Hidden Valley Hibiscus Forum

Heres Time for Magic, with my new buddy. 

His name also just happens to be Charlie :)

How CUTE!!   ;D

Is he a Border Collie or an Aussie?

OMG how cute !

He almost looks like a Panda Shepherd lol

I been helping my friend learn the ropes in AKC with his Amstaff His first weekend out he won , his class , best of opposite sex and winners :D

here is a pic of Mason @ 10 months old I want my own puppy NOW !

(http://kerrysroxy.zenfolio.com/img/v4/p207184639-3.jpg)

Puppy love at first sight! He's adorable, Chris!
Cindy

Hes a little Ball of terror, but at the same time really fun :) 

Sounds like MY Charlie - only I might describe mine as a "big" ball of terror rather than a "little" one.  LOL Aren't puppies fun though!  Our Gigi is now 10 months old, and I keep waiting for her to calm down, but it isn't happening yet.  I'll try to get her to hold still long enough to snap a picture of her.

Cindy

Lol they are fun!  Charlie just decided to eat all the leaves off Byron Metts when I wasnt looking, sigh well see if my plants can survive this little guy :-/

These Haute Couture Blooms Epitomize Autumn in my Opinion

Great photo!

CB

Heaven Scent, Heavy Metal, and Palm Springs getting some extra light in the front doorway. I rotate several plants each day to this spot for a couple of extra hours of sunlight. Unfortunately it's a bit cloudy today.

I agree with Charlie. Thats a great photo of two beautiful blooms.

dave

Wow, good bloom day for you too, Dave!  :-)  My best bloomer right now is Creme de Cacao - a good one for November. It has had a flower on it every day for the last month. That cultivar is really growing on me. And in the house, the brown is really warm and dark.

(http://www.hiddenvalleyhibiscus.com/images/cremedecacaonovindoors.jpg)

Plus Chariots of Fire keeps on blooming in its 4" pot, with more buds coming up behind this flower.
(http://www.hiddenvalleyhibiscus.com/images/chariotsoffire4inch.jpg)

Cindy

I like both of these also, expecially Creme de Cacao. I love the color and don't have anything like it. It is described as a vigorous grower so I don't suppose it can be kept small.  Most of mine skip a day or so between blooms with the exception of Erin Rachael which frequently has 3 or 4 open at the same time.

A couple of recent additions, Heartbreak Hotel and Passion Play (first bloom)

Burnished gold bloomed for the first time.  I think that this is a very good CV so far, tons of buds, very upright, flat symmetrical blooms in pleasing colors.  I crossed it to Belle du Jour, and I think that a cross with Living Legend would be really good too.  I really like flat blooms, so hopefully both of those cvs will pass that trait to their offspring.   

Tahitian Princess, winter colors:

Chris, I used to use Burnished Gold for crosses due to the nice growth habit but particularly because of how well it blooms. But I never got anything better from the crosses so stopped. Now there are better cvs to cross it with, and maybe something really nice will come from crossing it. I like your cross ideas and in addition I would try it with Cinnamon Girl and Chariots of Fire if I still had a Burnished Gold, just to see if the high bloom count can be continued or even improved on.

Charlie

I wish I brought Cinnamon Girl, but I ended up potting in a three gallon before moving, and I thought that would be a bit large for transport.  It is doing great and always has blooms on it.  I might have to get Chariots of Fire, but I guess with Burnished gold, its already pretty good cv, so its hard to surpass it.  I just cant believe how budded up it got the house.

since my sister is out of town I have to walk her dog , I have not been around the block for a while boy was I surprised ! The whole left side filled with hibiscus blooms. I have been waiting for them to bloom so I can see what they look like. I did not get a chance to take pictures of all of them ( tomorrow promise  :)  ) One hibiscus plant I have been waiting for it to bloom for a while. I just took a bloom off and here it is WHAT IS IT ? it is barely 3"  like 2-2.5 inches.

(http://kerrysroxy.zenfolio.com/img/v4/p689873053-4.jpg)

Kerry, that is an interesting little bloom! The way the petals are split suggests a connection to H. schizopetalus (latin for split petal). Does it have a tall, willowy growth habit like H schizo?

Charlie

Hi Jon,

Pretty Blue Ballerina with big brother Cherry Appaloosa. Fall blooming is sure underway in southern CA! This weekend with predicted colder nights may slow it down but our outdoor garden is really going great right now!

Charlie

charle, when I first saw it , I thought of  H. schizopetalus. Nut its bush is so upright and strong, the leaves are small about 4-5inches long the width of them are about 2-3 inches.
I will walk down there to day and post picture of the bush. I will see if I can get this to root for me.

That's great about the blooms! I'm also thrilled to hear that you are seeing hibiscus like High Voltage in the neighborhood. I hope there will be a lot more of that in the future!

Charlie

Three blooms from today, Belle du Jour, Passion Play, and wonderful reliable Rosalind.

dave

Gwen Mary then  GM with Passion Play.

It's interesting to see Passion Play and Gwen Mary side by side. For those who have not seen these 2 flowers, the fuscia pink color is very bright in these varieties. Passion Play is larger, Gwen Mary has a fancier form, both very nice to my eyes.

Charlie

A few pics from my indoor garden

Burnished Gold and Rosalind

Chris,
Burnished Gold is a beauty.  How is your setup working out? Based on these photos it must be great.

dave

A couple more from yesterday. Rosalind with yet another look and Acapulco Gold.

