Hidden Valley Hibiscus Forum

Thought  you would like to see how Pocahontas grows in Ohio, great bush beautiful flower.

Patrick

Ohh, it looks lovely!

Very pretty, Patrick. How's the weather there now?

I'm going to turn this into the May Flower Photos of the Day topic since none has been started yet. Hope you find it!

Charlie

Very pretty!!

Thanks Patrick... now I'm going to have to buy a Pocahontas.

:D

Very first opening of Sleeping Beauty and has come as twins.

Illuminati

I also put a picture of the bush, it is one of those that really does not like to branch.  Ive cut it twice now, and still no branches... :(

You have to keep cutting it even if you see new buds forming lol this is hard for me but i did it with wild dream.

That's a funny looking plant, Chris, with the jog just above the first cut. You will find that you get a better response if you prune when the weather is hot and the plants are actively growing. Also Supernova helps get a response from the dormant nodes so the best way to get a stubborn plant to branch is to hard prune it during a growth spurt and sprench (spray and drench) it with Supernova. I am no longer allowing any plant to ship with 1 stem since the conditions here in the 4 inch area are ideal for forcing branching and it is better for everyone if they can start with multiple stems and go from there.

Charlie

Yeah its a goofy plant, its driving me crazy!  ive tried all those things, this was actually pruned in Sept last year, so it was growing alot and I have been giving it supernova,  Im hoping third time is a charm.

Today I came home to the most colorful Rockets Red Glare I have seen.  It has multiple rings of color, and a dark red eye.  I will snap another pic tomorrow when it isn't so re-flexed. 

Fantastic color, Chris! Can't wait to see the second day bloom, too.

Charlie

The bloom is a bit flatter today. ;)

Still wonderful color. In contrast, I noticed a Rockets Red Glare yesterday that had been in full sun for 2 days and had changed color but still looked nice the way the light was falling on it. Below is a photo of that one.

Charlie

Another bright sunny day and warm enough in the greenhouse to bring out a lot of pretty flowers. Here's the rundown:

Dark of Night - strange and exotic flower on a surprisingly beautiful bush that has glossy dark green leaves that are pretty unique

Night Runner -  a particularly fancy and lovely example, still a less than lovely bush

Zulu Warrior - a big surprise when this one bloomed as a double for the first time!

Creme de Cacao x City Slicker - the colors on this new first bloom were very eye catching today

In The Mood bush - this variety makes a huge, full bush that you can sort of make out in this photo, hard because it is surrounded by other green hibiscus but the bush takes up most of the frame here. As you can see it also can bloom very well, even though some of these flowers are several days old and totally finished now.

In The Mood flower - just starting to become double as the temperatures increase

Hope you guys enjoy these while waiting for your own flowers to start popping!

Charlie

Very nice pics charlie!  I am hoping dragons heart blooms for me soon!  That new seedling is really awesome!  reminds me alot of flickering flame.  It is really surprising to me the variety you get with CDCC crosses, unlike Rosalind which seems to dominate most crosses.  Really cool, CDCC might be your secret CV for hybridizing! 

Photos like these keep me going while I wait for my own plants to bloom!  Is Dark of Night one of your hybrids, Charlie?  I like its flower!  Also, it's great to see an In The Mood bush.  I had this cv, and might still have it as I have 4 mystery plants that I'm not sure who they are.  I'm hoping ITM is one of them.






Chris, great colors on RRG.  Your Illuminati made me smile.  lol

Hi Jordan, yes, Dark of Night is one of our new ones for this year. The Gallery description describes it: usually the 5-7" flowers have one or more petaloids, making this a crested single. The deep purple-gray-blue color comes from the cross of two blue flowers, 'Midnight Blue' and 'Blue President'. We only had a dozen of so 6 inch pots this year, they are almost ready to ship now and I'm really liking the bush with its very dark but also glossy foliage.

