Hidden Valley Hibiscus Forum

I live in Los Angeles in a 2 bedroom apt. My balconies face north which is a drag ! I only get sunlight on my Balcony from March to August ! Right now as I type There is no sun for my babies to grow. But lets rewind back to when I did had sunlight on the balcony :D 

When i first really paid attention to how much light was on the balcony I got my bf to buy me gator pride and voodoo magic for me. They did well so I got hooked on to hibiscus all over again. My balcony is fairly small/ medium sized so far I have 15 cv's 7 more on the way lol.  I asked my bf to make me a stand so they would all fit nicely but he took too long and now the light is gone from the balcony so I will save the stand making for next season.

Anyways I bought some Seeds from Barry S. Another well know hybridizer after I saw how well the GP and VM was doing. I bought a total of 20 seeds , I have never grown hibiscus from seeds so I was so scared to kill them or not plant them right. Barry gave me some freebie seeds so I decided to test those out first. Of course they died and did not sprout. Charlie informed me that they need a nice warm temp of 75-80 degrees F ( I think this is what he said ). I decided to buy a jiffy dome seed starter so they can have lots of humidity to keep the temp up. I placed this jiffy dome on top of my cable box and I now have 17 seedlings growing.  I have planted them in 4-6” based on what cross. They are doing well despite many weeks of low sunlight, pigeons landing on them and aphids. They are starting to get woody at the base of the stems :D

I then received 162 seeds from Another Hybridizer name Charlie Atiu . I planted the seeds on 8/16/09 I had to buy some more supplies, I bought another dome and some cells to put seeds in.  These are now on top of my cable box.  I have to count and see how many have sprouted but I think we are looking at around 100 seedlings.

So since I have no sunlight on my balcony I research to see what is a good lighting source to keep my hibiscus happy and healthy in the winter. T5’s seem So far I have only 24" fixtures 2 two lamp new waves and one 4 lamp new wave fixture from sunlight supply. I am about to buy a 48” 8 lamp fixture for my older cv’s I think this should make them happy.  I now need to see if I can come up with a bulb combo that will stimulate blooms. I will keep you guys updated on how this goes.

This weekend I am going to build something to hand the 3 fixtures I do have.
I want to buy one of these and put the seedlings on so they can grow out.

(http://www.abtec.com/nexel/00724A.jpg)

I will be adding picture soon

Great read! Can't wait to see the pics, and your lighting set up.  This could work in a heated garage for those of us who have to winter our Hibs.
John

Seems like a good setup, Kerry. I use very similar racks and lights for propagating. Hibiscus do not need all that much light to grow - only to bloom, and the T5 s should be plenty to get the seedlings started. Seedlings grow fast and tall so you may want to pinch the tip after they have several sets of leaves.

John, the heated garage idea should work well, too. In such a large area you also have the option of installing an HID light which gives the most light output for the money spent on electricity, and has the added bonus of giving off quite a bit of heat which would allow the garage to be heated less from other sources. If you can keep the temperatures above 50F the hibiscus will usually be just fine. Of course if one can only keep them above 32F that is likely to keep them alive. Unfortunately, they tend to get more problems in the 32 to 49 degree range than they do if kept above 50F but below 32 they start to die and any long stretches of time spent in the 20's will do them in completely.

We will start an overwintering topic when it gets closer to winter but I think you have a good idea with this.

Charlie

Here is a picture of the new seedlings

(http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k72/kalibobs/_MG_4749.jpg)

Some updates.

Well my heartbreak hotel is still blooming  ;D so this gives me hope that the T5's will probably keep them blooming this winter.  Nightfire still has a lot of buds ready to bloom also.  All of my cv's look great so far I see lots of new growth just with one week of use with the t5's

Excellent!

For those who have not heard of T-5's, this is a relatively new type of fluorescent bulb that is thinner than standard fluorescent bulbs and available in an HO version that is higher wattage and brighter light than the standard fluorescent bulb. The bulbs are 5/8 of an inch in diameter which allows for sleeker and less space using fixtures. The HO versions are 54 watts for the 46 inche bulbs and fixtures compared to 32 watts and put out significantly more light.

Charlie

Charlie, I have two, two blub floresents that are 8' long, do you know if they make these T5 bulbs for them? They are standard mount ceiling fixtures.
John

Hi John,

Unfortunately, nope, the T5s won't fit T-8 or T-12 fixtures.

Some enterprising light manufacturers are building fixtures that can handle as many as 8 T5 bulbs at once. That is a LOT of light from 1 fixture.

As far as I have found, the longest T5 High Output bulbs are 4 ft. 8 ft fixtures are available but they use 2 of the 4ft bulbs. Here is a link to some more info about T5 use in an 8ft fixture http://www.specialty-lights.com/fbayi58t.html

Charlie

some updates

yesterday my sister did not shut my bedroom door and my cats ate some of my new seedlings  :'(

nightfire bloomed with no problem just like heartbreak hotel

Oh Kerry that sucks.  Have you ever tried Feliway or any other cat repellent to keep them out of your plants?  I was thinking of trying this myself (although I haven't yet) because my little kitten has figured out how to jump on the kitchen counter where a lot of my recovering hibs are.  She chews them up and plays in the pots... grr....

