Hidden Valley Hibiscus Forum

"Turkey Tracks" next to " Great White"

Hi Jon,

How does Great White do for you? I haven't had one for the last few years. Do you grow Byron Metts as well? How do they compare for you?

Turkey Tracks looks like one in the Wallflower/Orville Davis line with the dark brown and slight lavender ring.

Charlie

Hi Charlie,

Great white blooms some what steadily for me. Unfortunately a lot of the blooms are facing straight down. It has a more yellow hue to it and thinner texture than my Byron metts. Maybe as the bush grows a bit it might help out a little but I will more than likely add it to my hanging basket collection.
My Byron Metts always has a pure white with a thick texture. Even with the not so great bush I still grow a few of them because I like the flower so much.

Another pic from my collection.  "Berried Silver"

Another one " Evening Glow"

T. Sands

"Nina" in cooler weather

"Nina" in Sunny warm weather

" French Connection" in cooler weather.

" French Connection" in warm weather.

T. " Sun Giant"

" Storm Surge "

T. "Imperial Topaz"

T. " Purple Splendor"

" Black Dream"

" Bodacious Burgandy"

T. " Early Dawn"

I Like this one alot very unique shape

Thanks Kerry,

It was during the month of June here when there was hardly any sun.

" Rosalind"

Hi Jon,

This shows Rosalind as a pretty single. I suppose you are getting doubles from it now, too. The Rosalind in my yard decided to take a break from blooming after a spring blooming period and then put on a big growth spurt but I see buds are developing on it again.

Nice photos.

Charlie

Ah I was wondering if CVs take breaks and grow, then start again.  I have observed this on a few plants I have, but I wasn't sure if it was because it is hot.

Jon,  Thanks for sharing pictures, you have alot of cvs I havent even heard of!

Thanks For the photo comment Charlie I have been a Little hesitant to put up pics of your cvs as I want to give them the justice they deserve.
I picked up "Rosalind" from your first open house this year and it has been blooming non stop. I'm still waiting to get a double from it though but I'm fine with the bright singles from it.

Your welcome Kerry,

I have a lot more pics to share it just takes me a while to re size and sort out the good ones.

"Moon Goddess" in cooler weather

" Moon Goddess" in warm weather

" Solar Eclipse"

" Rockets Red Glare"

" AmaZing "

" Byron Metts" with my daughter Elle

" Black Jack"

Jon, that Byron Metts with Elle is too fine! What a great photo to keep for the future. I've saved it in my own photo folder.

Charlie

Thanks Charlie.. I had one printed out to put in her baby book.

Here is "Solar Eclipse" from today

Nice example! I wasn't sure if Solar Eclipse was bright enough to attract attention, but there was something about this combination of colors that I liked. It also bloomed a lot so it got a name and now sells out quickly when offered. Thanks for showing this one.

Charlie

Thanks Charlie,

Here is " Dragons Heart" from today.

Nice collection,lucky you. :)

Thanks..

From the pics I have seen of your collection it looks like its coming along great..

I am trying ;)

"Honey Do"

" Black Knight" Was the tag on this but I am not positive of the Id

" Rodeo Drive"

" Perfect Moment"

" Peeping Plum "

" Sun Flower"

"Black Jack"

Hi Jon,

I haven't seen Black Knight or Honey Do in over 5 years - nice to see them again! Rodeo Drive is an example of Rainbow Christi passing along a dark eye. Thanks for sharing your blooms.

Wait a sec. I see your note about Black Knight and have to agree with you - it's not Black Knight. Black Knight does not have that dark eye. Its eye is a red color that almost exactly matches the rest of the bloom. I imported this one from Australia 10 years ago. Your photo looks more like Red Bomb, a parent of Black Knight. You can see both in the IHS photo archive and below is one of my old photos of Black Knight growing in the US.

Charlie

Thanks Charlie,

I sent an email to the grower to see if I can get some more info on it. I cannot find Black Bomb on the IHS search engine. Hopefully the grower might have some more info on it.

Hey Jon,

Sorry, I meant Red Bomb but was thinking Black Knight. Anyway, type Black Knight in the archive and it shows both parents.

There are a lot of reds with gold markings out there, including Some Like It Hot, but I don't think this is that. What kind of bush does it have?

Charlie

Hey Charlie,

The bush seems to be okay. It is still a young plant and needs to grow out a bit. The bloom was upright on lower branch. I have a bit of crowding in the area where it is at and will take a better look at next time. It is not Some Like It Hot. Could it be Gold Mine ?

Hi Charles,

I received a response from my email.The grower had bought it from an on line site in FL a while ago that I feel does not have the best reputation.  I will take a better look at the bush this week to see if that can be of any help.

Hi Jon,

If it's the online source that I think it is, he shows 2 photos of Black Knight without the dark eye so he knows what the flower should like like. This guy once sold a friend of mine a plant that bloomed completely wrong and when he called to ask about it he was told "you are really lucky, you have a genetic sport". Ah well, live and learn.

Coincidentally, last week I received some plants from that same source that I am forwarding on to a customer of mine in Hong Kong as a favor to him but against my advice. The plants arrived with a bad whitefly infestation that I am having to treat for before I put them in my greenhouse. I told the Hong Kong guy never again from that source.

