Hidden Valley Hibiscus Forum

Cindy's Heart and Voodoo Queen to  start off the month.

John, great way to start off the month with those two beauties.

Erny

Only one to share today: Fifth Dimension twins

Erny

John - Awesome blooms!
Erny - Those are a couple of very sunny (sassy?) FDs you have there!

My bloomers today...

Arnottianus
Heaven Scent (second day bloom and 5 more getting ready to go!)
Rocket's Red Glare
Rodeo Drive

Deb  ;D

Hi everybody , lots of nice pictures , I put a picture on my profile just wanted to test it see how it worked . It's heavy metal in the heat . 

Stunning and have made it my wallpaper for now, if I could only ever own 2 more cv's Heavy Metal and Rosiland would be the 2, thanks for sharing.

Deb, your Heaven Scent is looking fantastic.

San Diego Sun
Daisy Mae

Wow Wow Wow!!!

Those are all such gorgeous blooms!  Erny great to see 5th Dimension and twins at that!

Deb great variety of blooms.  I really liked that Night Fire from the other day - sensational form and colors!

Mike that is an incredible Heavy Metal!  The colors are just off the charts!

John those are two tremendous blooms!  San Diego Sun is really impressing the daylights out of me.  Great choice getting that one - what made you purchase it?

Came back after 4 days to some nice spring blooms....

Farmer D

some more...

Farmer D

and some more...

Farmer D

and some more....

Farmer D

A few from today: Fifth Dimension, day 2; Black Dream; Herm Geller, the first bloom it has had for a few months, still notup to normal size or color; Night Fire; Simple Pleasures bush now retaining more buds and more opening; Georgia's Pearl.

Erny

John D, I'm looking forward to hearing and seeing how Daisy Mae does along the Gulf Coast.

Darren, I didn't realize you had Bridal Path - nice to see it blooming in spring here.

Charlie

Yummy blooms... Truly AWESOME! :o

Mike - LOVING Heavy Metal (First time through, I was reading fast and thought you wrote "...Heavy Metal in heat..." LOL!)

John - Beautiful blooms!

Erny - Wow... FD is still looking good enough to eat (so lemony)! The size of your hibiscus bushes is just amazing.

Darren (where have you been?!) - Holy cow! So much eye candy... I really love the way the weather is affecting your blooms: The prominent rays and the colors... Works of art. *sigh*

A double dose of Heaven Scent for me today (one double, one single), and a deep coral orange Rosalind (must be the warm days and cool nights bringing out the intense colors and fluffy blooms here in MI).

Welcome back Darren.
Deb, that was awesome having a single and a double Heaven Scent at the same time.

John - That's quite a gorgeous quartet!  I need to get my Frappuccino more light (she's a tree now, but no blooms since last summer).  If you liked HS yesterday, today should be better...

Triple Heaven Scent (with scent!), triple Rosalind and a Moonstruck (I feel like I'm playing poker - LOL!)... The HS blooms look like they are having a tête-à-tête  ;)

Deb

I don't blame you for forgetting about BP - after I moved it last winter it has taken a very long time for it to start to get back in a groove so very few blooms over the last 15 months.  Chris was right it really likes the hot weather and not much water for me at least.

John your Frappuccino is really striking - that is an impressive bloom to say the least.  Also your RS is just beautiful - I love the inner colors on that one a lot!

Deb your plants are in really good shape.  I'm enjoying all of your blooms!!

Really pretty Rise and Shine & AG today - kind of typifies where most of my blooms are at.  They are showing half winter / half normal colors currently.  Sounds about right for this time of year for the outdoors...

Farmer D

some more....

Farmer D

and then there is Prosperity never wavering no matter the weather or conditions.

Farmer D

Deb, love your Heaven Scent-- it's high on my wish list.

Darren, your VD and Prosperity bushes are looking great.

Erny

When you got more blooms than leaves on your branches I'd say that isn't by coincidence.  Spraying with Supernova has done wonders...

Acapulco Gold Explosion
(http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m613/darreneminian/Apr%202012%20Hibiscus/AcapulcoGoldExplosion4-5.jpg)

(http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m613/darreneminian/Apr%202012%20Hibiscus/AcapulcoGoldExplosion4-52.jpg)

Farmer D

Very impressive Darren. That is a sight to behold.

Thanks John - I didn't expect that at all today.

Today's other blooms...

Cindy's Heart & Simple Pleasures starting to show some deeper colors.

Farmer D

a couple more...

Farmer D

Wow, Darren that A G is something else!!!! Totally amazing,.....I am spraying my heart out with SN but not getting those results yet.  :)

David,  I was glad to hear you survived the storm and your plants were OK too! I live in FL and I have been through too many of those.

Today's blooms

a few from today...

Farmer D

John, thanks for those four really nice photos. You and Deb have shown Heaven Scent at its absolute finest. Love your Voodoo Queen. It's definitely going on my must have list.
Darren, thanks for sharing Tahitian Lavender Mist. I put it on my wish list the first time I saw you post it a few months ago. Black Dream is certainly one of the outstanding specimen plants to put in the ground. The two I have are starting to look like yours and that pleases me no end. Your Rise and Shine looks like it is growing directly out of your plumeria.
A few from yesterday and today: Two different looks of Herm Geller; Belle du Jour twins still somewhat red rather than pink; Living Legend; Velvet Illusion; and I can't resist showing my favorite Protea.

Erny

Darren looking at your Acapolco ''Gold" photo's you can see how it got its name, really stunning.

Erny dont be complaining about your golf, I played yesterday and hooked my ball so far left on one hole I managed to miss the fairway, the beach and landed it in the sea, and that was one of my better shots.

I've missed you all a ton, been real busy with work.  You all are showing some really impressive blooms. 

Mike~ Awesome HM!!!  So glad you shared that one with me!
Darren~ Holy Crap!  I can't wait till all mine are outside and I can spray them and get them back to being happy.  Your plants must love you!
Erny~Great spread!
Deb~Im in love with your Rosilind, I want that one bad, but doesn't it get really big?.....
David~Im so glad you and your hibiscus made it out of that storm unharmed.  That would have been awful!
Jim~ It's a pleasure to meet you, Im Kristen... Active on the forum in spurts... lol. 
John~ Your making me regret giving away Voodoo Queen
Chris~ Beautiful photos of Delta Dawn!  It has been a great bloomer for me so far, but just started loosing leaves and looking sick.  Also, it shows signs of having the same bush as Gabriel for me so far... but I don't know if that is because it is not feeling well.  But even when it was good and in bloom, it was a bit lateral.
Lou~ Beautiful seedling.

I and headed to my parents to photograph a new seedling myself.  Post it later.

Erny, I like the dark pink color on Velvet Illusion.

Rainbow Sherbert and a 2nd day Heaven Scent

Lovely Rainbow Sherbert John, its one of my favourites and mainly due to the very strong color, its just so bright.

Cream De Cacao today which is really growing on me, I like it as much for the bush as anything else, its just so lush and adds lovely greenery to my garden, a lightly pruned Bridal Path and of many Dragons Breath.

David, I was able to order a Bridal Path yesterday. I can't wait till I can get some blooms as nice as yours.

One more for today.

David - Happy to see that you and your 'biscus are safe and well. Beautiful blooms... I hope Bridal Path isn't afraid of heights!