I hope one of your 4 mystery plants is In The Mood. It could well be since this cv seems to be one of the tougher bushes that lives long. If so you will know it because it will get big and fat eventually. It seems to take forever to flower but once it is ready it buds up with lots of buds and makes plenty of flowers. It did not root well so all future ones will be grafted. Of all the double lavender flowers I've seen come along over the last decade In The Mood is the best overall plant by far.

Charlie

Hi Chris. Your Dragon's Heart is budded up now? It takes awhile for that one to bud up but once it starts it blooms well. Your climate should be great for the flower. It looks its best in spring and fall in hot places but should look great all the time in cooler locations. I never got any seeds when working with it back when you suggested some crosses but hopefully you will have better success. I was trying in outdoor shade during the heat of summer which may be why, but it's also possible that Dragons Heart does not set seeds as well as its parent Dragons Breath. Dragons Breath does have that annoying habit of making big fat pods that turn out to be empty but it also can make a lot of seeds.

I agree about Creme de Cacao as a parent - lots of different results in the offspring! I do get a fair number of lookalikes and a number of browns with red or orange centers but also a lot that do not look like itself. Usually the bushes are good and the wood roots, though not every offspring does so, as would be expected. Below are 2 photos that show the same cross as the seedling you liked - Creme de Cacao x City Slicker and all 3 are quite different. The last one was a surprise because it is a very large flower at 8 inches, bigger than either parent.

Charlie

Ok I remember Dark of Night now.  I might try to snag one at some point.  Love those unique blooms!


I will have to post a picture of the little plant I have that I think might be In The Mood.  The leaf shape is similar, but I tend to over-analyze leaf shape to the point of not being able to come to a conclusion unless it's someone obvious like Silver Memories. 

I'm almost sure that one of the mystery cvs is Valentine's Day.  It grows like crazy and I *think* I deliberately planted it in the pot it's in...

One I think has about a 50/50 shot at being Bridal Path.  This aforementioned little one and the other, larger mystery plant frankly I have no idea.  Could be any on my "missing" list.

I thought it would be a great idea to take all the tags off and have a nice surprise when each plant bloomed.  Haha, yeah..... won't do that again.

WOW chris great colors on RRG

So I went to SD zoo and found all of Charlie's goody's there lol  
Here are some pics

Rainbow christie
(http://kerrysroxy.zenfolio.com/img/v17/p465280525-4.jpg)
Renaissance Blue
(http://kerrysroxy.zenfolio.com/img/v16/p266546455-4.jpg)
Not sure what this one was ?
(http://kerrysroxy.zenfolio.com/img/v4/p304182563-4.jpg)


They had , Bonnie B , Silver memories , the path a few others but they where not in bloom. All are located in front of the reptile house and there where some in the flamingos enclosure.

I then went to the quail botanical garden and took a picture of a very big high voltage plant. ( i will get pics up soon)

I wish each Cv had more blooms but they did not :(

What a great hibiscus adventure, Kerry! It's too early in the year for the hibiscus at the Zoo to have many blooms but I'm glad there were at least some. The last time I was there most of the plants were really tall, like over my head, except for the few that they trimmed down so people could see into the flamingo exhibit. That orange single is Rosalind, and will become double in a month or two when its warmer there. The Zoo is just a mile or 2 from the bay/ocean and is protected from freezing but also it does not get really warm there until July.

I need to take Cindy to Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas. I'm pleased that their High Voltage is hanging in there and hope some others are, too. I donated a dozen big plants to them about 8 years ago. They have a similar situation to the Zoo, close to the ocean so its mild both winter and summer. Ross Gast donated a nice collection of hibiscus to them about 50 years ago but the hibiscus lost out to the citrus in a turf battle after Ross died and the citrus trees took over the old hibiscus area. Bummer!

Thanks for this report, it's really nice to hear.

Charlie

Nice pics!  I am hoping that I can get to the SD zoo sometime this summer :)

Have you ever been to the San Diego Zoo, Chris? If not, it is well worth going. The plant collection is more extensive than the animals! It is a really beautiful zoo, built on multiple levels through canyons a couple of miles inland from the bay. Cindy and I always used to go to the zoo's other spot, the Wild Animal Park, which is also a special place, but once we went to the downtown zoo we ended up liking it even better. We buy the year passes that make going reasonable in cost.