Charlie

You said it best "Live and Learn" I know a lot a people that have been taken by him. I purchased my first plant from him which is still alive but quickly found out after some research that I should find better sources to buy plants.

I went on his site today and since he is the original source of my plant I think the cv might be Maroon Stars. It matches on IHS and a pic he has on his site.

T. Burning Sands

" Night Vision"

" Blue Ballerina"

" White Diamonds"

T. Blushing Sun

T. Princess

Small floral from today

Hi, Jon,

The arrangement is magnificent!

A top right one looks a lot like Maroon Stars, you may be right in identifying it.

Nice photos, Jon!  Is that yellow in the group photo also 'Nina'? I may have to ask you for a piece of Nina sometime, I like the intensity of the yellow. Who hybridized it and who were the parents?

Charlie

Blonde Ambition and Rosalind

Oooh, I like the colors of these, Jordan. Good job!

Charlie

Thanks Charlie,

That is Nina in the photo. The IHS website has been down for the past few days but I will do my best to track down the Hybridizer and parents. I'll send you some wood from it.

Thanks Nina,

I really enjoy reading your posts and seeing the pics you put up. The top right one is Maroon stars. I really like the bloom but the bush is horrible.

Great pics Dave,

I have had my eye on Blonde Ambition for a while. I already have a lot of yellow combinations but I'm definitely going to pick it up the next time its available.

Thanks Jon,

Blonde Ambition is a great cultivar and its blooms can get quite large. I've had a few just under 10" this past week.

I'm with Charlie on Nina. I really like that bloom.

dave

Thanks for the info about Nina, Jon. If it was named after Nina from Croatia who is on this forum maybe she knows the parents and will speak up.

I'm glad you all like Blond Ambition. It's a big bloom on a pretty bush, the only drawback for me is that it does not grow fast so I cannot get very much wood from it so it remains pretty rare.
 
I am so often critical of hibiscus bushes that I didn't want to say anything about Maroon Stars which I haven't grown in some years. In my experience the flower was excellent, but the bush was nearly impossible to grow nicely in a 6 inch pot that could be shipped to someone. What has surprised me over the years is that sometimes it only takes one cross to "fix" a bad bush although it is more common that multiple generations of improvement are required. In any case I let Maroon Stars go along with hundreds of other varieties and am not sure how I feel about them showing up for sale on other sites without any comments about their various qualities. Mostly I think the qualities should be described, although there is something to be said for preserving older varieties at least for awhile.

Charlie

Your welcome Charlie,

I'm pretty sure it is named after Nina so she might know. I feel as though I'm in the same situation as you were only on a much smaller scale. I have quite a few plants that I have no idea what to do with. Some I might want try at making some crosses with and others that I might just give away or put in a hanging basket like I did to Maroon Stars today because I like the bloom so much. One CV for instance is Sweet Pink. The double pink bloom on it is gorgeous. The bush is upright and looks good but some of the blooms face straight to the ground. Maybe as it grows out a bit it might help. I saw a few blooms on it today and just shook my head but when I brought a couple home my wife was in love with it. I'll find a picture of it I took a while back.

Here is a not so great pic of the Silver Memories I picked up from you last week.  

Sweet Pink

Tigerama

Nikita

Andromeda

T. Flag

Andromeda earlier this year

T. Solar Fire

T. Purple Splendor Twins

All the photos of it I have seen here in the US show T Purple Splendor as much more red than the very purple one that was originally posted from Tahiti. I got 2 pieces of bad wood that rotted as grafts and regretted not succeeding with it, but that was before I saw the redder versions that appear to be the norm. It looks OK now but not the spectacular colors that were first displayed. And so it often goes with internet photos vs real flowers..........just trying to keep it real.

Charlie

I haven't seen any of the original photos from Tahiti and didn't even see a pic before I bought it but I do like the blooms from it. They have not been a really deep purple but are always upright and in good form. I can send you some fresh wood from it if you would like to give it another try.

Hey Jon, thanks for the offer. I like the cross that made this one - Midnight Blue x Silver Memories - and would like to try again with fresh wood. The photos from Tahiti show it as deep purple with lots of white spots. Below is a photo posted online showing it that way. so far I have seen photos from the US and Europe with more red and less purple, but still an interesting color. Eventually we will find out if the very purple color is a rare event depending on weather or due to enhancing the photo via software as is too often done. Your photo is also attached for comparison.

Charlie

Here is a pic from spring with the white spots. I see what you mean by the photo. Mine has never had an eye like that and it does seem a bit enhanced unless its due to growing conditions. Mine does have a pretty dark purple at times. I still need to buy a better camera but it might be that it fades a little fast. If you look at my pic with the twins the one on the left is from day one and the one on the right is from day two.

Jon, T. Purple Splendor is a real beauty. That would be a definite on my wish list if I knew a source for it. Where did you acquire it? Is it own root or grafted?

dave

Charlie when I looked on IHS it said parents UK , but If Nina on here is the hybridizer hopefully she will chime in. :D

Hi Dave,

The plant I have is grafted. I sent Charles some wood from it and you could check with him on the availability of it.

Kerry, I split "Nina" out of this thread into her own topic. Could be the person Nina will notice it more easily. We have a LOT of topics in the forum nowadays so I'm sure visitors never see all there is to see.

Charlie