Yeah, losing new seedlings is painful. I've heard of mice eating them, and I'm sure squirrels and rabbits would love them if they could get at them since they seem to only go for the tenderest and newest of growth on our garden hibiscus. I've had a cat lay on top of them at night because of the heat mat they were sitting on. Lots of dangers out there for tiny seedlings! They are flexible and stronger than they look but once the tops are eaten there's not much chance of survival.

Speaking of animal/hibiscus conflicts, our newest puppy decided to lap up the excess Houseplant Formula from a saucer under a big plant the other day. I've never seen a dog throw up as much as she did in one evening! It has soap in it which may have been the main cause of the throwing up. Luckily she was fine the next day but we no longer allow any excess fertilizer water to remain in saucers that she has access to, basically any on the floor.

Good luck with the rest of your seedlings, Kerry!

Charlie

Charlie I am glad you new pup is ok.

My puppy Enzo loves to eat the flowers lol but I do not have saucers so he has nothing to drink out of when I water.

Jordan I have never tried it but my cats sound just like yours, they want to chew and play with my plants lol. i remember I picked a flower off of heartbreak hotel and showed my mom . i left the flower on a table then 5 mins later flower was on the floor in little pieces my cats just love them.

some more updates

So a few days ago I knocked a pod off, I know Charlie stated that the pod should not be easy to knock off. But this one was about to ripen up. The bottom started to turn yellow but the rest of the pod was very green. Anyways I was about to toss it but I decided to let it dry and see if the seeds would be ok. well today I have 16 new seeds :D I can feel that they are kind of damp so I will let them continue to dry.
I will send these to you also charlie.  I will be keeping two seeds from each cross so I can see some of my first seedlings lol

i have 6 more pods to ripen so you should have a lot of new crosses and seedlings to grow for me :D

ok as I was typing this I went to look at the other pod i pollinated at the same time as the pod i knocked off guess what it opened also lol 15 seeds 31 seeds of the same cross. cinnamon girl x heartbreak hotel. Since its 9/11 today maybe if any of these seedlings become keepers name them in remembrance of today.

Hi Kerry,

I'd be quite happy to grow those seeds for us, and see what happens. When that happens the nomenclature records show you as hybridizer and me as "grower". Of course most do not get registered because they are not up to the standards we seek, but that will be your choice. I'm always glad to have naming help. 'Fallen Heros' was named for those people on the flight that crashed into the PA countryside after they stormed the cockpit on 9/11.

As for pods that come off a day or 2 before the seeds are ripe it works best if you can set the peduncle (stem) of the pod in a little water (but not the pod itself) and wait for the browning to complete. If it is too early, the seeds won't ripen but I've saved a number of seeds this way from pods that fall early. That seems to happen more indoors for me, perhaps the sunlight needed to form a good strong bond is not enough.

Charlie

Here is what my set up looks like for now lol

(http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k72/kalibobs/_MG_4819.jpg)

here are some cutting I am trying with dip in grow. I pruned all of my hibiscus :D Heartbreak hotel and Cinnamon girl Got pruned the hardest.

(http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k72/kalibobs/_MG_4821.jpg)


Charlie I have more seeds out of wild dream x cinnamon girl 11 seeds

Charlie I am trying to figure out how to send them to you, I need to find something to put them in to separate them and label any suggestions ?

Hi Kerry,

The set up with the pruned plants look good. Do you have a dome for the cuttings? They may not need it but moderate humidity is best for them, neither too high nor too low. In places like Florida or near the Gulf Coast the humidity is so high that they do not need to be concerned with adding more but here along the southern CA coast we can have days where the humidity is too low and the cuttings will dry out and die. The risk with the domes is that the humidity will get so high that fungus diseases are encouraged and the cuttings are killed that way.

For seeds I use small zip lock bags (1"x2") that I label on the outside with the cross info. Each cross is in its own small envelope. Mailing seeds can be a problem due to the automatic sorting machines used by the USPS. Seeds have been crushed when mailed in normal envelopes. Probably the safest and easiest technique is to put the seeds from each cross in a normal paper envelope that is labeled and sealed and then all the envelopes are placed inside a a larger envelope that is padded inside with plastic bubbles. Any padded envelope should protect them but the bubble  ones are probably best. An alternative would be to but the paper envelopes with the seeds into the smallest of the post office standard rate shipping boxes. These boxes ship for one rate to everywhere - less than $10 but more than a padded envelope costs. You may have other ideas that would work well but the main thing is to protect the seeds from being crushed by the machines that sort mail.

Charlie

Charlie I have a dome but not one that will fit over it. I have them on top of my cable box and it keeps them pretty warm so I hope it works.

