Cv's you hate but LOVE

[Nievesgirl]

I think it would be fun to name a some Cv's you love but hate at the same time LOL  PS this is my own experiences with these CV's others may have different results.

I have a few on my list.
Nightfire
Haute Couture
Dragon's heart
( this uknown CV I bought as Lady bug)
Black Dragon
Blue Ballerina

Wild Dreams only because its a B**** to get it to branch lol

Here are the reasons for the rest:

Nightfire: Hate it because it at a medium rate grower but it takes so long for it to get blooms. I had it outside for the fall winter and it looks like a nice lush bush with no blooms LOL I just cut a bud off because it needed to be pruned. When it was at my apt it was growing like crazy and it was in direct sun! Why I love it ? its blooms are AMAZING ! the bush is upright and easy to deal with.

Haute Couture:
This one I have had for a LONG time. It is probably one of my slowest growers. I plan to repot it soon so maybe this will help it grow a little faster. I usually look at the growth of the branches and leaves before I decide to repot. HC looks like it has barely grown since I got it so long ago. It seems not to branch for me like WD.
Why I love it ? Its blooms in the craziest conditions ! HC has produced blooms under my lights easily. It almost died on me like 2 times ( spider mites) but it is a trooper it jumps back if as nothing has happen to it ( was producing blooms with bad spider mite infestation) . I took HC to work hoping to get more leaves and branches on it.  So far it looks the same its been at my job for months now LOL Its so stubborn. I did prune one side of it to see if it would get it to branch. problem is I only have 2 branches so I don't want to cut all leaves off.

Dragon's Heart:
Sadly this is the one I really hate !!!! its almost like NF. This one grows really sloooow. I have only seen 3 blooms on it since I got it last year. I have taken it to work several times to try to get it to grow more and bloom ( epic fail). Its bush gets really lush but like NF hard to get growing and bloom. I repotted this CV to see if that help so far not really. Why I love it ? well this one maybe is the only one I can't say I love love lol. I do like the blooms though. The texture is thick and they last for a few days ( at my office anyways got a bloom that was 3-4 days old) I will give this one, one more chance before I just give it away lol

Unknown CV:
This one is similar to HC. Grows really slow ! I been pruning it and trying to get it to branch ! This one bush is chaotic ! It grows all sorts of directions ... Its not a floppy bush its just spreads out in a weird way. Why I love it? It is a trooper like HC it almost died on me more that 2 times ( I really didn't care if it did lol) but its fights back. It seems to be drought tolerate ( this is how it almost died and mites)  It also blooms under my lights and it gives lots of blooms once bush is in order ( has lots of leaves ) The blooms are also nice looking. I used it for one or 2 crosses or 1 I sent to Charlie so we will see if its seedlings may work out. I will try to cross it some more.

Black Dragon:
This one's bush I can not stand.  It grows so crazy and I tried to steak some of its branches up ( epic fail) I now just let it grow wild like it wants to lol. I also having a hard time getting more blooms maybe because it likes lots of real sun. Why I love it ? Grows at a good rate for me, branches well ( even though they come out crazy positions) Its blooms again are amazing ! Huge blooms and it flowers under my light when it wants to.

Funny thing is all of the Cv's I have mention above are some what mite resistant. They either don't get infested with them or they just bounce right back if they do get attacked.

Blue Ballerina:
Unfortunately this beauty died on me I hope to try to grab another this summer if available. It was a super slow grower for me. The bush was ok for me as well. It died and I have no idea why Why I love it ? Blooms so much and would produce blooms under my lights. The little flowers are just fantastic.

I may add to the list once I think about all the 100's of cv's I have lol

[helixturnhelix]

LOL I appreciate this thread.

For me:

Belle du Jour:  Love the blooms on this one, but darn it, it ALWAYS is the first to get mites and defoliates, then I have to wait for it to bloom again.  It doesn't bounce back as quickly as others.

Vin Extrodinaire:  Probably my favorite bloom to date, but when Charlie said difficult bush no jokes there.  It is really thin and delicate, and when it is unhappy it will just stop growing or doing anything until you fix the problem.  It always gets Chloronatic on me so it needs regular iron and magnesium supplements.  At least it doesnt seem to decline when its unhappy so far.  It also seems to be one that LOVES hot weather.  When the temps were regularly in the 90s, it was growing growing.  Now that I am growing it under cooler conditions, it seems to be pouting...  I am hoping by summer it will be happy again, and am planing on crossing Vin with My Blue Heaven this summer, as MBH has an awesome and beautiful bush.  Hopefully bush and flower combination with that cross.

Cherry Appaloosa:  Still waiting for it to bloom, and such a wacky bush!

Velvet Illusion:  Bush is lanky, slow grower and poor bloomer.  Replaced for Dragon Slayer.  

Agree with you one Dragon's Heart, takes a while to bud up.  I would say trying morning sun and afternoon shade, it did the best under those conditions for me.  When it blooms in the dark colors, it makes it worth the trouble.  

Shockwave:  Still no blooms, but really really hates to branch!   I finally have maybe three possible branches and that is with supernova!   I cant wait to see the blooms on this one though.  

