Hibiscus: Wondering how to cross pollinate hardy hibiscus in Ohio, 1 by Michael_Ronayne

Michael_Ronayne wrote:
William,

I could only find one seller for the Morrison Mammoth Hibiscus which is this website: http://www.thegardenshopinc.com/ which lists flats with 72 plants each.

Here is the current product catalog:
http://www.thegardenshopinc.com/2010-2011_PRICE_SHEET.pdf, Scroll to Page 3

MORRISON HYBRIDS
HIBISCUS, RUBY JEWEL (36"TALL)
HIBISCUS, SPARKLE PINK JEWEL (36" TALL)
HIBISCUS, ANGEL EYES JEWEL (36"TALL)
HIBISCUS, WHITE BUDDIE JEWEL (36" TALL)
HIBISCUS, MIGHTY BIG PINK (54"TALL) (PP9555)
HIBISCUS, MIGHTY BIG RED (54"TALL)
HIBISCUS, MIGHTY BIG WHITE (54"TALL)
HIBISCUS, ROYAL RED DUCHESS (30" TALL)

The Hibiscus Capital of the World
http://my.pclink.com/~harley/hibiscus.htm
http://my.pclink.com/~harley/hibfaq.htm

Perhaps we should call The Garden Shop to see if they sell Morrison Hibiscus in quantities smaller than flats with 72 plants or could recommend someone who does. I might be interested in a sampler collection of the Morrison Mammoth Hibiscus.

Attached is a picture of 6 month old seedling of a hybrid between Lord Baltimore (pollen parent) and Blue River II (pod parent). The foliage resembles Lord Baltimore and while the plant is less three feet tall there is quite a bit of branching. The foliage in the background is that of another unrelated Hibiscus. The flowers are consistently over 8 inches in diameter and are pollen and pod fertile. What is interesting is that the red-eye is faded and resembles the red-eye in your photograph. This strongly suggests co-dominance and would make it easier to identify Hibiscus with the potential to produce pure-white or pure-pink offspring with no red-eye.

I am finding Lord Baltimore to be a very good pollen parent and I am working on the pod sterility problem.

Mike