Pride of Hankins

[Halibut]

I just did my 1st graft on an unknown garden variety and time will tell if it takes. I would like to try it on Pride of Hankins but cannot find any. I know Charlie does not sell the plants, or cuttings, but was wondering if anyone knows where I can buy a plant in the Los Angeles area, or get a cutting?

My sister wants Rosalind really bad, and my plant is large, but I need to propagate some rootstock first. I guess the only other option would be to get another Rosalind, but none to be found.

Any help is appreciated!

Hal

[Charlie]

Hal, that's the way to do it. Just get some wood and start grafting. After a little practice it gets a lot easier.

For root stock, Albo is at least as good as Pride of Hankins. We do have both 4 inch and 6 inch pots of Albo that can ship anytime. Not blooming now due to pruning back but plenty big enough to graft onto or to get cuttings from this summer. All my grafts are going onto Albo this year - no hibiscus can match it for root and top growth vigor.

Charlie

[blupit007]

Charlie,  off the subject a bit... can Albo cross with your hybrids?  I have tried a few times with no luck.  I really want a cross with that one.  I tried with Cindy's Heart the other day.

[Charlie]

Yes, there are a couple of people around the world who have been interested in hybridizing with varieties like Albo lacinatus. Brian Kerr in Australia is one who comes to mind. According to Brian the seedlings that he has gotten have been small and many have had the "frilly" edge that he likes. Here is one comment he made in 2009:

"The world of frilly edged blooms is very small and I don't think they will ever compete with big, multi-coloured, upright facing ones on compact bushes, but as a garden variety to hang in the background, they are a rewarding backdrop. Should I ever manage to get the frilly edge onto a larger bloom, 8" +, with competative colours etc on a nice bush, then they may be considered more equally. Certainly they will never compete for a place on the show bench as they, at this stage, lack the traits required.
Cheers, Brian Kerr."

You should try crossing Albo both ways - as pod parent and as pollen parent, to give the maximum chance for success.

[Nievesgirl]

Hal, that's the way to do it. Just get some wood and start grafting. After a little practice it gets a lot easier.

For root stock, Albo is at least as good as Pride of Hankins. We do have both 4 inch and 6 inch pots of Albo that can ship anytime. Not blooming now due to pruning back but plenty big enough to graft onto or to get cuttings from this summer. All my grafts are going onto Albo this year - no hibiscus can match it for root and top growth vigor.

Charlie

I am also looking for root stock thanks for letting us know about Albo I was eyeing it yesterday trying to figure out which CV I wanted.

[Charlie]

One nice thing about Albo as a rootstock is that it grows so fast and roots so reliably that once you have one plant growing well it will supply plenty of root stock for most people.

The biggest drawback to using Albo is that the nodes below the graft will often shoot out during the first year after making the graft. It's no big deal if you know to expect it and all you do is remove any new stems by cutting them off flush with the main stem they are attached to. That will prevent the stems from growing back.

Charlie