As for as the shipping I found something to put them in. I just took some line paper and folded it like a square then tapped the ends. I will probably use the USPS box like you said.

I am having so much fun dealing with spidermites......... ::)

Jordan I am not sure if you got rid of yours but it seems so hard to get rid of them ! I finally saw the mites. They are tiny but if you have pretty good vision you can see them with you naked eye.

My office hibiscus are infested with them ! i just sprayed them again yesterday with ortho ecosense indoor spray.  I have been spraying them with bayer 3-1 but this seems to not totally get rid of them even though the container says last for 30 days ? I am not sure what to do. I will keep my spraying regime up and hope I get rid of them soon.

Ugh Kerry aren't they a huge PITA?!!?  I've come up with a good system that seems like it's working pretty well.  I'm going to post in the mites for dummies section.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel finally, but it's been a long road getting rid of them.  I found two more re-infested plants today and they are in the tub as we speak.  Good luck getting rid of yours!!!

PS-- I can see them with the naked eye now too.  At first I thought I couldnt.  I find it quite enjoyable to use my thumbnail to squish them in half.......

Kerry, the problem with spraying for mites is that mites are spiders, not insects, and most of the sprays do not kill them despite any claims on the bottle. Commercial growers do not use any of the typical "insect sprays" that are available in garden centers, except for hort oil. Hort oil works but special miticide sprays are what commercial growers use and unfortunately most states do not allow these to be purchased without a permit. If your newest spray contains oil or even insecticidal soap it should work but if not I doubt it will do much against the mites.

For you animal lovers, I can pass on some info that is not a recommendation but might be of interest. Ear treatments for mites in animals often contain avermectins such as abamectin. These are distilled from naturally occurring soil bacterium. It just so happens that the most common and very effective miticide used by commercial growers is Avid, containing abamectin as the active ingredient.

Charlie

The Ortho ecosense has oil in it. I just got the bayer 3-1 because it was recommend on your website. I still have hort oil but it is concentrated.  I need to see if I can find the dosing for it . I hope I did not loose it.

I think the suggested dose I used of the hort oil was not strong enough. I was going by summer directions but my plants did not get direct sunlight to burn them.

As for the ear mite medicine for animals I will do some test and let you know how it goes. I will start with one leaf and if the plant seems ok I will try to figure out something. I know I have a bunch of ear mite medicine lol

Speaking from experience, if you ever lose the label directions for a pesticide you can almost always find it online by searching by the name plus the word label. They are usually available as pdf files that are opened by Preview on Macs or Adobe Reader (free) on Windows machines.

Avid contains 2 percent abamectin and is used at the rate of 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of water - potent stuff. It has a strong odor and is not suitable for indoor spraying.

Oil is safer and the right dose will smother mites that it hits. The Bayer 3-i-1 was released for rose growers and claims to have a miticide, much needed by rose growers. However, the miticide is a pyrethroid (common insecticide) and probably does some good but no commercial grower I know would use it as the only defense against mites. Combined with oil or rotated with oil might make a good program.

Charlie

Charlie

Thanks for the info I will see if I can get the dosage , I will be back with questions about it once i either find it online or in my room lol

seedling up dates :

remember How I said my cats chewed off some of the tops of my seedlings? Well I am always curious to see what happenes to anything before i throw it away :D to my surprise they are still alive and one is growing a new leaf !

update I finally bought the chrome wire shelf from home depot

(http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k72/kalibobs/P1000360.jpg)

The last of the seed pods ripen :D

Very practical, and looks nice, too! 

Charie

So the spider mite battle continues !  I thought I finally got rid of them but I did not :( I am so sick of trying to get rid of them.  It would be different and probably easier if i had only a few plants but I don't. 

I googles how to get rid of spider mites and this came up http://www.getridofthings.com/get-rid-of-spider-mites.htm

Rubbing alcohol Mix ? I wonder if that even works but i am desperate to try it. I have hort oil in concentrate and I did mix it right so I dunno why its not working.  After the dip I did not see any mites for weeks now, but now they came back !

Rubbing alcohol is poisonous, Kerry. Don't spray it indoors and then breath the fumes. Could do some serious damage to your health.

What makes you think it is spider mites now? Yellow leaves or can you see live mites? Besides dipping, hort oil is the best solution but it only works when mites and their eggs are covered with the oil. Miss a hiding space and those in it will continue to spread. Tricky little $#%@

Charlie

Thanks I wont try the alcohol now, I wonder why someone would put such info on the internet?

Well it is mites I am getting the same yellow blotched leaves and I see little things on the leaves either eggs or the baby mites.

Sigh.......what a pain!

I only asked whether you saw them because at this time of year leaves can turn yellow here and there due to the change in the weather.

Charlie

updates last week I sprayed all of the plants with hort oil.