I found one photo from a trip to the Zoo in Dec, 2004. It shows Rainbow Christi blooming (note big buds higher up) with the flamingoes in the background. Rainbow Christie forms very large buds before they open into 8 inch flowers.

Charlie

Hi Charle,

Ive been there a few times, and its an awesome zoo, I never looked for any hibiscus, now that I know they are there I will have to look for them!  I am going to have to make a trip there when I make it back to So Cal.  Its a great zoo and since its close to the ocean it is still nice even in the dead of summer.   

That rainbow Christie is a real gem, nothing says tropical like hibiscus.  Speaking of which I visited my parents house and it looks like all the hibiscus survived the winter!  My mom cut them back recently (tip dieback)  but I saw new shoots forming.  I expect that by July they will put on quite a show.  I also took some cuttings of "First Love"  is this one that can be rooted on its own? 

Rainbow sherbet was also moved into the a nice sunny spot in the front of the garden, and it was trimed way back,  I see two new shoots so at least there will be at least two branches this year.  Its going to take center stage when it starts blooming in the summer.  Cinnamon Girl and White lightning are also looking great and covered in buds!  I am pretty pleased with how they overwintered, it will be interesting to see how they look later in the summer when those triple digit days roll in.  I will be making my way back mid July, so I will be taking some pictures then :)

-Chris

Hi Chris, good news about the plants at your mother's house. 'First Love' roots easily and grows fast. I look forward to hearing how those plants do and seeing some July photos!

Charlie

hello everyone,

have not been on in a while. been very busy and nothing to show. i have severly pruned the 6 plants that i had over the winter. they are summering under the old oak tree.

i received a new order last thurs and every time i open a HV package, its Christmas again.

i received three plants, rockets red glare, illuminati, and moonstruck. the following photos will show moonstruck and rocket. illuninati wil bloom this week.

atta boys to charlie and cindy. i have never been disappointed in one of their plants. and kudos to the shipping department also. the plants arrived with out a single broken leave or bud.

Sorry if they are out of order, the web site is jumping all over the place for some reason.

please enjoy as i am:

first two photo are of moonstruck.

(http://www.imagesct.com/web/hib-5-16/moonstruck-1.jpg)

(http://www.imagesct.com/web/hib-5-16/rocket-3.jpg)


(http://www.imagesct.com/web/hib-5-16/moonstruck-2.jpg)

next 4 of rockets red glare:

(http://www.imagesct.com/web/hib-5-16/rocket-1.jpg)

(http://www.imagesct.com/web/hib-5-16/rocket-2.jpg)

(http://www.imagesct.com/web/hib-5-16/rocket-4.jpg)

and i could not resist this image of the bottom of moonstruck leave, backlight

louis
PS sorry if they are out of order, the web site is jumping all over for some reason.
(http://www.imagesct.com/web/hib-5-16/veins.jpg)

Louis, it's such a joy to see the plants in their new home! We've been working 7 days a week in May to get them all out there, and it's very encouraging to see where they end up. Thanks for the photos.

Charlie

I recieved 7 plants on fri.....and also for me like usual perfect condition....no blooms yet but alot of buds...got them all planted yesterday...thanks charlie

That's great! It's good planting weather, too, warm enough in southern California but overcast to reduce stress. Not that hibiscus have much trouble with transplanting, as usually they don't even seem to notice.

Charlie

Finally, my first bloom of the year!  It feels a little bit like cheating, as this is not a plant that I overwintered, but I'm going to enjoy it anyway!


Here's Night Runner, for your viewing pleasure.  Typical Night Runner, showing her blooms to the sidewalk.  I prefer to think of her as modest.

Hard to be modest with colors like that!  Tis true Night Runner is a good candidate for hanging baskets.

