Hidden Valley Hibiscus Forum

My first bloom but second day flower of Robin Hood.  I really like the dark orange/brown with a really dark eye.  The bush was pretty disappointing, long and lanky, but it is upright and long as it blooms alot i guess that doesn't really matter.  Also check out this sweet growing space :)

Yes, it does have a vigorous, upright bush that can get lanky if not pruned from time to time. Even with pruning I think it will have a tall growth habit, just more tall branches! Interesting that the flowers in Seattle don't show as much of a brown edge but the main body color is well saturated with color.

That's a great window - no doubt there will be a rainy backdrop to your flowers on many days....

Charlie

I just noticed that we did not have a Robin Hood topic going before. That reminds me that there are a lot of the newest named varieties that still need a topic started up here in the cultivar discussion board. That's what winter is for - catching up!

Below are a couple of more photos of Robin Hood. It often opens with the bright colors and reflexed form seen here, and then relaxes into the form shown in the second photo.

Charlie

Yes, I think I really do need to prune with one eventually, but it has buds forming still so Im gonna let it bloom until those run out :D  My bloom is really different from what you have posted, this was a box bloom, so when the new buds that a forming bloom we will have a better idea as to what the actually blooms will be like here and I anticipate lots of really saturated blooms coming (if at all) this winter.  I did notice that Snowy Sky is forming buds already and the plant is tiny, maybe 6 inches tall, so it looks like this is a younger blooming variety. 

This window has very bright light when it is not sunny and bright hot sun when it is, so I think that its a great spot for hibs, at anyrate we will know soon enough :D  I bet sleeping beauty would really show off her colors in the Seattle weather.

That will be great to see a picture again in the winter,whenever someone on the Forum mentions a place i look for it on Google Earth and check out pictures,Seattle seems to get a lot of snow so Robin Hood with a snowy back drop will be really cool.

I have always been curious about this variety.  Such great shots of it.  Charlie, I like your second shot.  Makes me want one now!  Chris, your window is awesome!  You lucked out, I mean, if you have to be in cloudy Seattle, at least you got a window most of us would drool over!  Good luck with it.  And where are all your other hibs?  Not still in a box waiting to be unpacked??  Or wait, are you holding out on us, do you have more awesome windows???

Hi David,

Suprisingly seattle gets relatively little snow for its latitude because it is surrounded by water which keeps the climate mild.  In fact some places in Seattle are considered hardiness 8 and 9! 

Kristen, they are still on the porch, when the nights start getting into the 40s I will bring them in.  Sunny beautiful day today, much better than the hot spell in southern california!  Have you brought yours indoors yet?

It looks like Robin hood is a 3-4 day flower here in Seattle, :)

It also looks like Robin hood is a good seed setter.  I selfed the four blooms ive had on it, and it looks like all have pods. 

On a different note, it seems as though the ideal conditions for long lasting blooms seem to be cool and humid.  Check out this Robin Hood bloom, its on day four and still looks great. 

I can't wait for mine to bloom I really like the color combination , Midnight blue produces nice kids.