John - Gorgeous... You have excellent taste in hibiscus  ;)

Darren - Amazing Acapulco Gold display  :o (What, no Ray Bans? And where is the camera crew?)

My bloomers today...

Cindy's Heart
Moonstruck (opening colors with Heaven Scent in the background)
Nightfire
Sea of Tranquility

Deb  ;D

Deb I never anticipated the potential of buying cases of sunglasses for the Hollywood hibs as part of the cost of growing these beautiful plants but if things keep going this way....Your blooms are of such nice form Deb, fantastic results.

David I go crazy every time I see your Bridal Path shots - for me very special.  It is still my ATF though mine has been and continues to be a challenge.  I fed my plants for the first time in over two months on Tuesday and by yesterday it had lots of yellow leaves.  All my other plants no problem.  I think I'll go Deb's route and put a pic of yours by mine to show it what it needs to do this year.

Well Prosperity continues it's amazing show...every bloom it produces is just wonderful!  And check out the ridiculous spring growth - explosive just as I was hoping for.

Farmer D

John the colors on your Rainbow Sherbet are just magnificent.  Mine are still mostly winterized with white and pale pink eyes.

Farmer D

Deb, your Cindy's Heart looks amazing. I don't think mine has ever had a pinkish hue on the edges.

Darren, I hope my Prosperity blooms will be as vibrant as yours.

One last one for today.

Vin Beaujolais and City Slicker, with a couple of Cranberry Muffins.

Easter morning blooms

Today's blooms

John your blooms are all splendid.  Nice variety!

Farmer D

Farmer D

Darren your High Voltage looks so different than the norm, truthfully I would never have guessed it was HV and looks so different than mine today and others I have seen.

If you look at my photo and then John's above you will see what I mean.

David, the temps in LA are much cooler than what we have. In Houston it is getting to the mid eighties every day now. I'm sure that has a lot to do with it.

Yes, my mistake and I often forget that, does explain why your Houston Hibs look so similar to mine mind.

Wow!!! What a cracker that Sunshower is.

SOME BEAUTIES EVERYONE IS SHOWING!!

Here are my bounties for today.
Noodle with Blue Ballerina
Stolen Kiss
Thanksgiving
And my 4th seedling.  Day 2, reflexed, extreme red w/ dark eye, on an 8' stem.

I forgot Thanksgiving.  My mom's personal favorite.

John, you're right about the influence of the temperature difference. Your spectacular Sun Shower is a perfect example of that. Mine has very little yellow spotting on the periphery while yours is loaded.
Kristen, I ordered Blue Ballerina after you had posted it earlier. Can I get a Noodle along with it?
I got my first bloom on Cranberry Muffin yesterday. Not much brown on it but the plant is still small and young. I'm looking forward to it maturing and looking more like David's.
Also Erica Nicole twins, The Path, Herm Geller, and Heavy metal.

Erny

A few more: Hot Pepper, Black Dream, Electric Orange in sun and shaded, Velvet Illusion twins, and King Protea triplets with Velvet Illusion in the background.

Kristen - LOVE that red seedling!  And Thanksgiving is yummy... Purrrty kitty, too!   ;)

Erny - Those blooms are looking good!

Black Dream and Black Beauty blooms today... If only Black Dragon had joined the party, it would have had a clean sweep of my "black" bloomers  :D

Deb

Charlie - I harvested a Arnottianus x self pod last week with 11 big, fat, fuzzy seeds!  ;D

Last ones: Me Oh My Oh, Living Legend, Love Story, Night Fire, and for some variety Aporocactus Flagelliformis (Rat Tail Cactus).

Thanks Deb. Except for the Cranberry Muffin all of mine are permanent in the ground--some for a few years. So the flowers tend to look a little weatherbeaten especially on windy days like today.
I really like your Moonstruck and Sea of Tranquility.  I've had Moonstruck on my wish list for some time now. I think I will underline it and add a few exclamation points. I think I remember seeing Sea of Tranquility available in the store. If not, it's going on the wish list.

Erny

Thanks Erny and Deb.  Noodle is a special one.  And you will love Blue Ballerina!  Blooms a ton, stays small, and is so pretty!  Im glad you got Cranberry Muffin.  I look at that one every time Im on the online store.  Good luck with it.
I agree Deb, your Moonstruck is a beauty!  I love mine, gonna be difficult to get it back from my mother this summer.

John your right, your weather is much better than ours right now.  We're going back to winter the rest of this week with highs in the 50s F and rain.  Nothing unusual as this time of year the weather bounces back and forth.  Gorgeous Sunshower by the way.

Kristen the color on your blooms is always so rich and deep.  That Thanksgiving bloom I could never have imagined such a wonderful color combination.

Erny that's a ton of blooms!  Your LL is looking like it is almost in summer form.  Your Erica Nicole twins are beautiful - I'm not too familiar with that CV but it has my attention now.

Deb has summer ended for you already?  I'm still stuck on that Night Fire bloom you posted.  Wow!

Farmer D

Farmer D

Beautiful, Kristen!!!! I especially love seeing Noodle!  See looks just like my Gypsy who died last summer at the age of 20. She's a beauty!

Cindy

Darren, really nice blooms as always. That Prosperity really catches the eye; can't wait for mine to arrive. I am starting to see some return to spring/summer form and colors. Living Legend is one of the first to do so. Erica Nicole is one of those older cvs. I think it won Hibiscus of the Year back in the 1990s.

Erny

Kristen, I can see why your mother likes Thanksgiving. It's a real beauty.

Darren, I had warmer temps than that in January this year. It's amazing how your plants keep pumping out the blooms!

Erny, you're right about Sun Shower. It needs warm temps to bring out the gold spots. Mine were solid orange during the winter. I just love your Velvet Illusion.

Deb, I think that's the first time I've seen Black Beauty. Is that a Dupont variety like Black Dream?

Erny you're really going to love Prosperity once you have it in person and see how easy it is to grow, how extremely floriferous it is and the quality of blooms are amazing.  Charlie created a masterpiece with this one - it has my vote for hibiscus of the year but too late for 2011...

John your Jungle Fire is really impressive.  The colors really jump out on that one which is nice for a red based bloom.  Your Sunshower is off the charts - if I remember that one's bush needs some assistance?

Farmer D

Erny I totally agree with John about your Velvet Illusion.  That is a real beauty - I love the form of the flowers!

Farmer D

I can understand why Kristen, its lovely, especially that red brick colouring, I get that very occasionally, normally mines more brown.

Great flowers from all over!

John D, Frappucino looks great in your climate. I didn't propagate any - might have accidentally sold them all. If so, I might have to get some wood back as it deserves more exposure!

Darren, the wood I grafted from your T Lavender Mist is still growing great - might have some of that to offer by next year. Also, the T Pink Princess bloomed again with a larger flower, this time 7 inches of soft pastel beauty.

Shipping is going full swing now, next week we start working 7 days a week until the early orders are done (by the end of May if we are lucky).

Charlie

Thank you all for the compliments.  David, my Thanksgiving is very consistent for me.  It is a beautiful bush and bloomer.  Cant wait till I have it for this summer to see how it does for me.

John, love all your photos, but your Sunshower is quite a beauty!
Darren, Did you move to CT??  We have the same temps going on!!
Everyone, great shots.
Thanks Cindy.  I love when I can incorporate Noodle or Tajah in the photos.

