Hidden Valley Hibiscus Forum

Some color on a cloudy day...

Farmer D

Cosmic Gold putting out it's best blooms for me to date.  Large and perfect with some very nice depth of color this time of year.  Finally some color in that planter.

Ltf to rt: Legendary Pleasures (partially obscured by my Lane Orange Tree), Show Stopper, Cosmic Gold, True Love, Deep Waters, Incandescent, Bienvenue, Picante, Heavy Metal (front corner)

Farmer D

Darren, really awesome color on your Cosmic Gold.

Nice Cosmic Gold Darren!  That one had huge orange blooms for me up here, I really enjoyed it alot.

Silver Dragon looking awesome as usual

Janys, great deep pink and purple coloration!

A really unusual double Fly me to the moon.

John, beautiful colors on Black Dragon and Cindy's Heart. They seem tobe doing well despite the lower night temps.
Chris, what a surprise with Fly me to the Moon. Great colors on Janys.
Daily rains here recently are beating up many of the flowers but here are a few presentable ones from today.
Winter Lights
Silver Dragon--this has been a prolific bloomer lately.
Ruby Tuesday
Cherry Blue
Magic Crystal

Erny

John all of your blooms are just gorgeous and of course that Black Dragon is just amazing.  Always a stunner when that one blooms.  Your plants look like they're doing quite well and the forecast for this week for you looks pretty nice!

Chris that FMTTM is just insane.  Again my brain could never have imagined such colors together - absolutely brilliant.  And your Janys is looking mighty pretty too - love those colors!

Erny your Ruby Tuesday is the best one I've seen yet with that killer depth of color - for the purple/magenta pigmented blooms I think that the cold temps really work to their advantage.  Same goes for your Magic Crystal - I just love that one to death.  My MC plant looks like it is just getting back on it's happy feet since my vacation back in October.  I guess it was under watered like many others while gone.

I went around all my plants the last two days and collected/picked off all rotting dead buds and the like to make sure my plants didn't get anything nasty growing on them.  With the rain I had a few spent blooms that fell onto lower leaves and with the cold and wet conditions it just immediately started making holes in those leaves below as they quickly decayed.  Yuck!

Insane Rodeo Drive bloom today - the right colors that love this weather.  That eye is so shiny and almost black and so big.  Some just opened shots and sunset shots to see the color change.

Farmer D

Farmer D

Nice shot of some of my plants right below the porch
lft to rt: Living Legend, Scintillating, Tahitian Pretty Boy, Confection Perfection & Simple Pleasures

Farmer D

Darren, great pics as always. Rodeo Drive and T. Antique Purple are just off the charts. It is fascinating to follow the seasonal color changes. Many cvs seem to revert toward a somewhat bland red type while other such as your Rodeo Drive and my Ruby Tuesday show more atypical new color patterns. I don't have enough botanical knowledge to understand what drives the seasonal changes. Perhaps Chris or Charlie could shed some light on that subject.

Erny

So nice Darren, the gold colouring on Cosmic Gold is wonderful.

First bloom on one of my CH seedlings. I like the color but it was only about 5-6 inches.

Bright Horizon
Summer Shore
Rainbow Sherbert
Acapulco Gold
Flickering Flame
Slapstick

City Slicker
Deep Waters
Deep Waters bush
Daisy Mae

Luck Be a Lady
Silver Dragon
Velvet Illusion
Prosperity
Angel's Wings

Zelma
Chariots of Fire
Creole Lady
Winter Lights
Bridal Path
Curbside planter

John your seedling has a beautiful, soft look to it.  A smoothed out Cindy's Heart bloom with all that color is what I see in it - I like it a lot.  Do you know who the cross was with?  My limited experience with seedling blooms so far makes me think that the size you got is average for a first time bloom.  I'm hoping we have to wait and see if they increase in size as the plant matures and strengthens.  My Murphy's Law blooms have been around that size too so far so I'm hoping they will get bigger.  I want to first get my plant into a much bigger pot and see what happens once the roots really start to spread out.  I've put all my seedlings in direct sunlight now in hopes to start seeing some buds - got 4 plants so far.

Erny it looks like you're starting to get multiple blooms now on quite a few of your plants.  Don't they know it is the wrong time of year to start doing stuff like that?  Actually I am starting to see many of mine also bud up a lot now so this is getting more interesting by the week...the night time low temps have been great only getting down to the low 50sF but Sunday night is supposed to get quite cold as an inside slider will effect our weather - maybe even a cold wind event too unfortunately.