Charlie

YES!  I would really like to see a hanging basket nightrunner.  That is one way you could always enjoy those flowers :)  Is the bush also low growing?

I also moved Dragons heart outside, I am hoping those cool nights and warm days will show me those awesome burgundy blooms.  AND it looks like snow is out of the forecast for at least two weeks :P

Few pics:  Had to go to the garden store and look what was blooming:)  Im pretty sure that is a heaven's scent.

"The Twins" as I call them, my Belle du Jour x Rainbow Sherbet seedlings, they are really starting to pick up their growing.  Very upright growth habit, Im hoping to get them to bloom this year. 

Yes, I think that is Heaven Scent, too. If it goes double in summer that would confirm it.

Chris, this is a personal choice type of thing but what some people do with seedlings like your 2, with strong straight main trunks, is go ahead an cut off the top couple of inches at this point. That will cause some branching to occur and won't set back first flower by much if at all. In earlier times most hybridizers would not do this, thinking that they would get a first bloom faster but several of us who hybridize a lot found that a soft prune when the plant is about a foot high would give us more branches and thus more wood to propagate with after the first bloom shows itself. You can also get a better idea of what the bush is like, too. However, some still prefer to leave it alone and wait for first bloom before doing any cutting on it. Space may be a factor, too, if space is limited a tall one stem plant may be more desirable. As I said, it's personal preference and whatever works in your situation is the way to go.

Charlie

I will have to think more about this pruning idea, as I do have some space constraints.  They are aproaching one foot, so I think I am going to transplant them into 2 gallon pots and put them outside.  That will be the plan for this weekend. :)  I know that each seedling is an individual, but as a rule how tall are your seedlings when they show their first flowers?

Chris, many of mine bloom when they are about 4 feet tall including the 2 gallon pot. That would be about 3 feet tall if in the ground. Of course it will vary but that's pretty much what I expect to see.

Charlie

here are a couple of my blooms from today....will have more soon...lynette

here is the other....I dont know how to get more than 1 attachment on a post??sorry

Sorry for the delay in response.......



I had thought about making this into a hanging basket plant, but I think I will try staking and training the floppy branches first.  The bush on this Night Runner is better than the other NR I had last year, so we shall if staking it up helps.

Jordan, I'm pretty sure you can train Night Runner into a mostly upright bush. The older plants of it that are growing here have thicker, stronger stems and are better than the younger plants. The 6 inch pots we shipped this year are actually 2 years old - last year they were just too floppy to send so they stayed over another year. The 4 inch pots look OK but I know as they grow the weak limbs will want to fall over if not staked up.

Good luck with it!

Charlie

here is my first bloom from pocahontas...I love it

here is my first song sung blue bloom and love story and red beans and rice

It's great to see new photos from around the country now. Very pretty, Lynette. I see you figured out how to attach more than 1 photo - you can do up to 6 in one message.

Charlie

ya I did..last time I tried to attach more it did not work...here is a couple more from today..maui madness..cranberry muffin and city slicker

Haute Couture and Dragon's Heart

Haute Couture IS BEAUTIFUL..I WILL HAVE TO GET THAT ONE

Patrick, I really like Haute Couture, too. Great color combo, good flower size, and the bush is sturdy. It's one of the ones that has survived planted in the ground in our outdoor garden for several years.

Charlie

My HC is not blooming yet  :-[ I love that color Chris !

Here is a DARK and big midnightflyer

(http://kerrysroxy.zenfolio.com/img/v17/p54446246-3.jpg)

I love that Midnight Flyer, it's beautiful!

My Bridal Path opened with triplets today, quite an attention-getter in my yard on this overcast day ;D

My triplets had a little visitor (a female Allen's Hummingbird) today. I was surprised she actually sat down to feed. Fortunately my camera was nearby:

Uli - WOW! These are great!!!  I love watching the hummingbirds dart in and out of the hibiscus flowers, but photographing them is extra special. 3 Bridal Path flowers is pretty special, too. As it gets warmer the Bridal Path flowers will grow toward 10 inch size, a little too cold for that now but soon enough...

