November Flower Photos of the Day

[Mike]

Hi Ernie
The bottom seedling the red one was Victoria's Touch X Going Steady . the one that looks like heavy metal is unknown .

[Ernest]

Charlie, I had the impression that the blooms on my Saffron and Electric Orange were the same size. So I just went out and measured them and , as usual , you are right on. The Saffron blooms on two different bushes both measured 8 1/4" while the EO was an even 6". The EO bush may be better but I don't think it is legitimate to make a direct comparison because the EO has been in the ground about 9 months longer and is in a different microenvironment from the Saffrons. The Saffrons are out where they get pretty much full day sun exposure while the EO is open to the east and thus gets a lot of morning sun but is almost completely shaded from the west by a tangerine tree and my 7' Sun Shower bush.

[Ernest]

Thanks Mike. It's good to know that Victoria's Touch will set seed as it is an outstanding bloom.

[Ernest]

John, in reading your description of your hot weather watering problems it occurred to me that a drip system might be a big help. I seem to remember you once saying that you kept the plants in their pots when they went into the ground so as to more easily remove them when the weather turned. If that's the case then a drip system could automatically deliver as much water as needed right into the pot several times a day. I use a Dig brand Hose Thread Watering Timer on all my drip systems. It goes right onto any hose bib and can be programmed to turn on for whatever duration you desire four times per day. They are really easy to set up and program. It would be easy to remove when it comes time to move the plants and the set-up could be left dormant but remained connected until needed in the spring.

[davidwood]

Treating Cosmic Gold to a day in the shade for putting on a nice show today, cant believe its November 5th {Bonfire Night in England} and still scortching hot outside.

[Doll]

Erny, thanks for the tip on the drip system.
David, your Cosmic Gold is awesome.

[helixturnhelix]

John your Burnt Saffron looks great!  I like the cooler weather blooms on that one alot. 

David, Cosmic Gold is looking great! 

Two from me.  Seedling "Nightcrawler" flowering again, tons of buds on that one.

Wallflower (I think, I cant find the tag) first bloom on this one.

[Ernest]

John, that's a great set of photos. I agree with Chris--really like the look of that Burnt Saffron.
Chris, nice consistent color on that dark seedling. The second one sure has an interesting mix of colors.
Temps in the high 80s here today. Got my second bloom on Pepper Spray and it's a lot better than the first. Shading it really dramatizes it as well.Also Palm Springs, Ruby Tuesday, Sizzle on day 2, and Hollywood Starlet on day 2.

Erny

[Ernest]

A few more:
Rose Quartz
Gentle On My Mind
Summer Shore--day 2--this one is turning into a prolific bloomer
Blue Ballerina
Eye of Kali--my nominee for best hibiscus eye
Living Legend

[helixturnhelix]

Thanks Erny!  I love this seedling alot, I really wanted Dark Angel and this seedling looks like it is just as dark, so I am happy with it.  I am really enjoying your ruby tuesday as well!  

Another seedling flower today, Muffin Man x Unknown.  I know the parent is either Raindrop or Heaven's Scent, but the flower on this one resembles Muffin man, so it is hard to draw any conclusion on the pollen parent.  Form is a bit wonky, but the color is nice, I hope the future blooms are nicer.  

[farmer d]

Mike your new seedling is just fantastic!  Another real knock out for sure!

David, John & Erny: I think you're right on when it comes to the plants starting to shut down when it gets too hot.  I've noticed this year that when I placed my potted plants in the shade while out of town for several weeks and they got way more water from my sprinklers than I would normally give them while on the porch - that whole time they were in the shade they just thrived - sprouting new leaves and branches everywhere and looking a whole lot better than on the hot porch which gets that intense afternoon sun.  I thought it might be too much water but I'm thinking of it as a whole system for the plant.  Once it has more optimal conditions their appetite opens up and they can really get into that super growth mode and flourish like we know they are capable of.  Also being they are young plants maybe they need more gentle conditions earlier on until they can get really established and more hardy.

