Hidden Valley Hibiscus Forum

I just thought this would be a great spot for a who likes what topic.  And by that I mean, who of the cv's I have like what conditions.  So since there are so many of you who have probably grown a few of what I have then maybe I can figure where everyone needs to be outside for the summer.  I'm looking for "this cv likes a lot of sun or this one likes dappled shade"  something to that sort.  Then maybe we can help each other with proper placement of our cv's!  Yay!

Here's what I have:

 5Th Dimension
 Acapulco Gold
 Albo
 Belle du Jour
 Blue Ballerina
 Byron Metts
 Cajun Blue
 Cherry Appaloosa
 Cindy's Heart
 City Slicker
 Confection Perfection
 Creole Lady
 Delicia Amoris
 Delta Dawn
 Dragon's Heart
 El Calipto Peach
 Eyelash
 Eye of the Storm
 Gabriel
 Gator Pride
 Laguna Starlight
 Love Story
 Misbehavin
 Moonstruck
 Mrs. J Spangler
 My Blue Heaven
 Nightfire
 Painted Lady
 Pride of Hawkins
 Roman Candle
 Saffron
 Simple Pleasures
 Sleeping Beauty
 Space Oddity
 Sunny Wind
 Swamp Music
 Tahitian Taui
 Thanksgiving
 The Path
 Tiger's Eye
 Tigerama
 Valentines Day
 Vin Extraordinaire
 Voodoo Magic
 Voodoo Queen
 Zoey

What part of the country are you located in? It would make a big difference in the answers you get.
John

Being in CT and having high humidity and mild temps in the summer,  I would say all your CVs would love full sun.  I would keep the more blue/purple CVs in more dappled sun, since their pigments arent as colorfast as those reds, yellows and oranges. 

I would say that hot sun and heat is more tolerable to some CVs, but in my experience all CVs love temps 65-85 and half day sun.  There are some that are more tolerant of less than ideal conditions (all day sun or more shade), but tolerance is far from thriving.  The rule of thumb that if you are comfortable outside, then hibiscus will be too, it true.

Sleeping beauty is the only one on your list that looks much better in mostly shaded conditions. :)

Sleeping Beauty is the only one I do know about.  I have her with just morning sun.  Tomorrow it is going to be 95 and probably too humid to let the dog out to take care of business....  This is where I get stuck.  Thanks for the help :)

Hi Kristen,

I know that Cindy's Heart loves the sun and hot weather so that is one that should be out as much as possible.  Also include Acapulco Gold in this category.  I've had mine in a really sunny spot since day one and it just grows like crazy without any issues with sun or heat (of all hibiscus this has got to be one of the easiest to grow).

Another one that seems pretty tolerant of almost all conditions is Valentines Day.  Sometimes it can be a little sensitive to too much watering but other than that it easy really easy and adaptable to most conditions.  I have two and they are vigorous, full growing bushes.

Tahitian Taui so far for me seems like the average grower.  I have it in morning sun and afternoon shade under a tall peach tree.  It seems very happy and already is getting close to blooming (got it as a 4" baby in March). 

I don't know if you saw Charles' post concerning 5th Dimension & Space Oddity last week so check the June pics forum.  Good info there and surprising about how problematic 5th Dimension is (got them both as babies right now too).

Farmer D

Good replies to this topic.

Of the ones you list I would be inclined to give more shade to:
 
 Blue Ballerina
 Cajun Blue
 City Slicker
 Creole Lady
 Dragon's Heart
 Eye of the Storm
 Gabriel
 Laguna Starlight
 Moonstruck
 My Blue Heaven
 Sleeping Beauty
 Space Oddity
 Swamp Music
 Tahitian Taui
 Vin Extraordinaire
 Voodoo Queen

These choices for more shade are more about the flowers than the bushes. In moderate conditions the bushes should do OK but the colors of the above flowers look best or last longer in more shade.

Charlie
 

Talking about shade Charlie. We received and constructed our shade house with the 50% cloth and wow what a difference in the response from the plants and flowers, that coupled with the correct PH and fertilization we have them looking good and growing like weeds  :)

Thank you so much everyone.  And Charlie, that was super helpful.

Oh, and one more thing Charlie.  Most of mine that you mention are not in their blooming age yet.  They are still very small.  Does that make a difference?

Kristen, yes, I'm just talking about the blooms. None of yours has any particular weakness to growing in the sun that I've noticed and usually they will grow faster and bud up better if they get plenty of direct sun. This applies to lots of places like the northeast but when temperatures are way above normal some shade is much appreciated and may even be needed by some of them.

Hal, I'm glad to hear that your new shadehouse is making a difference this year. 50 percent shade is about perfect for hibiscus in most climates.

Charlie

Speaking of shade cloth.  I am having a greenhouse built.  I think that Matt really wants the plants off the deck!  So one day he came to me with this idea.  I nearly jumped out of my seat when he suggested it.  So I will need some ideas and suggestions for what and where to get stuff.