Hibiscus of the Year Award

[Charlie]

Food for thought, Chris!!!!


Charlie

[jj]

The discussion of hibiscus of the year award brings to mind the contests held for daylilies each year.  I am a rampant daylily grower but find that I do not always agree with the directions taken by hybridizers.   I like certain shapes, colors and not others, and I'm reasonably certain that those making selections for the hibiscus folks are the same.  I, for example, do not like the gray or most of the brown hibiscus developed.  Give me the bright colors and the dark centers as well as the pretty pinks.  If I were a judge, I would probably never chose a gray flowered CV to win.  The winners are not really the best new flower developed just the favorite of the the judges chosen to make the selection.  A system of giving certain grades or classifications to hibicus as they do with daylilies would be fairer and more consistent from year to year than having just one "winner".

Jan


Jan

[Charlie]

Hi Jan,

You wouldn't know it by the amount of attention paid to browns and other unusual colors, but sales have always shown that the bright, cheerful colored hibiscus are the most popular overall. HVH best sellers for 2010 so far are Acapulco Gold and Rainbow Sherbet although our results are also affected by how many of each variety we have to offer. For example, we didn't have enough Saffron or Simple Pleasures this year for some reason or they would have ranked close to the top.

I'd like to learn some more about how daylillies are classified. Could you give us the quick version?

Thanks,

Charlie

[Charlie]

Chris, I missed your post about solving the hybridizers age old quandary. If I ever finish the mystery maybe I should call it UNK x Unk. lol

Charlie

[helixturnhelix]

[nina]

For those who are interested in the HOTY.

The International Hibiscus Society has also a hoty programme. Basically, it works like this:
We have first a photo contest where people show their hybrids, with three bloom photos and basic info on parentage, form, substance and bloom duration. The membership by voting chooses the ones they like the most.

Out of those best ones, The IHS judges choose 10 that they consider the most worthy.

Those first ten ones are chosen for the hoty programme. We have four trialing stations, one in the USA, one in Germany, one in Sicily and one in Brazil, that grow and  test those ten hybrids for three years, submitting a report every six months with a detailed estimation about many characteristics of the bush and bloom, and photos of the bush and bloom.

After that, IHS judges (seven of them) vote, on the basis of all those reports, and the winner is chosen.

We encounter many,many problems in the hoty programme, but we struggle with them the best we can, and we hope that we manage, bit by bit, to promote by that programme a good quality hibiscus hybrid versus a sea of bad hybrids that are in circulation.
You can see the IHS winners,and learn a lot about our programme, our trialing stations, on the links:
http://www.internationalhibiscussociety.org/TPCPhotos/SOTY2003/soty_2003.htm
http://www.internationalhibiscussociety.org/HOTYVote2/index.htm 
http://www.internationalhibiscussociety.org/HOTY/2003/2003.HTM

[jj]

You are undoubtedly correct in  your assessment of the awards process.  I'm still here, now and then, waiting patiently to find a Copper Moon.    I don't suppose you've found one for me.  I am also very interested in and invested in daylilies.  The prizes for those seem to go to certain breeders. If you find a Copper Moon, please email me directly at jan-james@att.net.  thanks.

[Geneva]

This discussion is just fascinating to me as I have been involved in dog shows for years, and found that the award process does not select at all for the dogs most valuable for whatever purpose at hand (pet, hunt companion, guardian etc).
I'm also an officer for the Epiphyllum Society of America. We have an annual show that is open to all, but epis are difficult to propagate and market commercially; they take 7-10 years from seed to flower, and the plants are so slow-growing that hybridizers find it impossible to make any money at the venture, so mostly we are all in it for fun (no choice LOL). So the Best Seedling or the Best in Show flower are nice awards to win but as with hibiscus, certain varieties are found to be easier to grow and bloom while others are prone to rot or just plain poor growers and eventually die out. so awards need to be taken with the proverbial grain of salt.
I am very interested in getting together a western US Hibiscus society so that we can meet and exchange ideas and share our blooms and experiences....would probably be based out of SoCal but would welcome members from all over. Would include a quarterly newsletter for members. Need to get the foundation laid for our society and welcome input from those who are interested in participating! We could have an annual show but, as with the epiphyllums, the primary objective would be to stimulate public interest in hibiscus.
Charlie, you might enjoy the book called "Orchid Fever"...I couldn't put it down! 

[Ernest]

Geneva is right on the money with her comments about dog shows. My wife has been heavily involved with breeding and showing dogs for the past 11 years and I can verify the fact that the judging process is a joke. The outcomes frequently have more to do with incestuous relationships between judges and handlers than with the quality of the dogs. This is not sour grapes as my wife has been very successful at it and has had a dog in the top 5 nationally on a continuous basis for ten years. Just a statement of fact. I suspect that some of the same dynamic is in play at hibiscus shows.

Erny

[Charlie]

In all the years I've watched the results of hibiscus shows, it has been very noticeable that in TX shows the blooms of TX hybridizers win, in Louisiana the Cajun hybridizers, and in Florida the Fl hybridizers usually win. Even so, it seems that the locals who participate have a great time at the shows and they are a high point of the year for those who participate. No shows in California yet since no one has come forward with the time and skills to organize them. Might happen some day.......

Charlie