So the trick is finding that optimal zone and then getting them into that super growth mode.  I've just moved back all those potted plants to the porch last week so now I want to see if they drop out of that optimal growth mode or was it enough time for them to keep on going in this manner.  The weather should be a little bit more mild now so that should help I hope.

Today was a good test as the temp here hit 93F and was very dry.  On the good side the sun angle is getting pretty low now so only half the porch was really hot.

Farmer D

[farmer d]

I'm sorry but why are we losing an hour of daylight?  It is 5:15 and dark outside, I don't see the point of day light savings - I know this was all started for the farmers way back when but c'mon it's 2012...

Anyways yesterday I moved Meteor Shower about a foot over to make room for another plant and again I was shocked to see that the soil way deep down was bone dry in spots.  This is my south planter that faces to the north and during winter the soil doesn't ever see the sun.  So I am really surprised at this planter also having dryness issues.  Wow changing out the soil has made such a difference -much beyond what I thought possible.  Even this planter seems to be under watered though not nearly to the extent as my north planter where Bonnie Lass was located.

Again I'll say that I take back what I said earlier about BL not being heat tolerant.  Once I saw how bone dry the soil was all around her and way deep down it is a testament to her hardiness to have survived those conditions.  I hope I did not scare anyone off on getting BL - it is a fantastic cv for sure.

So I know it can be risky removing my hibs and then replanting them but out of over 80 I lost only 2 so that is pretty good results for me.  Seeing what is going on with the rootballs and the soil has been priceless.  David you mentioned that you saw no feeder roots and just some larger tuber roots on your plant(s) recently.  When I first removed my plants this past spring from the clay soil prison holes that is how they looked.  Really no rootball, just several large tuber roots leading far away from the plant in search of more favorable conditions. 

When I pulled out Meteor Shower a totally different story.  A huge rootball full of dozens of feeder roots along with several larger tuber roots that looked like they were searching out some more wetter conditions as again the soil was hit and miss wet and dry in my south planter.  You know I wonder if I mistook browned tipped leaves as fert burn from last year when it was dehydration.  Reason I am thinking this is because this year I am again seeing those brown tipped leaves and I have been very timid with using any fertilizer beyond just the HVH special blend, supernova and quelant-k (part of the time). 

I remember last year when it rained all my plants seemed to perk up which at the time surprised me since I thought it would be too much water and they would yellow and get root rot.  So maybe I had it backwards.  Now I am watering quite heavily still and hardly any yellow leaves to speak of so I think I'm getting closer to figuring out things with my new soil.  I will be focused on COF and RS which were next to Bonnie Lass to see with heavy watering if they don't start improving a lot soon.  Of course the weather can complicate things too as today 93F but by Fri 63F and chance of rain. 

Even with the mild fall so far the blooms have definitely started looking more winter like and are now lasting 3+ days which is surprising.  I guess it is the night time temps being the influencer here but nothing too cold yet with the lowest temps in the high 50s F.

Farmer D

[Doll]

Chris, your seedling blooms are awesome.

Here is a 2nd day Burnt Saffron. Really holds its color.

[helixturnhelix]

John, Burnt Saffron is looking great. that is one of my top favorite CVs

Day two Nightcrawler, gets an alternating grey and blue color on day two.  It is more silvery looking than a dull grey in person.

Nightcrawler's Sibling Magneto, really unusual color and metallic cast to the bloom.  

Heart of my Heart, a dark red mini that has perfect form and great color.  

[farmer d]

John I have really enjoyed seeing your spread of blooms.  I totally agree that both HSN & Burnt Saffron have been at their best lately.  Awesome!

Erny that Pepper Spray is sure a surprise - quite the dramatic look for sure.

Chris your seedlings are coming along so nicely - lots of metallic colors, very cool!

A fun shot of Valentines Day looking through to Living Legend, Scintillating, T Pretty Boy and Confection Perfection bushes in the background

Farmer D