Charlie - I'd be happy to help you with wood to re-propagate Frappuccino; Mine is just under 50" tall on one branch and 42" on the other.  I'll send an e-mail.

Deb :D

Hi Darren - Well when it snowed yesterday, it melted as soon as it hit the ground... So, I guess you could consider that "summer" here in Michigan (we do - LOL!)  If you meant; where are all my "indoor summer" blooms?  Those are coming (lots of new buds - Sooo happy!)  Glad you're enjoying Nightfire - She's budding up and getting ready for another go.  ;D

P.S. - Looks like AG is getting ready to take over Hollywood (Go AG, go!!!)

Hi John - Black Dream is a very old hibiscus hybrid. IHS lists it as coming from New Zealand, but no one knows who propagated it or who it's parents are.

John, I agree with Darren on your Jungle Fire and your Sun Shower is truly spectacular
Darren, the growth on your Prosperity is incredible. Thanks for sharing Tahitian Lavender Mist. I first saw it on one of your posts a few months back and it went right onto the wish list. I'm glad to hear that Charlie is propagating more of them.
Kristen I hope the Thanksgiving I'm getting is half as nice as yours. Seeing your Noodle makes me think I have to coax Murray, our 11 year old 25 lb Maine Coon cat, to pose with some blooms.

Erny

Charlie, if you need some wood from Frappuccino let me know.

Darren, Sun Shower will need some staking.

John - Beautiful Cindy's Heart :D

Heaven Scent twins with my umm... will pose for food models pets Daphne and "The Donald"  (LOL!)
Hot Babe
Moonstruck
Rosalind

Deb  ;)

Lovely photo's Deb, I think thats the best Rosiland yet.

Rainbow Sherbet and Acapolco Gold in the blazing sun, my garden is now looking quite lush and I think I am the main cause of the current drought in Vietnam haha, oh and one of my very nice Bridal Path's, I cut this and brought it in the shade to get the exact colour, its just a blur when I take the photo out in the sun.

I also today have a nice triple garden Hib and a couple of pale Bright Horizons.
I also have today a cutting of Valentines Day that has been grown in near total shade [20 mins of sun a day], I did it just out of curiosity just to see what would happen after reading what Charlie wrote about that Par stuff[higher temperatures and sun], and was surprised it got a bud.

And finally my seedlings, I cant believe just how slow they are growing, 3 inches tall after 2 months and I am sure this week they have got smaller.

Deb, I have to agree with David that your Rosalind is exceptional. Heaven Scent and Moonstruck ain't half bad either.

David, Shangri-La is looking none the worse for wear after the typhoon. Your Adeniums are unbelievable.

Erny

Thank you David and Erny - Rosalind is certainly putting on a show; very colorful blooms so far (hard to capture with fluorescent lighting indoors).

David - Your garden is looking very lush and beautiful... Looks like (between you and Darren) Acapulco Gold is going for world domination! Quite the prolific bloomer  :o

Your seedlings are looking great! As for their "not growing"; Maybe they're working on growing lots of strong roots at the moment… Then they'll get around to the "above ground" growing (probably at triple speed - LOL!)  :D

Deb, that is a gorgeous Rosalind.

David, your Acapulco Gold is just perfect.

A few from today. Last one is my first Winter Lights bloom.

Everybody's pictures look nice , Here is a few for today .
Bell & Heavy Metal

Cut a few blooms to dresss up the front of the garden, they all last much better in the shade.

Charlie thanks for the update on TLM, that is exciting to hear.  I am glad to hear that T Pink Princess is making progress too.  I'll post a pic of twins I just saw today of it off of FB.

Deb I agree with David your Rosalind is probably the nicest one I've seen yet.  Also totally love the ducks shot with the hib - precious!

Mike your colors are outrageous - that Heavy Metal is what I pray mine looks like one day soon.

David your AG is totally awesome.  I think at some point maybe end of this growing season I might actually prune mine on the top but first I want to see how full it gets this year.  Great pics for all your blooms.

John that is a bloom parade you got going there and nice to see Winter Lights make a showing.  Great stuff!

Farmer D

Mike, your blooms are looking great.

Darren, those Tahitian Princess blooms really are eye catching.

John D and Deb, thanks for the offer of Frappucino wood. I'm going to check more closely my stock plants and if I can't find one will email you privately. I do appreciate the offer!

Great photos from all over. Darren, the T Pink Princess flowers I have seen so far do not look like the photo you found on the internet. I saw mine a few hours after opening and it was much lighter in color and softer than the one you posted. Either it fades quickly or that photo was creatively enhanced - one of the main reasons we much prefer photos taken by our forum members who can describe the circumstances of the photos.

Charlie

That has been one of my biggest frustrations so far with some of the Tahitians I have.  I don't know if it is the ideal growing conditions in Tahiti or the photos themselves or a combo of both.  At least for TPP the blooms that we've both had are still nice in their own right in my opinion even though they're not quite the same as posted elsewhere.  I think these photos from a South American grower are closer to what we have seen although your's seem to be more colorful so far than these.

If the plant eventually qualifies for your hybridizing program it would be exciting to see what results we might see one day with new crosses.  Thank you for taking the time to evaluate!

Farmer D

David, Darren, John - YUMMY blooms!!!

Cindy's Heart (HUGE - just under 9")
Rum Runner (pale pastel colors today)

Deb  ;)

Deb, you are getting some really great blooms these days. Who woulda thunk it possible to get such big colorful flowers in the far north of the USA!

David, seedlings love sun. I know your sun is more intense than normal but you might want to experiment cautiously with giving them more sun. Seedlings always look so delicate but they are tougher than their looks suggest - more heat and sun tolerant, more cold tolerant, and more insect resistant than later plants taken as cuttings from them. Only thing they can't deal with is hungry mammals of various stripes that can eat them down to nothing very quickly. Even so, if they are conditioned to shade for too long they will still need to be introduced slowly to direct sunshine. Once they are acclimated they will grow faster and bloom sooner if they get plenty of it.

Charlie

Yes, Darren, that is closer to what I have seen so far. I will try to photograph an opening flower and one a few hours old and post them next chance I get.

Charlie

High Voltage, Voodoo Queen triplets, Cindy's Heart, Hot Pepper twins.

No blooms to share today, but I think the Vin Extraordinaire x Creme de la Creme cross that I did a couple of weeks ago took!  Here's a photo of the pod this morning.  If Vin hangs onto it and there are seeds inside, this will be my first successful cross.  :)

That would be interesting to see that cross, hopefully the less ideal traits in both parents are overcome!

The seed pod looks good so far.

A rainy and cool day today.

Thanks Charlie, I did what you said and put  them outside in the sun,it certainly sorted out the men from the boys so to speak, some just immediately flopped over and died, when I pulled them I was right, they weren't growing, some have not advanced at all in 2 months other than send out that first tap root,no idea why as they are well watered and now fed but am still left with about 15 that seem to be ok.

John looks like we're trading off on the weather.  We have our first warm stretch coming up since January - can't wait!

Here is a totally thrips ravaged Miss Congeniality.  I enjoyed personally squishing the thrips in this one but I'll be spraying again...at least MC is starting to gain those awesome shads of purple and mauve again.

Some super orange Prosperities - these should really have some intense color when they fully open tomorrow.