Last night instead of giving them a bath ( I hate doing it because the soil gets every where) I took the plants and rinsed them under the tub faucet.  I took every leaf and let the water just poor over the back side of the leaves. I had the faucet on all the way.  This was easier to do than the bath so I will do this weekly and see if that helps. I looked under the leaves and I see no eggs :D

Let us know if it worked. It's the same idea as using a Bug Blaster outdoors. Many insects hate being sprayed with a strong blast of water and of course it drowns quite a few of them.

Good luck!

Charlie

updates so far I think my regime is working , tonight water night :)

I been alterating treatments last week was hort oil.  The cv's at work can only get hort oil I have no big sink to rinse the leaves off.

Hi charlie any updates on the seeds I sent you ?

I commiserate, Kerry!  I have a spider mite outbreak too that is decimating all the plants in one big window. It's this cold snap and all the heat we're using in our houses. The spider mites love the dry heat in a house, and I swear the d#$% critters live in the heating ducts - or else some of their eggs survive in their or something. I've been putting off giving the plants a bath too because I just don't have time to do it right now, but I think I'm going to have to.

There is a possible new systemic spider mite pest control product out there on the horizon - how far in the future I don't know. But I keep hoping it will hurry up and become available. I remember the not-so-long ago days when fleas and ear mites were a constant problem on dogs and cats, and just when I got completely desperate over those darn bugs, all the new flea, tick, and pet mite control products suddenly came out. So I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that there will be a spider mite treatment soon too.

In the meantime, I'll be thinking of you as I drown my spider mites, Kerry!

Cindy

Hi Kerry,

No detailed update on the seeds, just that many are now growing along with my own seedlings in 4" pots in a special extra warm room I have in the greenhouse. They are only a couple of inches tall now but by spring they will be big enough to go into 2 gallon pots and placed in the main growing area of the greenhouse. Many will bloom before summer is over. That's when the fun will start!

Charlie

I can't wait I hope to give you a lot more seeds this summer  :)

We love seeds. Many people write and ask if we sell seeds, but we don't because we just have to plant all the seeds we come up with. I'm sure most people feel the same way but the realities of having enough space to grow them is the limiting factor. I still have the space, so by all means please send seeds.......thanks!

OTOH, for me, personally, I don't think I would grow seedlings if it was between growing named varieties of my choice or seedlings. You have to grow at least 10 seedlings to find one with flowers as nice as the named varieties so if space were at a premium I wouldn't grow many seedlings.

Charlie

I have reached that conclusion for the time being as well.  I have three seedlings that I am growing.  One is a bit sentimental because it was my first cross and it was the only one of that cross to sprout.  I amd still waiting for it to bloom :(  The other two are Belle x Rainbow sherbet crosses that I have a feeling will be very nice and since they were the only two seeds in the pod, I thought I would grow them up too.  So far they seem to be growing slowly, but I am crossing my fingers for some nice ones!

Chris, it is always tempting to imagine our crosses making new varieties that combine the best traits of the parents. It does sometimes happen but you would be amazed by how many throwbacks to the flaws of ancestors also show up. To say nothing of outright surprises, a few good and many not so good! The best of these 2 parents would be very nice indeed and I hope that you get that thrill!

BTW, I stopped by the post office this afternoon and the packet from you with Burnished Gold x Belle du Jour had arrived!  Good timing, too, as I'm about to plant the next tray of 100 seeds tonight or tomorrow and will include these in it. If you have a chance to reply - how old are these seeds? I'll probably nick them but if fresh enough I prefer not to because they sprout more naturally and with fewer problems getting caught up in the seed coat that way. Nicked seeds have this annoying habit of bursting out through the nick while leaving the root to try to grow through the hard unnicked part of the seed and getting stuck there.

Charlie

Hi Charlie,

The oldest these seeds could be is two weeks.  I hope they are still viable :)  I am crossing my fingers for something good out of those two as well :)  I just wonder what color they will be, pink and yellow/orange.  Who knows!?

Haute Couture looks like the seed pod is about to open :)  More on their way :D

I am lucky to have gotten a lot of seeds from another hybridizer I received LOTS OF SEEDS lol Hopefully if anything comes out good I can send you guys some wood or continue to use them for crossing. 

Sent out some more seeds today :) Keep your eye out for them

Ahh, you did! The way you did it last time was excellent. That little hard plastic whatever-it-was is great for protection. The previous batch is already planted, some nicked and some not. The feel of the blade going through the seed coat tells you if it has hardened or is still a candidate for planting without nicking.

Thanks, Chris!