On a side note:

Geronimo:  Surprisingly easy to grow and nice looking plant.  I see buds    

[davidwood]

I only have one and there is no love just hate ha ha, Saffron. I just can’t get it to bloom or accept the sun here, I have tried allsorts but the leaves will crisp up in the sun and when it did bloom [3 times in 1 year] it was a pale brownie color. Just last week Kristen wrote how Saffron never let her down with a lovely picture, so I now have it in a new pot ,more shaded with new fert and will see what happens. I have also taken a cutting in the hope that like in a lot of cv's it will far out perform the mother plant. Strange thing is I now have over 30cv's and with Saffron’s glowing reputation as a sun lover I never thought this would be the only one to disappoint.

Chris I also have Vin Extraordinaire, up until about 3 months ago it was as you say ''thin and delicate'', never bloomed and hardly grew. I decided to re-pot it and bring it inside and it just took off, its not bloomed yet and is slowly making its way back outside [still well shaded] and I was only thinking the other day this would be one cv worth having just for its foliage, its just beautiful, huge big glossy green leaves and a great shape, its dark now but I will add a picture later.

I think what this thread shows is how the same cv can perform so differently given even the slightest change in a situation, I suppose that is why we all love them and accepted the challenge of growing Tropical Hibiscus, it would be a pretty boring hobby if every cv grew the same as every other cv in any situation, no fun no exitement and nothing to talk about.

[Doll]

Just one for me - Bon Temps. Beautiful flower but it needs help opening most of the time.

[roadrunner]

Very neat thread.  I also have a few.

Bon Temps but for a different reason than Doll.  Gorgeous bush but never had a bud in the two years I've been growing it until now.  Maybe I'll finally be able to love it.  

Acapulco Gold: I absolutely love the blooms which are large and spectacular and even sometimes last 3 days in the summer. I hate the bush which grows fast, tall and lanky and just won't branch.  Too much space between the leaf nodes exacerbates the effect.  Those incredible blooms make it a keeper.

Blonde Ambition: I love the compact slow growth which helps with my space issues and it seems content to still be in an 8" pot.  I love the blooms which can be absolutely huge and stunning, but it's the worst bud dropper in my whole collection.  I think it dropped 80% of it's buds last summer, usually the day before they would have opened, and I've never had a thrip in my greenhouse so I think it's extremely sensitive to any kind of stress.

Cherry Appaloosa:  I actually got a great looking bush (there are some pics on the forum) and some very nice blooms, but it died very quickly after just a few spider mites found it.  Wasn't even an infestation.

Bluebird: Loved those gorgeous blooms and hated the very weak bush.  Every branch needed to be staked and it also had no resistance to spider mites and unfortunately has passed on to the compost bin.  Thankfully I have a few pics.

Voodoo Magic: I hate the weak wimpy growth but love the incredible blooms on those rare occasions when I get one.  Maybe the Super Nova will give this one a boost.

Night Runner: Fantastic Bloom (it had 2 before it died a quick death), worst bush I've ever seen

My final one is Rosalind which I really didn't want to include because it has absolutely a great bush and bloom to match. It is one of my favorites, but mine just doesn't have any resistance to the spider mite attacks.  It has been in a steady downward spiral all winter and it continues this spring.  I finally broke down and ordered the Super Nova in a last ditch effort to save her.  Hope Charlie has a few more in the works in case this doesn't work since this is one cultivar I don't want to be without.  It's one of my personal top 10.

dave

[Darkhorse]

Yes!  I love this thread, lol.



Night Runner:  The flower is awesome.  The bush is s***.

Haute Couture:  Mine grows very slowly as well.  I've barely noticed a change in HC since last fall, despite this plant being given a prime spot in the window over winter.  I will pot mine up in a few more weeks and see if that makes a change.

Black Dragon:  See response for Night Runner.

Valentine's Day:  An unlikely candidate but I can't for the life of me shape mine the way I want it.  I've had her for two years and still haven't been able to get a decent bush out of her.

Vin Extraordinaire:  Love the flower in photos but hate that I can't seem to get my hands on one. 

[blupit007]

Hmmm.....  I don't know if I can quite contribute to this forum as I am a newbie.  I think I am coming up on my one year anniversary in a month or two!  Awe   But this forum is too irresistible for me to not say something...

Haute Couture:  I have had a cutting in my cloner since August.... that makes 8 MONTHS!  It is still alive, and growing new leaves, as the old ones die... I am finally seeing a callus form.  However the callous has been forming for about 2-3 months now.... Oh boy.  I hope the bloom is as good as I think it is.  The anticipation is KILLING ME!

Belle du Jour:  I got 2 blooms off of the big gallon plant I got last year.  It was the first to get spider mites, and the last to get rid of them.  Then it started to die off section by section.  Luckily I have a good friend who rooted a cutting for me so I can give it another try.  The bloom is fantastic!

Nightfire:  I have a rooted cutting that was given to me as a cutting that was only about 2" big, I got it to root, planted it, and it is now...2" big!  I got it last summer....  Will it ever grow?

Despite all the negative, I still like the challenge!

Love Love Love:

Cindy's Heart: Nothing bad to say about her!