Farmer D

John I was only saying the other day that allot of our blooms are very similar and it was probably because of the hotter weather we both have, then you show your Hot Pepper which looks nothing like mine haha, you have that lovely deep dark red centre which I don't, mind you my HP sits where a cactus would find it hot so maybe that's why.

David, I really like the softer colors your Hot Pepper exhibits. I'm sure it is much hotter there right now. Our highs are staying in the 80s right now. The 90s won't start till the second half of May. Then it stays that way till the second half of September. You can see that my High Voltage still have that pink blush. Once it gets hot the pink blush goes away.

And a second day Voodoo Queen.

Interesting John, it certainly seems about 80f is about perfect for the Hibs, I love that blush on High Voltage, I get that only in Dec/Jan when it can drop here to the low eighties.
 Out there now its hellish hot day in day out, some cv's having a 90% bud drop, fortunately for me there are a few cv's that don't drop any so the garden still looks nice.

Hi folks
I'm not getting a lot of flowers now because the temperature at night has been in the low 50s & about two days a week in the high 40s . Any plants with buds on them I bring in when it gets below 50 deg. at night . anyway here is a Brassy Blond for today !!

I'm Back again
I just wanted to show you my Cindy's Heart bush it is growing like its on steroids it's 29" tall from the soil line & the top leaves are 7" long their bigger than my hand . I don't know how big it will get but I hope it gets about 4 or 5 feet tall , it has one bud on it now !!! Here are 3 pictures from different sides . This is one of my favorite ones .

Mike that is a nice looking bush there.  A really exciting prospect of how big it will get this growing season.  Can't wait to see it grow...

Right now getting blooms from the good old standbys.  It hit 80F today so that was exciting for the hibs.  Lots of buds all over...

Farmer D

Darren, I'm sharing your excitement over the coming week's temps up in the 80s. Although your Prosperity seems to crank out great blooms in all seasons.
Mike, that Brassy Blonde is a beauty.
John, High Voltage and Voodoo Queen continue to inspire me to heights of great envy. I have HV coming but I'm getting obsessed with VQ.
Today saw a new bloom on an oldie, Gil Whitton--a deep lush red with a dark eye. Also Simple Pleasures and Eye of Kali.

Erny

Very nice Mike, looks perfect and so healthy.
Here is a picture of my 2 year old seedling, no buds yet and it stands at 9 feet tall, I have had to prune it twice[back to 5 feet] so heaven knows what size it would have reached, getting a bit fed up with it now and hope I get a bloom soon.

My cutting of Acapulco Gold is looking like it will bloom like its mum, and a nice triple Rainbow Sherbert today.

Beautiful David, What is the white bloom on the left? Stolen Kiss? and the brown on the right?

Deb, Awesome comparison shot!  And I love the brick background, makes them pop!  Im always searching for the proper background to shoot my blooms... CH is amazing!

Some from yesterday.
Acapulco Gold, and Noodle resting near twins a day later when a second opened.
All time fav, Cindy's Heart... I took everyone outside for the day.
Noodle again, (I need a Greenhouse, this is what my office looks like!)
My first Pinot Noir, beauty!  Real dark!!
Saffron

Greenhouse breaking ground this weekend!  Will post progress pix!

Mike,  your CH bush looks great. You should get loads of beautiful blooms once it warms up there.

Erny, it's been a long time since I've seen Gil Whitton. Thanks for sharing.

Kristen, always love seeing your Cindy's Heart.

High Votage and Creme De Cacao.

David, what are the parents on your 9 foot seedling?

No idea John, someone from the American Hibiscus Society kindly sent me 20 seeds, 6 germinated, 4 plants got binned along the way[bush no good, so just unlucky] leaving 2 plants, the other one I destroyed last year, the bloom on it was remarkable, remarkable in just how bad it was, a sort of 2 inch floppy pink, and now I have left the one you have seen; 9 feet of leaves.
I think so far I have been a bit unlucky, I look what Louis achieved, a prize bloom on a 4 foot bush and I am left looking like Jack in Jack in the Beanstalk. Hopefully I will have a little success with my own seeds, these are all from Charlies plants and am praying no more of these 10 foot mutants.

Today is our second with temps in the 80s and it's like someone threw a switch and blooms started popping out all over.
Velvet Illusion quads, Haute Coutere with VI in back, CH alone, Nightfire bush next to Simple Pleasures, Nightfire, and Simple Pleasures profusion with Love Story on the right.

Erny

Some more: Love Story triplets with a partial Simple Pleasures on left, Love Story, Living Legend profusion, Living Legend, and Ross Estes profusion.

And more: Black Dream quads, Black Dream, Me Oh My Oh, Hot Pepper, and two group shots of hibiscus consorting with King Protea.

And finally, some group shots because I really like the ones that David and Deb show regularly. Since my plants are in the ground I must pluck the flowers and bring them indoors.

Kristen those are all amazing blooms.  Again the depth of color you're getting is perfection!  Congrats on doing the greenhouse thing - now that is exciting!

Erny great blooms there - Velvet Illusion is quite the bloom!  I'm also loving your LL profusion - eye catchers!

John nice to see Apricot Cookie.  I didn't expect to see some of those colors on it.  Enjoy it for me mine didn't make it this winter...

Farmer D

Erny I really enjoyed your bouquet of blooms - very nice array of colors there!

Farmer D

Agree, very nice Erny, I may try and do it like that one time, looks really good.

High Voltage looking nice today, I prattled on yesterday how I never get the blush and blow me first thing this morning I had it.

It's so enjoyable looking at everybody's blooms. I liked your artistic display Ernie! - we haven't seen much along those lines here. Kristen, such a beautiful Pinot photo!

Darren, I wanted to get back to you about T Pink Princess. There was a bud about to open yesterday morning but was slow to do so and I missed the opening. I returned mid-afternoon and found it open so took the below photos. For those who like the soft and subtle it is very pretty to my eye.

Charlie

Erny, your group shots look fantastic.

Charlie, will T. Pink Princess be available sometime in the future?

Wow Charlie - that is a lovely bloom!  The plant is also looking really good too, I like the fact I see lots more buds on it.  I'm really glad I dropped that plant off to you so it could really start to do it's thing - thank you for taking the time to work your magic on it.

I really hope it qualifies for you to sell it down the road (and maybe your hybridization program).  I'm sure quite a few of us will be happy to have that in our collections!

Farmer D

It's really interesting what I've got going on with Acapulco Gold.  I'm also starting to see this with some of my other plants too.  The new spring growth is starting off as almost all buds then eventually leaves start to show up.  There are so many buds that when they open there is not enough room for them all and it is a crowded color-fest where they blooms can't all open all the way.

I kid you not!
(http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m613/darreneminian/Apr%202012%20Hibiscus/AcapulcoGoldBloomFest4-19.jpg)

(http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m613/darreneminian/Apr%202012%20Hibiscus/AcapulcoGoldProfusion4-19.jpg)

This did not happen last year at this time - I just keep on spraying...

Farmer D

Spring is finally here and it starting to show...Black Dream 20 blooms today and they're still quite dark. 

Farmer D

Killer Bridal Path and gorgeous Cindy's Heart...


Farmer D

A stunning Simple Pleasures and Tahitian Lavender Mist

Farmer D

That's one heck of a problem, Farmer D - not enough room for all the buds to open!   :)  Nice job you are continuing to do with these.