Charlie

I cant wait to see what we get!  It looks like another burnished gold pod is about to open today :)  It also looks like I will have a chance to cross WD with Bonnie Lass, since it looks they are both going to open on the same day :D 

So far my best seed setters:  WD, Belle, Burnished Gold, Saffron :)

So some updates , I told myself I was not going to buy anymore but I went ahead and bought 13 more cv’s lol

The list includes
Matador ( bought this because of its red pollen sacs and vigor)
Heaven Scent   ( because the bush and  texture of the double is incredible )
Silver Dragon  ( I have been wanting this since I was 16 years old )
Foxy Lady  ( because of strobe being a parent  :D want to see what happens when I cross with it ps you know I hate pinks hahah)
Black cherry  ( wanted this one since its release date too)
Presidential Affair  ( it just interested me so much it’s a double but does not like like a full double ( which look like carnations to me lol )
SnowStorm, ( love the colors and was interested because if BTBW as a parent)
Electric orange  ( the color is super shocking ! and I like the parents enough so I grabbed one )
Some like it hot  ( Love love the colors and how it’s in the tried and true section the parent Icella is interesting to me as well)

The others I got are from another vendor
Campfire girl
Pro Legato
Galaxy Star
Anna Nicole

Since  I am about to use my Aunt’s Place for some Hibiscus I still have a few I want to buy hahaha So I will share my new list of future cv’s when I figure out what I will do with them when winter comes again.

The current seedlings I have 182 of them are getting bigger and bigger not sure what I am going to do with those lol !

Charlie would a green house like this protect hibiscus from cold ( in winter ) or would I need to get a propaine heater ?

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xr5/R-100349417/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

or this one ?
http://www.amazon.com/Rion-Silver-Backyard-Hobby-Greenhouse/dp/B000NV55XS

Kerry you are nuts ha ha.I am still sulking cos Customs in Ho-Chi-Minn -City decided to keep one of my cv's as a souvenir but reading your post has put a smile back on my face.
As for what to do with your seedlings you could do as i do and give some away.
I have started growing cuttings and grafting and really enjoy doing it but have no room for the plants,the difference here of course is that allthough they love flowers there is no way that local people could ever afford such a beautiful plant,[average monthly income less than one hundred dollars].So you can imagine the pleasure i get on giving and they get on receiving.

Hey Kerry, growing seedlings is just too much fun. I got a bunch of seeds from Moorea too and can't wait to start seeing some blooms. I'll bet you'll beat me to it tho. For one thing I didn't start mine until October and for another my climate here in Canada is not exactly ideal for growing tropical hibiscus. My biggest seedling is now just 9 inches tall.

I'm envious of your Silver Dragon and Electric Orange! I thought at first I'd wait for a 4 inch Silver Dragon and since already have Saffron decided to pass on Electric Orange. Now I'm sorry on both counts. Oh well, there's always a next time!

Ian

Kerry, those look like decent greenhouses from what is shown on the web sites you linked to. The way they work without a heater is like this:

Sunrise the temperature inside is the same as outside or could be a degree or 2 warmer but not much.

2 hours after the sun hits them they warm up significantly more than the outside temperature.

At midday if they are in full sun they are hot to very hot and ventilation is needed to let the heat out unless one is in the far north and it's still freezing outside in which case it will still be much warmer inside than out.

Sundown the temperature is still warmer inside than outside but beginning to drop.

Between sundown and midnight the greenhouse slowly cools off but is still warmer than the air outside.

Between midnight and sunrise the temperature in the gh drops to close to the outdoor temperature.

So, what you get without a heater is a significantly warmer average temperature over 24 hours. You get very warm summer like temperatures in mid day as long as the sun is shining. And you get a much quicker warm up in the early morning and a slower cool down in the evening inside the greenhouse. All this is good for tropicals like hibiscus.

What you do not get is protection from freezing temperatures if night time lows outdoors are freezing. The length of time the freezing temperatures inside will last is less in the greenhouse but you could still lose plants to a freeze in an unheated gh.

Hibiscus resist disease and do pretty well as long as the lows they experience are over 50F. In the high 30's and 40's they do not freeze but they are affected and tend to stop growing and various diseases become more likely.

So, the answer is that an unheated gh is better than no gh by a lot but a greenhouse that can be maintained at 50F and above with a heater will provide the best protection for the hibiscus as well as winter blooms that can be quite fun to have around.

Charlie

Kerry - 182 seedlings! The good news is that seedlings usually do not branch out much unless you pinch or prune them. The bad news is that they don't usually bloom for the first time until at least 3 feet tall and usually taller. If you keep your house at 72F more or less it could take 2 years or longer for some of them to bloom for the first time. I don't really know because I have not done that but I have heard from other people who have seedling plants several years old at home and they are still waiting on them to bloom. Now if you put them in a greenhouse like you are looking at many will bloom this summer. Alternatively,  if you can get them into your aunt's yard in lots of sun by the first of July you could get some blooms late in the summer/fall. Somebody will need to water them regularly which may or may not pose a problem.

Good luck and let us hear how it goes with these!