I super enjoyed your Deep Waters & Summer Shore multis along with those Slapstick twins.  Interesting how your Luck Be A Lady is differing from mine.  I like the look of yours more as mine seems to be a softer version.  Wonder if it is getting too much water and/or not enough potassium?

A nice surprise today as Chariots of Fire put out a dazzler with some very rich color and big size too.  This bush is recovering from severe dehydration and is looking much better.

Farmer D

Some nice day 2 blooms...

Farmer D

Up here in Ohio our hibiscus have been in door for a couple months now. Creme De Cacao is a constant bloomer, I have to say I love the winter look. I love the Mai Tai also, has a good looking bush also.
Patrick

Behave John haha, 5 or 6 inches, its lovely, I would be so thrilled with that, shows you are used to much bigger I suppose, thats all very normal for me here, whats the bush like and the size.
Gets me exited thinking about mine, I have 2 with buds on so hopefully soon.

Darren, that seedling was crossed with a garden variety Cile Tinney (double pink).

David, I do get spoiled with those larger blooms. The bush is very nice on this seedling. Branches out like crazy.

Acapulco Gold, Flickering Flame, Burnt Saffron, and Summer Shore showing multiple blooms on a daily basis.

Erny

Blue Ballerina
Bright Horizon twins
Inner Compass twins
Rainbow Christie
Front planter view

Creme de la Creme
Cindy's Heart twins
Old Spice

Patrick it is great to see and hear that you're getting continuous blooms indoors.  They are looking quite nice and I can't wait to see more pics.  Any special strategies you are engaged in to keep them blooming?

John & Erny those are all nice blooms for sure.  Those Bright Horizon twins are really special.

Today Summer Fun was the star with a really big bloom with great form.  I really enjoy the winter colors on it a lot.  

Acapulco Gold is really starting to bud like crazy - this is exciting.

Farmer D

Great pics Erny and Darren.

John Spice Cake is really impressive - a striking look on that one!

Farmer D

Sizzle and Scarlet Beauty put out some beauties today...

Farmer D

A very pretty bloom on Rose Quartz today. This is the third bloom on this young plant and each has been better than the one before.
Rose Quartz
California Beauty--another prolific bloomer
Gentle On My Mind
Valentine's Day--just opening


Erny

Magic Crystal
Rainbow Christie--day 2
High Voltage
Burnt Saffron

A lot of flowers seem to revert to red in the cooler weather.
Thanksgiving
Old Spice
Tahitian Burning Sands--day 2
Cherry Glow
Summer Shore

A few bush and garden shots:
Summer Shore and Blue Ballerina--two prolific bloomers
Group with Blue Ballerina in foreground and L to R Bright Horizon, Summer Shore, and Climax
Two front planter views

Cherry Ice is a nice red and white double. Bessie is a red color unlike any other I have seen with a bright metallic quality to it. Also Georgia's Pearl and Louise Bennett.

Erny, Summer Shore is amazing!

Hot Southern Nights Triplets

John that is just awesome - triplets!!  AG is looking great for December - a lot more color than mine are getting now...

Super awesome Flickering Flame twins today!!  The bush on this one is just growing like nuts the last three + months and soon to be one of the best bushes I have. 

Farmer D

Farmer D

Darren, my Palm Springs is looking a lot like yours--winter changes.
Palm Springs
Haute Coutere
Black Dream
Rocket's Red Glare--trying to be a double
Night Runner
Daisy Mae profusion

Erny

First freeze is coming this week. Have been busy all weekend bringing my plants inside.

Erny great bush shots!  They are looking great with no yellow leaves to speak of and pretty lush which is awesome for late fall.  Daisy Mae is just a wonderful bush - lots of vigor and really floriferous!  I love that white border around that darker red eye.  Wait till you see how big the blooms get in summer - your whole street will see them no matter where you look from.

John I love the High Voltage - this time of year it gets such nice bleeds of color.

Farmer D

Out of over 100+ hibiscus every single one is still growing strong.  Looking forward to the winter solstice being over and start to get back the day light instead of losing it.  Oh yeah - that's if the world doesn't end first :P

Farmer D

Greetings from the Great (not yet) White North...

