LOS ANGELES TIMES, Thursday, September 23, 1999
NOW HIBISCUS COME IN HOT HUES By Robert Smaus
Some of the hot new hibiscus showing up at nurseries are nearly unbelievable--the flowers are huge, the colors outlandish. A few are colored an unusual gray, and others come close to blue, but the color doesn't end there.
These new hybrids often have several additional contrasting hues--in the center or as rings around the edges. For instance, one that is mostly a steely blue-gray may have a red center with bands of red and yellow on its edge. One growing on my patio has a deep maroon center and is pinkish-red for the most part but has a pure orange band on its edge.
Other hybrids are speckled or blotched, and still others have crinkly petals. Many are flame-bright colors that can be seen from a block away.
"Some are so gaudy," said Frank Burkard of Burkard Nurseries in Pasadena. But, he added, "they're my favorites."
A few of these new hibiscus have been at Armstrong Nurseries for the last year as "Hotbiscus." Now developer Hidden Valley Hibiscus in Topanga is providing a 6-inch pot size to other nurseries such as Burkard's, and even to florists such as Pasadena's Jacob Maarse.
These hybrids are grafted to special root stocks that make for smaller plants with bigger flowers. You can keep them in these 6-inch pots for a couple months, then move them into larger quarters.
Charles Black of Hidden Valley says they can thrive in filtered sunlight with at least one hour of direct sun outdoors, or be grown indoors in a location that is sunny for a couple of hours (they're even being sold in Canada as indoor plants). What they really want is warmth (above 60 degrees). Expect the plants to get about 3 to 5 feet tall and flower all the time if you fertilize frequently.
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