John D, yes, I hope to get some plants of T Pink Princess out there. It didn't seem to have much promise as a bush when I got it and it still looks like it will be a compact, low grower but that will suit some situations fine so if it can be rooted we will offer it. Might even graft a few if it does not root, time permitting. Darren also provided some other Tahitian varieties that we are trying out - T Lavender Mist being the standout in the group but also T Pretty Boy and a few others are being grown as small grafted plants now and if they work out we will offer them late this year or next year.

Charlie

a few more...very pretty Flickering Flame twins.

Farmer D

Very frustrating with Dragon's Heart, all them blooms and they just wont open, maybe its just to hot, not bothering Saffron or Pinapple Sundae though.

Those Dragons Heart buds are real close to opening - hard to believe they won't just pop! It probably is the heat but still................

Charlie

DH does seem to like intermediate conditions in my experience as well.  Maybe a cloud will come and give you enough relief to get them to pop!

Finally have something to share, my first Heartbreak hotel, I brought it to my desk so I can enjoy it.  Its full of pollen so I will have to see what else is blooming today and tomorrow.  

Charlie, love the name thunder egg for that seedling, I already have it on my wish list:)

David, that must really be frustrating.

Had to pluck all my blooms. Heavy storm was coming in. Left Cindy's Heart because I had pollinated it.

Charlie is there likely to be another cause, I am guessing at to hot.

Chris, dittoes on Thunder Egg. Nice HH.
John, nice photos and group shot.
City Slicker opening colors, Herm Geller, Simple Pleasures and Night Fire that appear to be coming on the same plant (fraternal twins?)-- actually two plants right next to each other with overlapping branches, Living Legend and Ross Estey profusion, Sun Shower profusion, and Haut Coutere.

Erny

Erny is the City Slicker new for you or an older plant.
Valentines Day and my first Peppermint Drop for a while.

Erny, I love that you have Haute Couture. Pretty Herm too!
David, your VD is AWESOME!!!
Chris, Im a huge fan of HH, thanks for sharing, beautiful bloom!!
And Charlie, I agree with Thunder Egg, I put it on my wishlist right away.
John, Love the tiles... must be a pretty kitchen.

Here is a small Sleeping Beauty with a funny looking Petaloid. Almost looks like a full petal that is all squished up. 

David, that City Slicker is still pretty new. I had it in a pot for over a year and it didn't do real well so I planted it in the ground about six months ago but it has just started to bloom. It is in a spot where it is somewhat shaded by a large palm from midday on and completely shaded from the late afternoon sun by my neighbor's large trees. It seems to like it there and has been growing nicely although the branches tend to sprawl and I have most of them staked. I'll go out and take some pictures of the plant and post them later.

Erny

David, here are photos of City Slicker--front and side views while it is getting morning sun. Also Heavy Metal which is right next to it just after opening this morning.
Can't get enough of Velvet Illusion although this one this morning is pinker than the others. Also another fraternal twin picture of VI and Haute Coutere that appear to be on the same plant but are really just next to each other with some overlap.
Finally, a pretty Love Story nestled deep within the branches.

Erny

Chris that is an awesome HH bloom!  A really unique combo of colors on that CV and I love the many offspring Charlie has produced with it.  Congrats!

Erny I agree with you on Velvet Illusion.  How is the bush on that one?  If it's good that will be on my radar going forward...Great shots all around.

I threw in a nice shot, different angle of the Black Dream profusion.  Also a bush shot so everyone can see what BD looks like at it's thinnest.  I've observed with this CV and some of my other biggest ones like AG, COF, RS, DM that the old leaves tend to yellow and shed last year's leaves as the new ones for spring start to grow in.  I know hibiscus are not supposed to shed leaves but this is what I'm seeing and why BD looks a bit thinned out currently.  After a month plus of pulling off yellowing leaves it looks to be about done as the same with the others...

Farmer D

A shot of one of my temp gauges showing that even on a day when it was just 75F the temp in my porch planter was nice and toasty (top temp inside porch pot for Bridal Path #2).  Maybe this is why my T Pretty Boy & T Lion Queen are both doing nothing so far this year.  Location, location, location....fun, fun,fun... ;)

Farmer D

Erny, the branches on your plants are so thick. You can really tell you have had them in the ground for a long time. Loved the Sun Shower shot.

David, your Valentine's Day blooms look bigger than the bush itself.

Darren, your Black Dream is stunning.

Darren, it is interesting that you mention some of the cvs shedding a lot of their leaves because that happened with Velvet Illusion. It is almost 6' tall and was reasonably well branched and leafed out but in mid-winter most of its leaves turned yellow and dropped off while the plants right next to it showed no yellowing or leaf drop. There is a lot of new growth on it so I suspect it will come back just fine. But for now it is looking a little thin. It's hard for me to get a good picture of the bush because I mistakenly crammed too many plants too close together and VI is crowded by a dwarf plumeria on one side, Haute Coutere on the other and a King Protea in front. Hopefully the pictures below will give you some idea about the bush. Iwas also able to find some photos from November and December before the leaf drop. VI is the bush on the left.

Erny

Higher temperatures continue to bring forth a lot of blooms. Simple Pleasures profusion, The Path and a very faded third day Herm Geller on adjacent bushes but the overlapping branches make it look like they are on the same bush, and Jazz.

Erny

The other nice thing about higher spring temps is that the blooms are larger and the true spring/summer colors are starting to show up. My Electric Orange is orange for the first time after an entire winter in the red zone. A pretty white bloom with a yellow edge and a dark eye that radiates pink; I bought this at a commercial nursery and have lost the label. Can anyone ID this for me?

Some more: Rum Runner profusion with the blooms just starting to show normal spring colors, Black Dream, Me Oh My Oh, and The Path.

And finally Hot Pepper, Fifth Dimension, and a couple of older cvs, Romeo and Rivero2. The latter was sold to me under that name by a plumeria dealer over 15 years ago. I have never seen it listed anywhere else.

Wow Erny - it is a dream to see such mature bushes start to do their spring blooming.  Just your Simple Pleasures bush alone looks like it will have 20-30 blooms at a time.  Really neat to see that Rum Runner profusion.  I have a little baby bush so now I know the potential there.  Just an awesome sight to see - congrats and I look forward to seeing how your project goes that you were discussing during last summer. 

Farmer D

some more...

Farmer D

Erny and Darren, what a fantastic show of blooms.

Thanks John. Darren and I are fortunate to live in an area where we can keep plants in the ground year round and thus let them achieve considerable size. The down side is that the flowers may not be as individually pretty as they are buffeted by the outdoor weather throughout the winter and by the winds periodically during the rest of the year.
Darren, I think you will find that Rum Runner will be a great bloomer for you as it matures. It is probably the most prolific bloomer I have although Black Dream is threatening to give it a run for its money. My plants suffered from relative neglect for several years but last summer I installed a drip system with regular fertilization with Special Blend and Booster and, thanks to you, regular spraying with Supernova. I am now seeing the payoff from this regimen with explosive growth and blooming unlike anything I had before. I have expanded my plans for futher planting considerably. I am now going to take out the entire crescent of lawn that borders on our street and have also "liberated" a 40' X 8" patch of ground bordering our driveway on the west boundary of our property. This should be able to accomodate several plumeria and another 40 or so hibiscus. I'll have to take some before and after photos.