Chris - Holy cow... Those are some amazingly vivid basement blooms :o
John, Patrick, Darren, Ernie - LOVING all of those "fall color" blooms!

Lots of indoor blooms here... Just wish I had more time to spend with The Herd and on the Forum  :P

Compassion (first bloom)
Easter Glow
Flirtatious
Frappuccino (long time, no see!)
High Heaven
Luck Be a Lady (first bloom)

and the rest...

Maui Masterpiece
Ruby Tuesday
Space Oddity (for Ernie - awesome color bands on this one)
Thanksgiving
Valentine's Day
A little Garden Party (Bienvenue, Compassion & V-Day)

Deb  ;)

Darren, beautiful pictures there. Special wows for Raging Bull, Vin Beaujolais, Sea of Tranquility, and Tahitian Antique Purple. I am also seeing continual healthy green growth on practically all my plants in the ground. It is interesting to see how many of the offspring of The Path, Rainbow Sherbert, and Georgia's Pearl revert back to blooms that show a pattern closer to that of the parents in the cooler weather. Slapstick is a good example as was Palm Springs that I posted a couple of days ago. Those that have Saffron in their genes also seem to revert back toward that pattern as well.
Slapstick--looking more like Rainbow Sherbert parent.
Rainbow Christie
Creme de la Creme
Acapulco Gold
Marianne Charlton--day 3

Deb, what beautiful colors you are getting. All look great. Your first bloom on Compassion is really nice and Space Oddity is a knockout. Love the color on your Thanksgiving as well. Mine was almost pure red outdoors here last weekend.
Saffron twins
Tahitian Princess twins
Tahitian Sophistication
Howard's Stage
Burnt Saffron--probably the largest one of these I've had at 9"

Erny

First bloom on a young Rosalind plant today. Also Valentine's Day, Hollywood Starlet, High Voltage, Heavy Metal, and Old Spice.

Erny

Deb your blooms are all so beautiful!  Just incredible form and presentation - you take such good care of your hibs.  Easter Glow & Maui Masterpiece really stood out for me.

Erny your blooms are looking just great.  I noticed your AG definitely has more color than mine so a good comparison for me to figure out how I can get it maxed more.  I just measured mine it is now 7'8" - and getting some beautiful branching down low with lush foliage.  I think in another year or so this thing is just going to be a gigantic beautiful bush of massive size.  It is already crowding out Saffron and High Voltage on it's sides.

Happy to see All That Jazz blooming again since I moved it back in April.  It came close to biting it a few times but I think she is in the clear now.

Farmer D

Erny your High Voltage is so pretty - love that color bleed

Black Dream is just amazing in cool weather...

Farmer D

Wow Deb, great blooms!

Erny, John and Darren always enjoy the outdoor blooms in the winter :)

Had my first Sizzle come and I like it a lot, its a much darker red than my photo shows, reds seem to be a problem with my camera they always show lighter. Loads of Acapulco Gold and I usually cut them and place somewhere nice for show, strange yesterday I had one with 6 petals.
Also had seedling bloom, Saffron x Transcendent and its an exact copy colour wise of my Transcendent but not as heavy a petal. Transcendent only gets to about 5inches for me here and Charlie says it can get to 10 but my petals are really thick and heavy and unlike any other CV I have.

That's all really interesting, David. The high temps of Vietnam are both a benefit and a challenge for the hibiscus.

BTW, is this seedling flower one of those slow growing seedlings you were concerned about earlier?

Charlie

Yes Charlie it is, all my seedlings are small and very very slow growing, this one bloomed on a bush 12 inches high, the tallest seedling of mine will bloom in a few days and that's at 2 feet. Not complaining and in fact very happy about that, but it is strange to me that they are an exact polar opposite to most the cv's I have from you which grow like crazy.
I did have some seeds sent from the USA which also grew like crazy, I only kept 1 and that is now 12 feet tall. they all grow in the same mix and have the same food so no idea why this has happened, sort of Bonsai Hibiscus.

There is one thing I forgot to mention and may have something to do with them being small, since the seeds sprouted they have known nothing but the full blast of the sun, sometimes temperatures well into the hundreds and for 4 to 6 hours a day, it cost me about 70% of my seedlings but I never made an attempt to shade them, at least now I don't never have to worry about these plants in the sun, sort of bred for my rooftop.