Charlie

Thanks for the Info Charlie ,  so far the oldest ones are almost 12 months  and they are only 1ft and a half maybe ? My first ones are all tiny small !  I think they would have grown much more if I was fertilizing them from the day they received true leaves. I started when they where about 6 months.  (I didn't know when to start fertilizing lol ) Now the other seedlings I have I started to fertilized them the day they grew true leaves look at the difference they are much younger and I started them in august or September ( forgot which month) I also have been pruning the oldest ones on a few they have been branching really nicely.

these two are the same age and are from same seed pod ( i have 2 others one is like 4 inches and the other 6 )
(http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k72/kalibobs/_MG_5501.jpg)

Older ones are on the left younger on the right
(http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k72/kalibobs/_MG_5503.jpg)

(http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k72/kalibobs/_MG_5502.jpg)

(http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k72/kalibobs/_MG_5504.jpg)

The good news is my room is the hottest room in my apt lol it gets hot sticky humid in here when I have the lights on.  I am guessing the temps are any where between 77-78 ? some times I have to ope my sliding door because it becomes unbearable lol.

Do you think they will bloom on my balcony ? I think I get at least 4 hrs of sunlight
The green house will happen close to fall so I wont be putting the seedlings in there.

Davidwood , i don't plan to keep all seedlings only the keepers of the bunch , I will give some to aunt and boy friends mother and a list of other people I know who want them. I might sell some on ebay so I can recuperate some money from all of the hibiscus and hibiscus stuff I have been buying lol

1.618 I was lucky to get silver dragon , My heart almost dropped when I saw it for sell so I hurried and bought it lol

I went through a 10 gallon bad of media with a few days of transplanting and repotting my seedlings and adult CV's from HVH  :o So it looks like I need more soil soon  ;)

Hopefully this will be my last 10 gallong bag of soil I will need for a while.

Last night I was looking at Miss Congeniality ....... Another soon to be mine CV lol

too bad HVH doesn't offer dumptruck loads



lol

Yes i wish they did also hahaha , I think I will need like 2 more bags of 10lb soil and thats it we will see.

Updates are the sun is coming back to my balcony :D

Also I cam up with a crazy idea heheeh These seelings I have are almost a year old and I want to them to bloom for me. So I put them in the car with me when i go to class LOL. They get sunlight and should start producing buds they came to school with me two days this weel this weekend they should get some sun also  :D

You win the award for most dedicated efforts to make a seedling bloom! It's sort of funny but not a bad idea, actually. They need sunlight and heat so where better than a car parked in the sun? It's fairly typical for seedlings to take longer than a year unless they are in the tropics or full time in a greenhouse. My first webmaster, Yvonne, lived in Sweden and we met when she came on a hibiscus mail list to ask why her 4 year old seedlings had never bloomed. She hybridized them when her family lived in Canada, and then moved them with her to Sweden - both places not known for sun and heat of course. I'm not sure if hers ever did bloom. That is why she sent seeds to me later - her 'P's Purple' still with us as a very nice cv.

Charlie

Charlie, my P's Purple arrived yesterday, looking lush and green. It's nice to get the background story :)

You got an CV ?  :( I want mine shipped now ! lol

Here's my P's Purple, one of the few cv's I have blooming so far this year here in Canada! Didn't know Yvonne hailed from Canada as well at one point!

It's interesting to see P's Purple with that red tint to the color - an effect of the cooler temperatures. When it warms up the red will disappear and it will be a soft lavender. The bushes of P's Purple are vigorous and will probably need pruning every year or two. I'm glad yours arrived safe and sound.

Charlie

The soil mix is a popular item, but it's so bulky and heavy that shipping it is costly. We usually sell a lot of it at the Open Houses since people can take it home themselves. The guy that makes our worm castings (that go in the potting mix) sells them to us 2000 pounds at a time, but he delivers, thank goodness. I don't have a solution for the soil mix problem, but will continue to think about other possibilities.

Charlie

Charlie, when do you think my shipments will come ? I order I think 9 so far  :D

Kerry, the 4 inch pots ship in April as a general rule, and the 6 inch pots mostly ship in May. I see that you have a mix of both. Many people get excited about the new plants arriving as is natural, but I try to help them resist the urge to rush things because Mother Nature knows best.... meaning that we have the ideal conditions to bring the 6 inch pots into bud and if we ship them before that happens the cooler and/or darker conditions that the customer usually has will delay the flowering significantly. The situation is less dramatic with the 4 inch but similar in that we have great conditions for the 4 inch to develop many side branches before they are shipped and if that has not happened it will take most customers a lot longer to develop a full plant than if they let us have the time to get it started right.

We will almost always ship to someone immediately when they insist on it but it slows down achieving the full, flowering plants everyone wants.

In other words, the hibiscus are coming soon, but not too soon for their (& your) own benefit.

Charlie

Thanks Charlie ,

Thank makes sense. Now I hope the shipment I get tomorrow was not due to my post ? I hope not I was just wondering why some people would get shipments sooner than others :D

HI Kerry,

Cindy does the scheduling, not me. It's a complicated balancing act that takes into consideration when the orders were placed, which of the almost 200 varieties are involved, pot size, where the shipments are going and the weather both there and between here and there, and personal considerations (gifts, vacations, etc). I approve the plants every day before they are packed so if you are getting a shipment tomorrow then I signed off on the plants. I think I was holding yours until the Heaven Scent showed side branching which it now has. The goal is for you to not have to pinch or prune the first summer so the plants can grow without any setbacks into multi-stemmed plants the first year. Let me know how your's do as the summer progresses. Thanks!