Hi Kerry

That's a beautiful bloom.  Did this one bloom under the artificial light setup you mentioned several months ago?

dave

I just received some photos taken by Luis Alfaro of his hibiscus blooming in Costa Rica. Luis and his wife Anita stop by the HVH Open Houses from time to time and pick out a few hibiscus for his family coffee plantation in Costa Rica. We are looking forward to featuring his extensive hibiscus garden in the World Garden section of the HVH web site the next time we update it. For now here are 2 photos that seem to me to capture the tropical nature of hibiscus very well indeed. Good enough to eat, eh?

Charlie

What a luscious table setting!  I'm looking forward to seeing his garden featured in World Gardens.

dave

yes its developing buds and blooming under t5's

Wow, that is great. Glad to hear it is working out well.

dave

I haven't kept up very well with showing new seedling flowers, so here are several that bloomed the last few days.

The Thunder Rolls x Remembrance - very heavy textured purple, about 6 inches, ghostly puppy GiGi
07-3316 Cinnamon Girl x Magic Carpet Ride - unusual soft colors that I like a lot - also 6 inches
Black Cherry cross - the parentage info is at the greenhouse but this strange and dramatic flower has features of parent Black Cherry, although it is larger at 7"
Nightfire x Midnight Flyer - simple form, mini bloom but I like the way the lighter gold rays shoot through the darker brown
07-1805 large double at 8", good strong colors and bush is great, like Standing Ovation

Here are another 6 seedling blooms from recent days:

Sparkling Water - this one is a go for production. It's a 5" mini, P's Purple x Vin Extraordinaire
07-0609 Creme de Cacao x Moon Madness - about 7", good form and color
08-7178 Born To Be Wild x April Showers - first of a group of April Showers crosses, I was impressed that the bright edge did not fade over 3 days which is very rare for this type of edge
07-3114 The Color Purple x Creme de la Creme - 6", good form and color
07-0527 Creme CacaoxMidnight Blue - 7 inches, unusual colors
07-1803 don't have the cross info here - yummy colors!


Charlie

Charlie

I really like thunder roll x remembrance seedling  I have heard that remembrance has been a good cv to  cross with.

here is Haute couture

(http://kerrysroxy.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p718366655-3.jpg)

(http://kerrysroxy.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p17087273-3.jpg)

Very nice color on those Haute Couture blooms, Kerry!

Hybridizing with Remembrance has been good for color but there are a lot of other characteristics that go into making a good new variety. I consider crosses using Remembrance and other similar cvs as moving sidewise, not going forward or backward. I suppose most new cvs are in that category as it is not easy to create (and recognize) those cvs that move the species forward. It can take years and lots of varied experience with a cultivar to really know it.

Charlie

Hello everyone. I have been a customer of hidden valley for a long time. i would never buy my plants from anyone else.

back about 10 years ago, i had a greenhouse with many of hidden valley plants and unfortunately, i lost them one winter when a tree fell on the house and smashed it to bits.

i am located in connecticut, which is zone 4.5, where i live. i now have 6 of the hidden valley plants all very healthy and blooming in my bay windows.

please take a look at one of my web sites to see the various plants that i had years ago.  the link is here...  http://www.lousviews.com/hibiscus/hib_index1.htm (http://www.lousviews.com/hibiscus/hib_index1.htm)

and here are some of the plants that i have in bloom, some are blooming now and a couple are from the summer time.

please enjoy,

Louis

A very large Bridal Path - bloom measured 10 3/4 inches wide.

(http://www.imagesct.com/web/hibiscus/bridal-path.jpg)

A very pink belle du jour:

(http://www.imagesct.com/web/hibiscus/belle-du-jour-1.jpg)

another belle:

(http://www.imagesct.com/web/hibiscus/belle-du-jour.jpg)

Sleeping beauty:

(http://www.imagesct.com/web/hibiscus/sleeping-beauty.jpg)

Voodoo Magic:

(http://www.imagesct.com/web/hibiscus/voodoo-magic-1.jpg)

And one more Voodoo Magic:

(http://www.imagesct.com/web/hibiscus/voodoo-magic.jpg)

Hi Louis,

Welcome to the forum! I love your photos and particularly hearing your experiences from what seems to be the "far North" from my perspective. We have shipped plants to Maine and even Alaska but I rarely get to see how they do once they arrive. Thanks again for sharing these!

Charlie

Hi Lou!  It's so nice to see you here on our forum!  Thank you for sharing your gorgeous pictures from up there in the far north. I'm glad to see your hibiscus are thriving. :-)

Cindy

Hello Charlie and Cindy,
thanks for the warm welcome. from time to time, i would like to share my experiences with the hibiscus, from, "the far north" :)

most people's plants seem to slow down for the winter time, but i have found that, for me, they thrive very nicely in the short, glooms days of winter. all 6 of my plants are experiencing a lot of new growth and lots of new buds are forming. i have flowers every day from one or the other.

an interesting note on bridal path, i have been experiencing very large blooms, the one posted above measures 10- 3/4 inches and it has been open for an unbelievable 4 days, opening up last tues and just now is starting to close. this is the only plant that gives me a bloom for that long of a period.

my watering technique is as follows: i mix 1/2 teaspoon of your fertilizer, with 1/2 teaspoon of super nova and 1/2 teaspoon of fish emulsion per gallon of water. i use this for every watering. once a month i use your booster and a bit of liquid iron. i have had good luck with this formula.

since the house is closed now, and i occasionally use a wood stove, i take the plants into the shower and cleanse them with a pump sprayer with warm water and a little bit of detergent to clean them off. this makes the leaves shine like a new penny.


stay tuned for more news from the "far north"   ;D

Lou