A couple of Cindy's Heart blooms

Darren - Loving all of the "fall color" blooms
Chris - Amazing Wallflower
David - Congrats on your seedling bloomer... What a beauty! Great Acapulco Gold lineup, and that's a really hot Sizzle!
John - Your Cindy's Heart blooms never disappoint

A few for me today, including two "I thought they would never bloom" photos...

H. Arnottianus
H. Kokio, red (finally! #1)
Cosmic Gold
Frappuccino
Pinot Noir
Pyrotechnic (finally! #2 - And definitely worth it!)

Deb  :D

John - sensational CH!

Deb great to see Pyrotechnic for the first time - very impressive!

Farmer D

It's great to see everyone's blooms in December.

Here is the second seedling , its quite large for me at 6inches, Safron x Cream De Cacao, to say I am pleased is a bit of an an understatement haha, I think its wonderfull. had a nice Valentines Day today as well, VD is one of the ones I nearly lost with the Root problems I had [lost about 10 alltogether], I did find a product that was a huge help but more on that later.

Nice color on your seedling David.

John your Cindy's Heart triplets are astoundingly beautiful!

A surprising and very nice version of Splash in winter colors.  Also a fun shot of LL that bloomed through the railing slats on it's own - pretty cool!

Farmer D

Chris that Wallflower is stunning, can you imagine if the central blue was bigger, amazing.

Surprised today to see my Celadine plumeria is producing new buds on quite a few of it's branches.  Up until this year it would lose all of it's leaves and shut down till April so this is very interesting.

Farmer D

Nice Darren, I think its a reduction in light that starts them to shut down and lose there leaves rather than the temperature, you must have had some nice sunny days.

Hello everyone! I haven't been on this forum in entirely too long! I've missed it! It is hard to get caught up on all the posts when you've been away for a couple of months! I have been browsing through the past couple of days trying to get all caught up. Everything is looking great.
My hibiscus are in a greenhouse this year, as my collection grew too large for the guest shower ;) I have an oil filled radiator in it, that I have only really had to use a handful of times so far. The sun really heats it up during the day and it has stayed warm enough at night except for a few very cold nights. So far, so good!

Here are some pictures.

Denise, your greenhouse looks like it is working out great for you.

Thanks Denise, John D, Darren, Chris, Erny, David and everybody who has posted those great December photos!

Here is our contribution - an indoor table full of blooms taken from the greenhouse this morning.

I hope everyone has a great Christmas, full of love and good cheer!

Charlie

Haha, I was expecting to click on and see a small bouquet Charlie, should have known better I suppose, great picture and a Merry Christmas to you and all the other friends on the Forum, its been a great year bloom wise and I expect 2013 will be even better.

David thanks for the plumeria input - now that the winter solstice has passed hopefully things will continue to go in the budding direction.

Denise great to hear from you - your gh is looking really nice.  Congrats and happy hibiscusing in there for you this winter.

Charlie that is a beautiful array of blooms for sure.  So nice to take that magic outside the greenhouse and spread it else where.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and whatever else makes your days special this time of year!

For me that would be the twin blooms from Meteor Shower today - the depth of color is intense and the red/pink is so thick looking when seen in person I'm not sure quite how to describe what color it is.

Also my first decent - nice Bienvenue bloom for me.  I've had this plant for almost 2 yrs from HVH and it looks to be taking off!!

Farmer D

Looking good Denise. That greenhouse should work well for you there. Am I remembering correctly that you are in Lathrop? That's where my great great grandparents established their farm when they came to California in the 1870s (via covered wagon).
John, your Cindy's heart just keeps producing nice blooms.
Darren, that Bienvenue was worth the wait. Very nice. Ditto Meteor Shower.
I haven't had anything worth posting for several days now. Everything seems to be resting.
Merry Christmas to all and a special hello to my British cousin David in Vietnam.

Erny

Seasons Greetings Everyone!

Loving all the gorgeous blooms and vivid colors... Yum!

Awesome display Charlie!

Some blooms from the chilly North, including three sets of twins...

Flirtatious Twins
H. Arnottianus Twins
Hot Babe
Space Oddity
Magic Moments
Ruby Tuesday Twins (in Buddha-Santa's bowl)

Deb  ;)

Merry Christmas Everyone

Darren those Meteor Shower blooms are very impressive.

My Cindy's Heart bushes were loaded with buds when I finally brought them in for the winter. I'm getting new blooms almost everyday.