Erny

Erny, I have about 15 planted in the ground. But I have to dig them up when it starts getting down into the 30s at night. I can really see a difference in the growth rate of the ones planted in the ground vs. the ones growing in pots.

Erny that sounds awesome!  Keep us posted on your progress...

Nice cloudy day today so the colors are really popping.

Farmer D

Wowie!!!  Such beautiful, colorful blooms  :o

Darren - LOVE Tahitian Lavender Mist... Everyone's looking good!  8)
Chris - HH and Area 51 are awesome!
Kristen - Beautiful Sleeping Beauty (and Noodle is so precious... Looks like a jungle cat in a forrest of hibiscus  :D)
Erny - Those are some amazing bushes/flowers!!!  Loved your bloom bouquet!  ;)
John - Such lovely blooms... I agree with Kristen: Beautiful kitchen tile/bloom arrangement  :D

Have to play catch up (too much work, not enough time to post)...

Caramel Toffee (new bloomer)
Cindy's Heart
Heaven Scent
A group of bloomers...

and the rest...

Heaven's Glow
Sea of Tranquility (learning how to "plank" really well!)
Rosalind
Sleeping Beauty (new bloomer/PM colors... Has an awesome pearlescent glow - like the inside of a sea shell)

Deb  ;D

Deb, those are some beautiful blooms. That Caramel Toffee looks like a real nice brown cv. Sea of Tranquility has that perfect form--like Living Legend. And Sleeping Beauty lives up to her name--I'm looking forward to getting mine soon.
Darren, you're right about the overcast weather and the colors. We even had some light rain today. Haute Coutere is showing me colors I haven't seen on it before. Here are a couple of shots and another next to a second or third day faded bloom for contrast. Also Velvet Illusion and Night Fire.

Erny

More from today starting with my first Night Runner bloom. Also Living Legend, Topaz Glory, Heavy Metal, and Eye of Kali.

Finally, the most vivid Fiesta I have seen, Herm Geller, The Path twins, Rum Runner X2, and Renaissance Blue.

Wow looking good Erny and Darren, really love Ren. Blue!

LOL Deb, SOT is really good a planking, at least there is no tebowing happening in you plants :P

Darren, T. Lavender Mist is awesome.

Deb, I like Heaven's Glow. I will have to keep an eye out for it in the store.

John, I'm with you on T. Lavender Mist and Heaven's Glow. I hope they become available in the near future. Cindy's Heart and Rainbow Sherbert should be arriving soon; if they put out blooms as nice as yours I will be ecstatic. Your pictures of Voodoo Queen have also started me on a quest for that beauty.

Erny

Another Heartbreak Hotel looking amazing and my first white diamonds, crap bush, but pretty flower. 

Ooh, Chris - Very nice! They're like extreme opposite examples of beautiful bloom colors: WD soft, delicate and surreal and HH loud, wild and bright (looking a little like cinnamon French toast... ummm!)  I see they're both loaded with pollen - Did you arrange a "get together"? Are these plants that are living under the new lights?

Deb  :D

Yup these are all basement blooms!  I am using two 4 ft 4 tube T5s with 6400K light bulbs.  I give them low nitrogen and phosphorous fertilizer and apply potassium murate once a week to get prolific blooming and good coloration.  The low nitrogen is key, the plants grow slower, but bloom alot on compact plants as long as their is adequate potassium and magnesium. I found special blend to have too much nitrogen for my growing situation so I mix my own using components of readily available fertilizers.  Gotta play mad scientist when I can ;)    

I did dust both with pollen, but I did not cross them to each other.  White Diamonds is one that you have to be careful with who you cross to.  Other hybridizers who have used White Diamonds observed her poor growth habit in the seedlings produced from her.  Heartbreak hotel is a slower grower, so I didn't want to cross to another slow grower, although I am sure the flowers would have been fantastic.  

When I get Arabian Princess, I plan on crossing her to White Diamonds as well.  I think this should do alot to improve the bush in the seedlings.    

Chris, that Heartbreak Hotel is outstanding. If I were to plant that in the ground would you recommend full sun or a somewhat shaded spot?

A few more oldies from today:
                                          Fifth Dimension--this is day four and I'm pleasantly surprised
                                          at how well the bloom has held up given its rather thin petals.
                                          Renaissance Blue--still not as blue as it was in summer
                                          Rivero 2 profusion. This one is a great bloomer and develops a
                                          lot of white spots in the warmer weather.
                                          Special FX
                                          Georgia's Pearl
                                          Black Dream

Erny

 

Hey Erny,

I think for bloom life and enjoyment, a spot that is partially shaded during the afternoon works well.  I think HBH is one that can take full sun if that is the only place available.  I really really love this one, as I am sure you will too :)

I thought I loved Apple before but this puts it over the top...just around the corner from my house.  How'd they know?

Apple forum people guessed it was a cv called Cayman Wind - I didn't find it anywhere on the net.

Farmer D

Erny your blooms are looking just gorgeous! Fiesta is on fire with those colors and I'm really impressed with your R Blue.  Very nice....

Chris nice combo of blooms there - Deb was right it really has both sides of the color spectrum and we can all dream of what a combo of those two cvs might produce on a bloom.

John that CH has such strong color!  Wow mine need to follow suit...

OK I messed up today and took all my shots on the highest memory setting my camera has so even when I reduce my shots all the way down to the lowest saved memory they're some still over 300kb.  So a few dazzlers I wanted to show will just have to be on the big side.  I know what a drag huh?

Acapulco Gold
(http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m613/darreneminian/Apr%202012%20Hibiscus/AcapulcoGoldSextuplets4-24.jpg)

Flickering Flame
(http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m613/darreneminian/Apr%202012%20Hibiscus/FlickeringFlame4-24.jpg)

Prosperity
(http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m613/darreneminian/Apr%202012%20Hibiscus/ProsperityPlant4-24.jpg)

Vin Beaujolais
(http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m613/darreneminian/Apr%202012%20Hibiscus/VinBeaujolaisSeptuplets4-24.jpg)

(http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m613/darreneminian/Apr%202012%20Hibiscus/VinBeaujolais4-24.jpg)

Farmer D

Can't forget T Lavender Mist...

Farmer D

Darren, it looks like Acapulco Gold and Prosperity are your best bloomers right now.

Really warming up here now. Could hit 90 by the end of the week.

Wow, Darren and Doll hard to compete with you fellows.... "I got one today",... :)

I think Darren and David should be crowned "The Acapulco Gold Kings"!

Doll, Hot Pepper really cool.

My big load came in last week and this was my first worthy bloom.

Simple Pleasures

(http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff300/jimharv11/SimplePleasurescopy.jpg)

Jim, that is a gorgeous Simple Pleasures. Hot Pepper would do great for you in Florida. It thrives in the heat.

Jim I never get tired of looking at Simple Pleasures.  The blooms are always big and well presented and those colors are just so bright.  What else did you get in your shipment?

John I love that CH & HV shot - those are two beauties.  I hear you about the thrips.  Looks like I'm on to a second spraying as soon as the rain is done tomorrow.  Today was weird, forecast high before the storm of 69F and instead it was 83F and really humid.  The hibs loved every second of it...

Farmer D

TLM putting on a good bloom show this week...