Charlie

thanks Charlie ,

Now I cant wait to get the 6" I received all of te 4" pot Cv's Matador and electric oranges looks very vigorous right now. All are doing great they like my lights and warm room  :)

I have some seeds that will be ready in a week Simple pleasure x Blue ballerina this was just a cross because of what was opened lol. I also did Simple pleasures X RRG I thought it did not take but it did so this will be done at later on.

Kerry, I'm glad your 4 inch pots arrived in good shape. I expect most 4 inch pots to grow enough to start blooming in July this year and then we have the very long bloom season in southern CA that lasts til Thanksgiving and sometimes longer.

Cool crosses. Sometimes the wackiest ones give the most unexpected results. I'd love to get a Simple Pleasures like flower with a blue ring or blue eye. Who knows til we try! I like the RRGlare cross better because of the similar large sized flower but the color is unpredictable. In the past I've often seen that when 2 flowers are crossed that are completely different the offspring turn out to resemble one or the other parent and less often give a blend. i'd love to get a blend but other positive results might be a flower with RR Glare type color on a Simple Pleasure type bush. Anyway, I'm still in seed planting mode and will be happy to grow those out to see what we get.

Charlie

Yes I was imagining the same thing. It would be cool to blue ring. So we will see, The should be some good seedlings in there since simple pleasure is such a great cv. RRG is good IMO also so this one is my favorite out of the 2 crosses I did.  :)

Updates , I been showering my plants with hot water as chris suggested.
I been showering them once a week but now i think I have to bump it up a notch and do 2 times a week.

I can tell its working but some plants had a bad infestation and they keep coming back. Its rare I get yellow leaves now but I see sweet sap on the base of some leaves so I know the mites are still there.

I also pollinated Creme de cacao with Caorlina breeze. This cross will probably give unexpected results for sure. What I noticed about Carolina B is the pollen seems to dry very quickly and this may be why some said it does not have hot pollen. I might try a new technique with this cv once I get the nexts blooms. I will open up the flower before it is fully bloom and take the style off I think the pollen sacs should be open before the bloom is. I had this problem with my morning glories before when i tried to hybridize them lol

updates I ordered another 10 gallon potting mix LOL hopefully this siwll be my last one for a while  :P Probably not hahaha

I am getting 4 new hibiscus tomorrow ( another vendor) so its a good thing I ordered the dirt tuesday perfect timing.

It looks like the creme de cacao cross and carolina breeze took. The pod is starting to grow ( hopefully it continues to grow and some seeds are inside)

Another thing that happened today is the wind , I placed a few of my hibiscus outside and the wind blew them down on my balcony  >:( So I brought them in today.

Yeah, that's some wind. Mine are spending the day inside too, and after seeing my neighbor's bush I'm glad. That bush lost all its blooms and most of its leaves from getting whipped against the wall :(

enjoy your delivery, that's always fun.

One of my new cv's from another vendor has bloomed and it has been opened for 3 DAYS now  ;D if it does well for me I think you should try this CV charlie. I will send you some wood at the end of the summer if it turns out well.

Second surprise is one of my seedling HAS TWO BUDS and it was grown from seed all with t5 lighting !

New seedling pics!!! :D  That is awesome!  What CV have u been using with blooms for three days?

Illuminati had a bloom for three days and I had a Dragons breath bloom for 4.  Blooms last alot longer in the house and everyone seems to be quite happy. 

I only have two seedlings on my window sill: Belle du Jour x Rainbow sherbet.  I call them the twins :)  They are both very sturdy, and I am looking forward to seeing their blooms... eventually :)  I also had a flashdancer seedling from last year that I left outside and it snowed lastnight :(  I forgot to bring that one in, but if it makes it... its gotta have those cold tolerant genes!   I will be looking forward to your new seedling blooms!

well the buds are tiny hahaha but I will post pics in seedling thread. The CV that bloomed 3 days is outside  ;)  I would like to see how it does in full sun though.

I can't wait to see pics of yours also .

Here is the reason I been so busy ! I missed my dog so much ( kayla 10year old German shepherd) I finally found a puppy I wanted as my first foundation female for my kennel  :)

She has no name yet and I had her for 3 weeks now LOL I dunno, why I can't come up with names for my dogs Kalya went threw the same thing weeks with out a name.

