Special FX

[Ernest]

Here are a couple of pictures of Special FX. The flowers are fantastic. The bush is just fair, not great. It branches fairly well but the foliage is somewhat sparse. I'll try to get a better picture of the plant in a day or two as there are some buds just about to open.

[Maureenpm00]

The blooms are very pretty, i'm not familiar with this cv, i will have to look for pics on HVH gallery.

[Ernest]

Hi Maureen. The pictures really don't do justice to the blooms. The colors are much more striking than they appear in the photos. The flowers are also heavily textured and last 4-5 days without fading. It's hard to find this cv anywhere today. I bought it 10-12 years ago from a grower in Texas called The Plumeria People. I was into collecting plumeria at the time (and still do) but just happened to notice that they also offered hibiscus in their catalogue. I really liked the pictures so I ordered a few.That led to several more and I still have about ten of the plants I got from them. Hopefully Charlie will take some cuttings and propagate it so that others can enjoy it as I do.

[helixturnhelix]

Wow Ernest, special FX sure is nice.  Not surprising since it is The Path x Athine, hybridized by Dale Dubin.

For those who do not know, Dale Dubin hybridized several important cultivars which have been used alot to make today's CVs.  His most notable cultivars include: Dragons Breath, Byron Metts, Tambion, Ruth Watson, Irene Collins,and Grand Hyatt. 

Several of HVHs cvs have these as parents

[helixturnhelix]

I would love to see what other old CVs you have!

[Ernest]

I got a bunch of hibiscus over about a two year period when I got the Special FX. Some have been in the ground about 8 years and some 4-5 years. I was totally ignorant about proper plant care at the time and just planted them and let nature take its course. Never fertilized or pruned any of them. Once I found HVH I started giving them the attention they deserved and have been rewarded with excellent growth and abundant blooms.
The older ones I still have include Black Baron, Donna Lynn, Double Date, Erika Nicole, Fiesta, Herm Geller, Gil Whitton, Prima Ballerina, Topaz Glory, Jazz, Fiesta, Wheel of Fortune, Kinchen's Yellow, Lovely Lil, Mary Louise, Mr. Ace, Rivero 2, Romeo, and Ross Estey. I'll post pictures of the blooms when they open and some photos of the plants to give you an idea of what they look like.

[helixturnhelix]

Wow Ernest!  I would like to see pics of those.  I really like Topaz Glory and Double Date, those two arent seen too much anymore! 

I look forward to more pics

[farmer d]

Wow Ernest that is quite a nice collection of CVs there.  I agree with the ones Chris mentioned and also would love to see Wheel of Fortune as some of the blooms I've seen of that one are impressive.

We're really glad you are on the forum and look forward to seeing you continue growing your successes...

Farmer D

[Ernest]

Topaz Glory and Wheel of Fortune are throwing out occassional blooms now so I should be able to post some photos in the next few days. Double Date has some promising buds but there is one caveat there. When I moved from Los Alamitos to North Tustin 8 years ago I brought my potted hibicus plants and put them in the ground. Some of the identifying tags got lost so I recently went through my records and tried to match up the blooms with the lists of what I had purchased. I think I've got just about everything accurately labeled now but there are a couple of which I am not 100% sure. Double Date is one of these. The plant I am almost sure is that is a slow growing one with a very pretty pink double. I would welcome any correction on this after I post a photo. I also have a red double that I can't match up with anything. I'll get a picture of that and would love to have someone ID it for me.