Farmer D

Darren, I love how that Prosperity looks with the purple pelargonium (or geranium?) under it. Purple and orange are my favorite color combo int the garden! Looking good!

No blooms yet...but here is the set up I arranged yesterday for all of my newest babies.

Doll, thanks for the tip on Hot Pepper, may have to give that one a try too.

Denise, I really like the different shapes and especailly the varied heights you have for your containers. It makes things very interesting the way you mixed them up!

Darren, I got a BOATLOAD of plants,  Hot Southern Nights, Hollywood Starlet, Saffron, Song Sung, Vin Beau, Acapulco Gold, Lucky be a Lady, Sea of Tran, Simple P, Arc de and this P N that is now fading just a tad but still nice I thought on the second day. T Mist, is really SHARP!!!!!

(http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff300/jimharv11/PNcopy.jpg)

Darren, T Lavender Mist is a real standout.

Jim, it's good to see that PN doesn't fade much.

Jim, that's a really nice group of cvs you got there. The colors on your Simple Pleasures are stunning.

Erny

A couple more from today.

Georgia's Thunder has been a very difficult one for me. Doesn't seem to like the heat.
California Beauty - nice ruffled bloom

Its just wonderful to see all the new blooms, I am really struggling at the moment, its hellish hot on my roof top, still getting a few blooms though and certainly more than last year.
Very nice Denise and will want to see the same picture in a few months, its amazing how quick they can grow.
Nice Georgia's Thunder John, I often here Charlie say how doubles struggle in the heat and I have a similar problem with Magnifique, but when I do get a bloom its worth that struggle and is a real favourite of mine, I also have Samba Dancer which is a double that thrives in the heat, also with Samba Dancer it slowly developing into quite an attractive bush[taken 3 years haha] so very happy with that.

Thanks Denise, those are three geraniums tucked underneath Prosperity and my rose tree.

Farmer D

Lots of nice ones out there!

Another Heartbreak hotel, geez this is a prolific one!

Wow!! thats just fantastic Chris.

Heartbreak Hotel is a real beauty.

Nice cloudy day so far this morning.

I love it, Denise!  I'm going to pot my babies up today as well.  I think we got ours around the same time.

Chris, you're going to love Heartbreak Hotel.  Lots of nice blooms and a pretty little bush.  It's a slow grower, but not the slowest that I've experienced in my conditions.  :)

Beautiful blooms everyone!!!

Hot Southern Nights cut and put in the shade, Saffron and a new Andenium I have grown from seed, a sort of red and black so nice and different.

Happy Friday All!  Where did April go???

John that is a really nice Hot Pepper you got today and that Jungle Fire is still looking very colorful to me as well.

Chris - HH is a knockout - just an amazing color combo on that one!

David lovely HSN blooms - I can't wait for mine to bloom...

Got some really bright colors today with AG & PS.  Wow PS really is just a killer bloom today.  I prefer these colors to the summer colors that are mostly red & yellow.

Farmer D

a few more...

Farmer D

Spring has sprung. I came home from playing golf late this afternoon and noted the brilliant colors of heavy metal next to my driveway. I grabbed the camera and once I started looking around I just kept shooting. Here is Heavy Metal twins, Herm Geller, Velvet Illusion triplets with an orange Banksia on the left.

Erny

Haut coutere, Simple Pleasures profusion, and two different looks of Love Story.

More: Living legend, Black Dream profusion, Me Oh My Oh, Electric Orange, and Hot Pepper.

Eye of Kali, Jazz, Fifth Dimension triplets, and Velvet Illusion and Simple Pleasures with a Banksia on the left and King Protea in the foreground.

Renaissance Blue, Fiesta, Lady in Waiting, Sun Shower, Kinchen's Yellow, and Magnifique.

And finally, Bessie as a single, Georgia's Pearl, and a crimson mandevilla.

Fantastic, Ernie! When did you move to the tropics!!

Charlie

Charlie, I didn't want to move to the tropics so I've done my best to bring the tropics here. My motivation was the same as Darren's. After my first visit to Hawaii I fell in love with their tropical plants and wanted to convert my yard into a miniature Hawaii.

Erny

Erny, your hibiscus are looking great.

This High Voltage was a little over 9 inches.

Wowie... Outstanding blooms!!!  :o

My bloomers today:

Caramel Toffee
Byron Metts
Moonstruck

Deb  ;D

Wow Erny the blooms are coming fast and pretty now...I still think you're just getting started too.

Deb that Caramel Toffee is a very distinctive bloom - impressive!

John that's a whopper of a bloom there with HV.  Mine today was barely 6" but the plant is just getting going again after a rough stretch during the end of winter.

AG continues to impress....

Farmer D

Gorgeous High Voltage and another wonderful Palm Springs.

Farmer D

Best SLIH yet and The Path looking so pretty...

Farmer D

Deb, I have to agree with Darren on that Caramel Toffee--one of the outstanding brown cvs. I'm a big fan of Moonstruck as well.
John, very nice large HV.
Darren, very subtle mentioning SLIH and The Path which are nice but omitting any comment on T. Lavender Mist that is off the charts.

Erny

A few of today's blooms: Romeo twins--notice the profusion of blooms on the climbing rose; last year there were only a few but i think it has benefited from the HVH Special Blend, Booster, and Supernova that Romeo is getting.
Sun Shower
Georgia's Pearl sextuplets--fighting off the invasion of the purple geraniums.
Love Story sextuplets.

Erny

Nice Romeo, Erny. I remember making a hanging basket out of one a dozen years ago. It bloomed a lot and the branches draped nicely over the basket.

Below is a photo of Red Light and Radiant. I'm still evaluating all the new red flowers from the last couple of years. Red Light is impressive in size and longevity of the blooms. Once customer ordered all our reds this year which I though was a great way to find out how they do compared to each other. Unfortunately, that person is not a forum poster.

Anyway, this photo is of flowers that opened inside our kitchen and are being held by Cindy for some size perspective. Radiant is set back a little but this offspring of Saffron and Cosmic Gold is averaging about an inch larger than Saffron blooms, which is saying something! It will be available later this summer.

Charlie

Nice bright ones there Charlie!  I am a sucker for reds,  I have Heart of My Heart which I recently got back, really happy because it has such great form and texture that I find really appealing.  Not too many CVs that have that, except dragons heart. 

I have really red coming as it appears to be a really unique red, how does this compare one compare to your other Red CVs?

Erny, your Sun Shower is finally showing some gold spots.

Erny I'm just loving all of the blooms you're getting now.  That is the most Georgia's Pearl blooms I've seen at one time ever.  You can definitely see where Acapulco Gold gets a lot of it's genes from.

John your blooms have so much color now.  Just gorgeous!

Got my best Cindy's Heart so far this season this morning - sorry the shot isn't in perfect focus but the colors are so rich it still looks great.  I love it when they bleed into the white.  High Voltage does this well too.

Farmer D

What the heck - I love this one so one more...

Farmer D

Thanks Charlie. Some of Romeo's blooms can tend to hang a little but you can see in this picture that it is a nice full bush.

John, Sun Shower is really starting to show its spots but it still has a long way to go to match yours.

Darren, that Georgia's Pearl is really a nice cv.  I think it has been used frequently in the Tahitian crosses.