Saffron: (sorry Dave) but this one is a winner in New England, I will blow a good luck kiss your way for her!

Voodoo Magic: nice bush, nice bloomer, outrageous blooms!

Space Oddity: The bloom is breathtaking, bush is too small to make a comment on yet

Moonstruck: Upright, fast fast grower, quick rooter, out of this world blooms, although I have only seen a couple thought the winter here, but that doesn't say much, it is CT.

I will re-comment as needed
Kristen

[Charlie]

Some that I love the flower of but hate something else about it are:

Cherry Appaloosa - best red and white flower ever, slow growing and sprawling bush make it a chore but still worth it for me.

Night Runner - great flowers but the bush is so bad I didn't even grow any for sale this year and my stock plants are in decline

Black Dragon - again great blooms but sprawling, unattractive bush

Vin Extraordinaire for not growing well on its own roots. I grafted some this year and they will be available in a month or 2 as smallish plants in 4 inch pots. It won't change the delicate nature of the wood but the grafted ones I've had for several years are now 5 feet tall and bloom well. Probably not a good one for an outdoor garden but in a pot and as a protected plant in winter it's OK.

Haute Couture I like. It did well even in our outdoor garden so I dug it up and brought it with us when we moved. Plants are strong and upright although not fast growing. Perhaps it likes more sun and heat than it gets in indoor growing situations. It's an excellent greenhouse plant.

Zulu Warrior, Shockwave and Velvet Illusion - fantastic flowers on bushes that don't branch. Still worth growing, particularly Zulu Warrior because it blooms well on the branches it does have.

All hibiscus for not being more tolerant of cold..........

Charlie

 

[Charlie]

David in Vietnam - can't help but wonder if you did not get a real Saffron. Have you seen it bloom orange with a white eye? "Pale brownie color" does not sound anything like Saffron. Whatever color the main bloom was it should have still featured a prominent white eye. Did yours have that? In shade Saffron blooms more yellow but the more sun it gets the more intense the orange color. If you didn't get the real thing we'll have to fix that.

Charlie

[Nievesgirl]

Everyone is saying they hate Night runner lol Sadly I am getting one soon ! I just think the blooms are so nice I had to have one. I been thinking about getting night runner for years now.

[blupit007]

Kerry, where are you getting one?  I have looked for a replacement for the rooted cutting I had that my mother killed on me while I was away.  

[farmer d]

Wow, some surprising plants on this list which again makes me wonder about the differences between potted vs in ground plants.

Bon Temps - David I very well remember your unhappy complaint about how yours has never bloomed.  Could it be the individual plant?  My BT I got as a 4" last April and it has grown fast and bloomed like crazy all the way through this tough winter.  My best out of 40+ plants.

Valentines Day - I have two with round, lush bushes that produce a ridiculous amount of buds (one lost all it's leaves to mites and is coming back slowly).  I'd say these some of my most attractive bushes.  2nd pic is the defoliated by mites combacker.



Acapulco Gold - I agree it grows too tall and fast but David in Vietnam mentioned how he pruned it a lot and is feeding it Super Nova to get it to branch a lot more.  I have been doing the Super Nova first in hopes it will branch without pruning.  I do have several new branches forming so let's see but it is growing so tall at the same time with just 3 main branches.


My challenges have been Rainbow Sherbet surprisingly as it seems really vulnerable to dieback disease.  I have 2 plants and both had numerous cases during the winter - look at all the cut down branches!


Also Vin Beaujolais has just refused to grow in almost a whole year.  Finally showing lots of new growth.  I wonder how similar to Vin Extraordinaire it is?


I also have baby Nightfire and Black Dragons and am fully aware of their respective challenges.

Agreed this was a good thread.
Farmer D

[davidwood]

David in Vietnam - can't help but wonder if you did not get a real Saffron. Have you seen it bloom orange with a white eye? "Pale brownie color" does not sound anything like Saffron. Whatever color the main bloom was it should have still featured a prominent white eye. Did yours have that? In shade Saffron blooms more yellow but the more sun it gets the more intense the orange color. If you didn't get the real thing we'll have to fix that.

Charlie

I cant remember if it had the white eye or not, I am sure it will be a Saffron but I will take a picture next time it blooms and we will see. You never know with the new soil pot fert and location it may suprise me.

[helixturnhelix]

My Acapulco Gold had a decent looking bush,  It really takes two strong prunes to get a bushy bush, you need to just close your eyes and cut it back 2/3.  It grows so fast I bet you would have blooms by July if you did it now.  

Valentines day looks great, I cant wait to see a full blown pic of that one

Vin B, looks like its poised to knock your socks off!  I count 12 new growth tips, that means potentially that many flowers.  It is interesting how some plants just take that extra year to really get going and grow.  A good example of this for me was Bonnie Lass, took about two years to start going. 

The ground and in pots are two very different environments and I bet you will find that your bushes in the ground get huge and bloom much more than the same plants in pots.  The constant temperature and no restriction on root growth means, a much larger bush and flower count can be supported.  I am envious of your yard space and mild climate

 

[farmer d]

Awesome analysis Chris.  Thank you so much!