Thanks for sharing these photos.

Charlie

Pretty awesome! :D

Kerry, I missed that Midnight Flyer photo somehow. You can almost make out the sheen on the surface of the bloom which is a feature of MidFlyer I like a lot.

Charlie

Uli, incredible photos of the hummer and Bridal Path triplets.

dave

So, I just pulled this plant out of the box at about midnight last night, and voila!  Heavy Metal is AMAZING!  My camera couldn't pick up the color well enough, but the bloom is incredibly vibrant.  The petals are a little bruised from shipping and the bloom didn't quite open all the way, but there are tons more buds on this plant.

I'm thrilled... I've wanted this cv for the past year and a half and it has eluded me. 

I'm surprised to see those white spots around the edge of Heavy Metal so early in the season. They are a hot weather feature of the bloom and will no doubt increase as your weather warms up even more. Heavy Metal is not a huge flower but the bright intensity of the flowers are very eye catching. It's also colorfast which is surprising since one of the parents is Fifth Dimension.

Charlie

Well, it looks like the 2 gallon section of our greenhouse has finally come into bloom. We mostly have some of our tried and true like High Voltage and Belle du Jour plus several of the Dupont varieties that we grow to full size in the 2 gallon pots.

Today's tastiest treat from the 2 gallon area is Black Dream, first flowers of this one that I have seen in real life. It is more or less the red equivalent of Burnt Saffron, both shading to black toward the center of the bloom. Black Dream is not as dramatic as parent Black Dragon can be, but is a good sized flower at 8 inches and the red is dark and does shade toward black. It does not have as much white swirling as Black Dragon and both have less than Dragon's Breath, but the color is still quite impressive. The big news with Black Dream is that the bush is much, much better than Black Dragon.

We also have some Acadian Springs in full bloom now, huge flowers on pretty good bushes. Magic Moments, Eye of Kali, and others as well. There are about a dozen varieties in the 2 gallon size now in bud and bloom, all with big full bushes, that Cindy is putting in the online store today and tomorrow. Those include Black Dreams, still quite a rare variety in these parts.

Photos of Black Dream flower and bush are below. Also some Acadian Springs photos of flowering bushes that were too good to pass up this morning.

Hope everybody is having a very pleasant weekend break!

Charlie

Very nice flower!  I really like your Heavy Metal, Jordan. 

Black dream looks nice, makes me miss my black dragon :(

Oh!  I had a Black Dream last year.  Good to see more photos of it.  It was my guinea pig in a pruning experiment and in learning how to give a mite bath.  Needless to say it very quickly kicked the bucket.  Or maybe it just comitted suicide.  lol


I was thinking about picking up a Stolen Kiss, but it would have to be smaller.  What does Eye of Kali look like, Charlie? 

Thanks Chris!  About the Heavy Metal flower... it wasn't warm here at the time it bloomed, either.  Maybe the box got warm in the UPS truck or something.  I wonder if that would cause the spotting so late in the bud's development.  Two more buds will open in the next few days on HM, too.  Monday/Tuesday is my weekend so perfect timing!

charlie...will the 2 gallon selection you mentoned be available at your open house in june??

Yes, the 2 gallons will be at the June Open House, minus any varieties that sell out in the meantime. We have quite a few of most of these so I expect they will still be available but sometimes we are surprised.

Thanks for asking,

Charlie

Heavy Metal delighted me again this morning with twins!  I LOVE this cv!

The first photo was the blooms opening.  The flowers face opposite each other, so I couldn't really get both of them together.  The next photo shows a close up of the first flower-- you can really see the metallic sheen of this cv in this picture.  The next photo is the 2nd bloom, still opening.  A little splotching on this one too!

I just checked Heavy Metal again and the 2nd bloom has fully opened.  Here are a couple more photos.  :)

Nice, Jordan! You got the color just about perfect this time.

Charlie

:D