Sizzle

[farmer d]

Hi Charlie,

The plant you shipped to me is a monster - it could have qualified as a 2 gallon.  It was so full with absolutely huge leaves everywhere. 

I planted it in a spot that gets a lot of hot sunshine from morning till 1pm then shade all afternoon.  I'm used to most of my new plants eventually losing their original leaves to be replaced by new ones that are tolerant of their micro-spot conditions. 

Sure enough all the leaves are slowly coming off but the difference is that there are few replacement leaves coming out while the old leaves fall off.  Additionally the original leaves were very pale green and looked more fragile than any of the others I have ordered from HVH.  It does have it's first buds starting to grow so that is on the positive side.

The bio for this plant only lists Saffron as the mother I believe, so I was wondering who the other parent is and if that might indicate if the spot I have it at might be too hot even with half day afternoon shade.

Thank you as always and any recommendations you have are always welcomed but no life and death here.  I can supply a pic if needed too...

Farmer D

[Charlie]

Thanks for that report on Sizzle. It grew from a seed harvested from a Saffron plant with no tag. One of my impulsive crosses when no tag was handy. I hate it when I do that and it comes out good but I always feel its better to make the opportunistic cross even without a tag. It's also hard to tell what the other parent might have been in this case. It is a monster grower and the flowers are sizzling! Please let us know how it fares as it continues to grow in your yard. Thanks.

Charlie

[farmer d]

Thank you Charlie for the quick reply.  Here is a pic of my Sizzle.  It doesn't look all that great currently so I'm keeping a close eye on it.  I wonder if the metal framing of the air conditioning unit is a heat problem for it?  Best of Times near by doesn't seem to mind it.

Farmer D

[Denise]

I just purchased this one on a total impulse. I have never heard of it before, that I can recall. How is yours doing now Darren? I hope better!

[farmer d]

Hi Denise,

Congrats on your Sizzle purchase.  I have a feeling when it blooms it will be pretty amazing.  Mine unfortunately is really unhappy and barely hanging on with this really cold last two months.  It is still alive for sure but has yet to stop going in the wrong direction.  Hopefully it will like this warmer weather we're currently enjoying.

It lost all large leaves after this shot last month.

Farmer D

[Denise]

Oh jeez...I guess I'll take this as a warning that I'll really need to try babying this one! Hopefully I'll do a better job babying it than I did my Tahitian Princess. At least this time I'll be armed from the get-go with my HVH fertilizer and Supernova.

Good luck with yours and thank you for the response!! Oh- did you move it to a different spot away from the air conditioner?

[farmer d]

I did move it away from the air conditioning unit as that just seemed too hot a spot for it even though it got sun only till about 1pm daily.  I think the metal framing of the ac created too much ambient heat during summer.

The leaves on Sizzle are really large and thick yet are a more pale green - at least with the one I got last spring.  My thinking was too move it to a more shady spot and see how it responds.  Unfortunately just moving a plant and then putting it in a cool and wet spot during winter will make any hibiscus unhappy.  So it's a waiting game until summer to see how it does. 

I really like the bloom pics a lot so I'm crossing my fingers as well as spraying with SN as appropriate.

I hope yours comes with some buds so we can see how it blooms.

Farmer D

[farmer d]

Long overdue update for Sizzle.  Unfortunately my plant from last year did not make it - I took a chance planting it in a tough spot and I paid the price.  So I ordered a new 6" that I received late spring.  

I am very impressed with this cv, the vigor and growth rate I've seen since late May has been astounding.  This plant has nearly doubled in size and is budding up like crazy all while being under watered as I try to gauge how much to water my new soil here.

I recently had my first exceptional bloom with flawless form and large size for this time of year.  More to come for sure for Sizzle.

Farmer D

[farmer d]

Farmer D

[farmer d]

My Sizzle plant seems to have really gotten into a good groove as the blooms are now showing great form.  The winter colors are just beautiful as the eye really stands out now in pink which is then surrounded by a very intense orange.  With the dark green foliage of the bush the blooms just jump out at you.

Farmer D

[farmer d]

I decided in early summer to move my Sizzle plant from the hot & sunny spot in my front yard to a shady and cool spot in the backyard.  It hardly flinched when uprooted and replanted.  My reason for moving it was I wanted a bloom with more variation in colors.  Seems the intense sun made for a more monotone bloom so I'm hoping the cooler conditions will bring out some patterns or something.  Seems like some cvs get more color in the sun while others get more in the shade.

Well today it had it's first bloom since the move and WOW what a difference.  I would think that also the climate conditions this time of year are playing into it as well but if you look at the above post pictures they are from exactly one year ago so it must be the move.  I am very happy with the results!

Farmer D