(http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k72/kalibobs/Enzo/babygirl.jpg)
(http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k72/kalibobs/Enzo/Arctica031-1.jpg)
(http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k72/kalibobs/P1030069.jpg)

Dad Oskar :
(http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k72/kalibobs/Enzo/oskar1.jpg)

Mom Stella:
(http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k72/kalibobs/stella61.jpg)

I imported her from France but she is Russian in bloodlines  :) So this is why I have not been on here so long hehehe Plus my flowers where not blooming ( I did not fertilize them practically the whole summer hahah) They are starting to bloom now since I added the time release Fertilizer ( It just got to hard trying to fertilize them all with the liquid mix)

I finally took about 11 of my older plants to my aunts so hopefully more blooms soon
 It is also time for me to get new bulbs for my light fixtures it has been awhile and I can tell growth has slowed down because of the older bulbs.

What a beauty, Kerry!  She looks as soft as a bunny!  I'm so sorry that you dog died!  I fall apart when I lose an animal.  I'm glad you found a new baby.

Thanks Cindy late late reply  :P My german shepherd passed a few years ago. So I had some time to heal.

Leila killed the following CV's RIP  :'(
Many new seedlings 50 or so  :-[
Midnightflyer
Black Cherry
Foxy Lady
Madator ( I think still figuring out who is who lol)
2 Other Cv's from another Vendor

Blue ballerina died by it's self I think this CV needs a lot more light than I can provide at the momemt. In the mood seem to have died from the same causes.

I may be missing some more CV's its hard telling who is who since the massacre happen a lot of missing leaves ( which was my main way to ID plants) I usually take tags off the plants because I remember all of them !
I hope I can replace the Cv's a lost this year ....

Here are the ones I was so HAPPY she did not kill
Snow storm
Creme de la creme
( another unknown but its a rare one lol) forgot who it is.

I am going to order up some new bulbs and all my cv's should get lush leaves soon.  I am still fighting the spidermites at my apt. Half of my CV's are at my aunts house and are doing well in our winter weather. Simple pleasures and cranberry muffin are so big now ! I have gotten rid of the spider mites at my aunts house with a weekly spraying with a water sprayer like what Charlie sales on his online store and some hort oil.

So I have a theory and this is what it is. I have left my lights off on my cv's for like a week or more and I have noticed that the spidermites seem to be gone or dying ? My theory is since they suck out the sweet sap from the leaves they may be dying off since my plants are not producing enough energy/ sugar because lack of light.  Its really weird because when I saw the mites where in full force lots of leaves dropping now I barely have any leaves dropping and new growth with undamaged leaves. I am going to get some hort oil and spray them this week to help the process.

Some more interesting things to know about the hibiscus at my apt. They can thrive on barely any light or low light ! I have had some cv's on my sink in my room with barely any light for weeks some even a month and they have new leaves growing and they look fine lol.

Well it sounds like you have plenty of room for some more now :)

LMAO Chris !

I am embarrassed to say I will have bought 21 new cv's ! ( of course I have a few more I want so I will end up with over 30 new cv's this year)and 9 types of wood I will be getting from a fellow grower ( I will test out my rooting and grafting skills)


Some of the CV's I will be getting that Charlie is offering

Albo Lacinatus
P's purple
Winter lights
Hazelnut
Swamp music
deep purple
Night Magic
Night runner

My plan this year is to actuallt buy that green house I been wanting. I want to get all of my seedlings blooming so I can cut down the numbers I have. I hope they do bloom and I will share pictures when they do.

updates I brought 3 plants to work.

My BC and SS made it threw the mite infestation ! I thought they were goners !

I lost Creme de la creme :(


here are the pictures


I brought Haute couture also This CV is a trooper. Its slow growing but even with all the stress it recieves it still will produce buds.

Oh Kerry, that's awful to lose CDLC.  :(

Good luck Kerry.  Wow, an apartment with 30 plus cv's?!  I live in a small house and have about that many, but they are all in 4" pots and very manageable at this stage... next year... oh boy!

I know Jordan so SAD !!!!!!!!!!!!! :'(

Well I have more than 30 LOL like over 100 !!!!! So I am praying I can set up a greenhouse at my bf's house then I can stop storing them at my aunts LOL.

I got some of hort oil and sprayed all my plants but 5 ran out of it. so I have them seperated so hopfully spidermites will be gone for good soon. I will buy some more tonight to spray them up again.

Updates again :)

I found a local collector who was selling over 220 Cv's I grabbed like 14 of her hibiscus :) most where over 3 years old so these are pretty large plants.
This is what I bought:
Bayou rose
Black Dream
Black Voodoo
Blue ballerina
Dark Nebula
Etuofee
In the Mood
Island Girl
Lady in waiting
Soft spot
Solar Eclipse
Texas Aggie
Wild blueberry
Zoey

I just snagged creole lady from armstrong nursery a huge 3 year old looking plant for 24.99 WOOT  :) No mites either here is a picture
(http://kerrysroxy.zenfolio.com/img/v17/p685881431-4.jpg)


I also got a Hula girl for 10 bucks
(http://kerrysroxy.zenfolio.com/img/v20/p995381865-4.jpg)

Yeah,  last month I found the similarly aged plants for The Path & Erin Rachel for some cool Mother's Day gifts.

Farmer D