Merry Christmas Eve! Thanks for the comments. Loving the pictures. Erny- I am in Concord. I think maybe Jordan is in Lathrop??

Hope Santa is good to everyone! :)

Denise

A little time lapse of our Ex Tiffany Treasure.  Thought I had photos.......will find them.

Merry Christmas everyone!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NGom_4XKdFk


Brent

Merry Christmas Everyone! Blooms are looking great! Haven't had any to share since October. Can't wait til spring! :)

Hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas Day. Today started off with a high of 76 but will get down to 29 tonight.

Merry Christmas & Hibiscus Greetings to All!

Deb I love the hat on the buddha - great blooms as always = 19F for you today, brrrrrrr....

John your CH is just going bonkers - enjoying every bloom with you as you post - amazing!

Fabulous Bon Temps and Exuberance blooms today - who cares it is a dreary cool day, got some hibiscus color and that is good enough to make it a great Christmas Day right there.

Farmer D

Farmer D

More winter colors for The Path & BD but Daisy Mae looking pretty normal.  It is probably one of the most consistent looking blooms I have in the garden.

Farmer D

Very nice, Darren. Thanks for showing.

Charlie

Thanks Charlie!

A nice Flirtatious bloom until I tore the petal while manually opening it.  It's at a point now where quite a few blooms don't want to open even though they are matured.  Our version of winter weather is enough to hamper the hibiscus in this manner currently.

Farmer D

HI everyone.  I was away for a long time. I just got a new camera. I'm trying to post a pic of Ay Caramba, but it's telling me the file is too large.  I downloaded it from my camera to "my pictures".  Anyone know how I can make the pics smaller to post here?

thanks.

Hi Maureen - are you using a pc or mac?  It is 400kb max to post a pic on here - cropping the picture down is a quick way of reducing the size of it.  Maybe not such a super close up and then crop out the stuff around it to reduce size.  Just a quick suggestion - I would google that if a pc.

One lonely bloom today - have quite a few for tomorrow hopefully!

Farmer D  

Some recent bloomers photographed with my new Canon... The upgrade in camera is finally allowing me to capture the amazing colors and detail of these incredible CVs indoors  :D

Maui Masterpiece
Orange Truffle
Red Light (just opening)

Deb   ;)

Wow Deb- your camera sure does capture the colors perfectly.  Very impressive and of course super gorgeous!!!

Farmer D

The Path on day 5 still got them happy colors...

Farmer d

Nice blooms, Darren! How is the situation with buds now? Do you think there will be an abundance of flowers like last January?

Charlie

Charlie, after about 10 days of nothing I now have a ton of buds although the hard rain yesterday knocked some off. I tried to take some photos but the buds are hard to see unless they are close to opening. My only decent bloom today is Pepper Spray.

Erny

Erny I'm hoping this is the low point for us as far as the lack of daylight and decent weather.  I am seeing the same thing too, mine are taking forever to open and quite a few I have to manually open or they just never do it on there own currently.  You have a ton more buds than I have though - I hope they all start to open soon...

Last night down to 39F so coldest for us so far this season...

Charlie I'll answer your question next year.

I would like to thank everyone who posted pics and comments throughout the year.  I know I super enjoyed seeing everyone's beautiful blooms and want to thank you both Charlie and Cindy very much for providing us with this forum to share our passion and enthusiasm for hibiscus.  May 2013 bring you all much happiness and abundant growth!

Farmer D

I would like to second Darren's sentiments and thank everyone that shared their experiences and beautiful photos on the Forum this year. And a special thanks to Charlie and Cindy for making it all possible/

Erny

Greetings from the Great White North!

I can't believe it's the last 5 minutes of 2012, and I'm more than happy to be spending it with my hibiscus and you all on the Forum   ;)

Darren & Ernie - Your hibiscus are still looking awesome (what a beautiful, lush garden/yard you have Darren!  It is the end of December, right?  LOL!)

Anyway-- A few more biscus blooms to share before the clock strikes midnight here in Michigan...

Bienvenue (showing some interesting colors)
Cosmic Gold
Gwen Mary
Pinot Noir
Ruby Tuesday (colors blazing in the flash)
Valentine's Day

Happy New Year Everyone!

Deb  :D

Happy New Year fellow Hibiscateers! Wishing a happy and healthy new year to you and your hibiscus. :)