Erny

I finally was there when T Pink Princess opened and was able to get some photos of the opening colors. Very pretty for those who like lavenders and pinks. It does fade some, as we've seen, but it's pretty both fresh and faded. This flower was 7 inches.

Charlie

Charlie thank you for sharing the latest pic of TPP.  Each new bloom seems nicer than the last.  I really like what I'm seeing with this one and it is such a far cry from what it looked like when I first got the plant last spring.

Did you take any grafts yet from this plant?  I'm thinking it is in the wrong kind of soil (no perlite) so it still might have the potential for even better blooms maybe.

Anyways always exciting to see pretty results.  Here is the pic from the same plant a day after I got it from Florida.  Whatever they were doing with their plants wasn't nearly as effective as what you're doing...

Farmer D

Chris, I agree about Heart of My Heart. It is a unique bloom still widely collected around the world. The new bunch of reds is still being evaluated - any feedback here is appreciated. Before I started cutting all the wood, Really Red showed itself as a perfectly formed, shiny and impressive red. The plants are also very pretty and well behaved. The flower is not as large as Red Light, Red Flag, and Red Cape but the flower wowed us when it bloomed on the seedling.

Charlie

I really like the colors on T Pink Princess.

Got my first Splash bloom today - like last year mine are really dark so far.  I hope as the season progresses they get more pinks involved.

Also starting to see some gold spotting on SLIH which has me really excited.  I can't wait for this bloom to get much darker with the spotting.  The rate at which this cv grows is astounding.  5 feet in less than a year in a non-tropical climate.

Farmer D

Got one of my prettiest Vin Beaujolais blooms today too.  I really love the pinwheel form of the petals on this bloom.  I'm still thinking this plant is getting a little too much water still from a nearby sprinkler.

Farmer D

I got my first bloom of the year today. No surprise it is my old reliable Simple Pleasures  :)

Darren, in reply to your question about propagating T Pink Princess, not yet due to the new growth still being too soft. My biggest concern about it so far is that the many stems want to grow a few inches and then bud up and slow or stop growing. Only one new stem is more than a foot long so far. If it continues like this it will rival Double Date for being one of the most compact hibiscus around.

Charlie

Denise, congrats on your first bloom of the year.

I don't know how unusual this is. I just noticed my High Voltage has 2 buds on the same stem.

Starting to see more typical warm weather colors. Rum Runner is finally showing its vibrant opening colors. Also two different looks of Haut Coutere, Velvet Illusion, and , finally, A Schlumbergia variety (Easter cactus) bloomiing in the shade amongst the Bromeliads with a faded Rum Runner on the side.

Erny

Some more: Night Fire and its bush (between Haut Coutere and Simple Pleasures).
                 Love Story and LS quads
                 Living Legend profusion

Awesome blooms everyone!  :D

John - Cool Siamese HV!
Denise - Yay! Very pretty SP!
Darren - LOVE Splash! So glad I snagged one when I had the chance ;D
Erny -  Thanks! (Caramel Toffee) - Amazing jungle you have there!!!
Charlie - Sooo beautiful! (and the blooms are very lovely, too - LOL!)
Kristen - How's that greenhouse coming along?

Today bloomers...

Cindy's Heart (stretching out - almost to 9" now!)
Byron Metts
Nightfire

Deb ;)

More:  Electric Orange
          Unknown; can anybody identify this one? I got it at a commercial nursery and lost the name tag. White with pink veins/rays and yellow border.
          Hot Pepper
          Rum Runner sextuplets on a small plant

Last group:  Fiesta
                 Wheel of Fortune and Gil Whitton; GW is planted behind WOF in a hedge and its branches have grown through giving the appearance of different blooms on the same plant.
                  Prima Ballerina as a single starting to show whiite spots
                  The Path
                  Sun Shower getting some more yellow spots

Hi everyone
Your plants are looking very nice I have a simple pleasure also for today , I's cloudy and raining so kinda hard to get a good picture . Darren & Ernest  I bought one of those electric sprayers that Ernest posted on the forum a while back it should be in, in two days its the best looking one I"v seen .
http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/gallon-master-gardner-cart-sprayer-battery-powered-p-1775.html

Doll, that is pretty rare. I see it once or twice a year, don't know the cause.

Charlie

Here are some greenhouse photos  - some old, some new.

Tiger Cub - this is the first flower not from the original seedling plant. Bloomed with petaloids, softer colors on this cloudy day than I saw in more sun.

Snow Angel - pretty blue and white that is Mtn Air x Snowstorm

Dream Catcher - second day of this fine flower, Moonstruck x Haute Couture

Mandarin Sunset - still opening, big bright flower

Energy Blast - 3 energetic flowers

Seedling Mtn Air x Creme de Cacao - big shoulders still unfolding on this bloom. Not a Fascinating Foliage this time.

Charlie

Wow it really must be spring!  Loving all these blooms!

I really like Snow angel alot Charlie, is that one on the list for later this year?  That and Thunder Egg are two that I am holding out for :)

I am back in So Cal for a few days, Cindy's Heart decided to welcome me :)

Wow Charlie... The new greenhouse bloomers are all awesome (Tiger Cub is sooo cute)! But I'm REALLY loving "Energy Blast" and "Mandarin Sunset" (Mm-mmm... Orange... Yummy.)

Chris - Beautiful CH!  I think Cindy's Heart is winning the Spring Bloomer sweepstakes (OK, Darren - Acapulco Gold definitely has it for the most blooms on a single bush in a day)  8)

So Chris - Who's minding your 'biscus while you're in SoCal soaking up the sun?  I have my lights on timers now... But I still haven't trained the hibs how to fetch their own water... yet  ;)

Here are a couple of current shots of the indoor jungle room (I've created my own ecosystem!). I have at least six buds showing serious color... So the next couple of days should be very interesting!  :D

Wow deb that is quite the room!!!!

I pretty much watered them really well and left water in their trays.  At 68 degrees, they should be ok for one week without water, I hope...

Deb, love your suburban jungle. I expect to see Tarzan swinging down on a vine at any moment.

Hey Chris, how long are you in SoCal? Orange county is only an hour's drive from the valley. You could even pick up Darren on the way. I'm home all day Wednesday and Thursday.

Erny

Ernie, that Romeo bush is a real surprise. It made a terrible smaller pot plant but it just goes to show that given enough time, space, and decent conditions many exotic hibiscus can "shape up". You probably have the best collection of bigger, older bushes I've seen anywhere. Now that you're giving them some extra stimulation via good fertilizer and Supernova they are also becoming bigtime bloomers. Nice job all around!

Deb. love that jungle of yours. It's a very impressive indoor garden room.

Chris, Snow Angel availability will depend on how fast the stock plants grow. All Mountain Air offspring are being watched carefully for bush qualities since Mtn Air itself has a lot of flaws. The Mtn Air flower is large, heavy textured, and spotted and of course has all the potential for a wide range of blue to brown flowers so I've used it for crossing the last couple of years to see what we can get that is also a solid bush. Time will tell.

Charlie

Erny, sadly I am only here for a few days.  Too bad because I would really love to see your tropical oasis, especially the protea :)  For now pictures will have to suffice. 

Charlie, I am looking forward to seeing how this one does.  I havent any mountain air bush pics, is it s sprawler?

Thanks Charlie. I owe all my new success with my old plants to you and Cindy and all the other contribuors to this forum that have provided so much helpful advice.

Erny