday had one of the nicest Black Dream blooms for me ever, big, bold and perfect!  Also a very nice LL getting much more color now.

Farmer D

Spring in Kiev (Ukraine) from my window (23.03.2013)   о_О

- Dark of Night

Very nice bloom Aleksandr, the colors are very dramatic and so well defined!  Wow talk about no hope for warm weather anytime soon...here in the US it is the same with one snow storm after another as well.  Seems like here in So Cal it is the only place where spring has arrived on time...

Had some high quality triplets today from Erin Rachel.  One shot is really interesting as the sun is shining directly into the bloom and you can really see that eye zone well.  Very unique color combo!

Farmer D

The hummingbird is right above the hibiscus in my Elberta Peach tree.  Can't wait to get it on the hibs soon...

Farmer D

Getting more spring color each day with my first blooms of the season for Best of Times and Heavy Metal.  Another large sized True Love bloom still half winter colors but very enjoyable.

Farmer D

Farmer D

An interesting shot of the damage from an ongoing rot infection on my Prosperity trunk.  This resulted from stepping on a low large branch last summer and partially breaking it at the main stem.  I thought I had the rot gone but it flared up again last month so now I have it totally exposed in full direct sun to really dry it out.  Hopefully no more...

Farmer D

Getting better by the day - 1st Flickering Flame bloom of the season

Seems like right now the day 2 blooms are the peak of pretty for most of those blooming now

Farmer D

Some afternoon pics...

Farmer D

Erin Rachel defined...

Farmer D

Farmer D

Farmer D

a few afternoon shots

Farmer D

Darren, I have been really enjoying seeing all your nice blooms.

This Cindy's Heart has been trying to open for several days now. We had 3 nights in a row in the upper thirties.

John I really miss seeing Cindy's Heart - that is a very pretty version of it.  With the exception of So Cal it seems like the rest of the country is still deep in winter weather.  Tough stuff for sure!

I am glad you're enjoying my blooms, things are looking promising right now...AG is up to 13 blooms currently with Chariots of Fire not far behind.

Farmer D

Rodeo Drive us budding up like crazy and with such a nice bloom that is great news...

Farmer D

Got my first two nice blooms on my second Valentines Day plant that I moved last April to the backyard under my Mulberry Tree.  It took 4 months just to sprout new leaves after the move - now it is doing great!

Also a shot of my other VD plant's spring growth.  Heck of a bush to say the least...

Farmer D

Another spring growth shot this time of Sizzle which continues to really impress me with it's vigor.

Also second bloom for Scintillating and again a surprisingly all red bloom with just a hint of yellow and a pink eye.  I'm guessing as the weather warms it will transform to a more orangy-gold bloom like in the online store pic?

Farmer D

Juvenile ladybug - always nice to see and brings up an interesting difference between this spring and last.  Very little in the way thrips and eerwigs so far, even aphids have been a lot better.  I will wait and see what happens when my plumeria bloom as that seems to be a breeding ground for thrips here.  Other than that not much in the way of hot weather so far this year so that might help too and/or the plants are just a lot stronger with the new soil/hole regime and the pests are better controlled?

We'll see...

Farmer D

Scintillating transformed some on day 2 to a light orange bloom with some gold bleed.  Exciting to get the first hints of what might be coming this summer...the eye is interesting as it has two distinct shades of pink.  Very unique!

Farmer D

Farmer D

Farmer D

One of my own and a Sizzle, Darren you mentioned the other day that Sizzles a fast grower, mine has just had its second prune and I have only had it 6 months.

My rockets red glare bloomed inside

Wild Grape

Nice to see some bloom pics from several of you today!  David I am glad to hear that Sizzle is also a vigorous grower for you.  I like your other bloom as well, is that one of your seedlings?

Farmer D

Farmer D

Thanks to David, Rebecca, John, and Darren for sharing those beautiful photos.
David, not only is Sizzle a fast grower but the bush is really full and thick.
I just got back from Hawaii and was pleased to see a lot more blooms than when I left. Herm Geller, Flickering Flame, Acapulco Gold, Daisy Mae, and Angel's Wings.

Erny

A few more:Saffro, Hot Pepper, Titian Venus, and Tahitian Lovely. Also a couple of shots of 10" bloom on King Protea.

Slapstick was the only plant that showed significant winter damage. I cut off the top 6" of both stems and, as the photos show, there are new leaves covering the entire length of the stems. Chariots of Fire is showing why it is known as a prolific bloomer. Also Palm Springs and I have to show Leucospermum Veldfire (a member of the Protea family) as I have waited over five years for this plant to bloom.

Erny that is very interesting to see your Slapstick like that, mine is almost an identical twin to yours but for different reasons I think.  Mine was in a pot on my porch since last spring that was either in total shade or blazing afternoon sun - either way it hated it and did nothing but slowly lose all it's leaves.  I decide to move it to my sidewalk planter where it will have room to root like crazy and above shading from my Celadine Plumeria.  People need to stop in their tracks when walking by when they see that killer super color saturated bloom I envision it will one day produce...

My two most effected by that cold snap back in mid January was Meteor Shower and T Lavender Rainbow which is now in the back yard clinging to life.

Farmer D

Happy Easter to everyone!

Farmer D

A cloudy morning so great opportunity to take some nice bush shots.  This time I typed the names of all the plants on the photos.   I hope the font is large enough to read.  

I would say that my plants are about 2 weeks removed from being at their worst for the year.  I have removed tons of yellow leaves so the plants do look a bit skimpy compared to how lush they were just a few months back.

Farmer D

and some afternoon blooms...

Farmer D

Loved the garden shots Darren, very enjoyable. Your Acapolco Gold is amazing, I kept looking for the stakes and ties that support it and of course they arent there, I would need to prune about 100 times to get it looking like that.

Darren, great garden bush shots. The printed labeling you added worked just fine.
Magic Crystal, Cindy's Heart, Flickering Flame, and Heartbreak Hotel.

Erny

Herm Geller, Saffron twins, Acapulco Gold, and Black Dream.
Also two more photos of my newly blooming Leucospemum Veldfire.