Indoor Blooms & things that get you through the winter.

Nice seeing all the wonderful exotic hibiscus!

PollyK, you have must have some juicy ones in that huge bathroom.

Love that pale yellow one that Boojum is growing.

Pixie, thanks for sharing that site, Hidden valley, and that one you liked called Saffon. I don't dare think about them as they can get so big. I will look at all of the others, when I feel strong, very strong, to resist.

We have an old one that we have had since the late 70's, but it is just a plain old red. It is now a huge tree and it's biggest gift is it's leaves that my DH uses to make the chocolate leaves for the yule logs he gives to all our friends for Christmas each year. They have just the right amount of oil in them to release the chocolate, plus they are big with nice veins. We were given a lovely pink hibiscus standard this fall as it had grown too big for the owner. No idea of the name. Lucky us! We have another fine peachy double one that is also a standard that I bought a couple of years ago at BJ's for 15.00, but we don't have any exotic ones except one that we did buy one at Logee called "The Path' in 2007, but it is still small and struggling. Patti

Hey Patti!

Do you consider my bathroom huge? Good grief, it's just a normal master bathroom. I'm almost nose to nose with the hibiscus when in the tub. The only place now I can go is up, and I think the hibiscus will handle that on it's own.

Cool making the chocolate leaves, using the hibiscus leaves.

I love the hardy hibiscus also.

Polly, that bath would be big for me, more like the size of our Vt Living room, but that is a tiny old house. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind a big bathroom especially filled with plants. I also like all the hardy hibiscus too. They do very well for us and provide that later summer blast of shrub color that we need. I especially liked Hibiscus moscheutos Old Yella (opens white with red center) this year and Fireball and Crown Jewels are reliable for me. Of course I love most of the Hibiscus syriacus and could use a few more. Do you have some favorites? Those, plus Vitex are good for our coastal area. Lucky us.

Here are some more things blooming away this morning in the green house. I pretty much dig up anything still blooming in Oct in the garden and move them inside to get a few more months of color out of them. Many will bloom all winter and some just keep blooming for years, like the begonias. I just keep pinching them back and they never seem to stop. I start cutting from many of them for bedding out in the spring, especially all the impatience and coleus. Patti

Trying to ignore the lovely hibiscii, dang it! ;o)

I don't think I can fit one in my already crowded window. But I have seeds, and if they're ok with partial shade, I could start one soon and have it ready to plant out when it gets warm. Woo hoooo another winter project!

Yes, Plum Crazy is a very favorite. Blue River 2 and Turn Of The Century always do well. New that I liked is Jazzberry Jam. One i want to get next year is Cranberry Crush.

In rose of sharon types I like all the Satins and Chiffon series, and the hybrids Lohengrin and Tosca.

Did you get some new lilacs, Patti?

This message was edited Dec 1, 2009 12:15 PM

woooowo Patti.
Those are beautiful collages

They are beautiful I would love a greenhouse here, but just can't justify the expense of heating it for the few plants I would like to overwinter.

Glad to see my cats aren't the only ones who like to chew on the spider plants!

My only current bloom. Cyclamen. The cat's been munching on it. Had to spray it with stinky deerfence.

On the other end of the spectrum, these do very nicely in the house, w/o much care. Their full sized cousins are tropicals grown outdoors
This is mini sinningea Freckles, just starting to bloom.

PollyK, Our greenhouse is not heated except from the sun and the wood stove in the house that we divert the waste heat back into the greenhouse to heat it before sending it up the chimney. The GH is the main source of heat for our house as a passive solar collector of heat.

We do have back up heat aside from the wood stove, which we try not to use because fuel cost are higher on Nantucket than almost any place in the USA. We built the house after the last oil crisis in the early 80's and designed it around the GH. It is a true machine.
Its first function is to be a free heat source, second as a wonderful place to hang out and grow plants. We have never lost much to the cold, but it does dip down pretty close to freezing at times and it gets wicked hot at other times. So if a plant is a finicky or too tropical, it gets tossed. We have a hand crank to open up the vent and a window at one end and a door at the other. It runs the whole width of the south side of the house. It works great unless it is cloudy or we get a lot of snow.

I love those cyclamen, but I not real good at growing them, though I have a few hardy ones who sometimes bloom for me in the dead of winter. I have never seen a sinningea and will have to go look that one up. Thanks Patti

I love the idea of using the leaves for chocolate molds!!! Gonna have to try it. I'm so happy you have joined the thread Patti and showing us your blooms! I knew you had a good collection. LOL
Boojum and her Orchids too! Now if I could get WillieB back on DG we'd have a heck of a winter bloom thread!
Phoebe quit tempting me with those AV's! LOL I've already purchased 2 new ones and have a bid on a third!! LOL

Haaaaaa!!!!! What did you get?

You already know, "Patches' & 'Rob's Bed Bug' (love the name) and bidding on Sophie right now.

Cool! Rob's has the best names!

http://www.robsviolet.com/miniature%20african%20violets.htm
http://www.avsa.org/Photographs.asp?Photos=R
Scroll down to Rob's on the 2nd link--There are older ones no longer on his website, but available through vendors.

What is thats one's name??? That is a STUNNING COMBO!!

Duh--forgot to put the name--Rob's Love Bite--it doesn't stay like that all the time, the leaves green up with warmer temps. Also have to be careful--the plant needs leaves w/chlorophyll in them to survive long term. That pic was taken last Feb I think.

OMG! All those plants are much too tempting for me---but I wrote down the names--just in case someone asks what I want for a present, although nobody ever does! And chocolate leaves--yum.

I just got Justin's hospital bill......$39,830.79 and thats not the neurosurgeon or the anesthesiologist!!! My head is spinning, hope the insurance doesn't give me a hard time!!!!!!!! I need more blooms......it's gonna be a long winter!!

This message was edited Dec 2, 2009 1:20 PM

wow that is a big bill - medical costs are outrageous.

nice hybiscus photo's - we tried thm here and the bugs won, and they killed the ficus trees we use to have too. not worth the effort now.

Ouch, Celeste! How long was he in?

After having 7 months of major medical expenses and surgeries since June, Blue cross of Ma cancelled my insurance yesterday. I freaked out, nearly had a heart attack, but after my DH called them, they said, oops, clerical error. Not Nice! They reinstated me. I was able to pick up my meds yesterday. I wonder if they thought I would just throw in the towel.

Pixie, I wish the best with them for you as that would cut into your plant budget just a tad! Hope Justin is doing well.

Here is a new kid for me. Hippeastrum Rock N Roll. Nice, but a bit short for the size of the bloom, but the second stalk may be taller. Patti

Send it to the drug company! Fyi--go over it with a fine tooth comb--they are usually inaccurate....

Send them a fake bill for cardiac services, Patti.

You can use mine! LOL!

Sorry to hear about that. It's bad enough having to deal with health problems. And then the nonsense with docs, billing people, and insurance on top of that! Good luck!

Gorgeous blooms, everyone. The folks at DG know how to get through the winter just fine. :o)

Very scary, those medical bills! Wish I had an amaryllis blooming---mine only sent up leaves.

Oh Patti, that is exactly what I fear!! Good grief, i'd have a heart attack for sure, and it is Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. So far they have been good about paying all or most of his care but I am on top of the billl and always pay early or on time. However, they have been boosting his rates at every turn, we now pay $10,000 MORE per year than we did 10 years ago but his status has not changed. When I see the bill the hospital sends, I can understand why they(Insur. co.) have to keep upping the rates. :(

Victor, to answer your question, 4.5 - 5 hours all together. Looking over his bill, the "box"(Vegus Nerve Stimulator) it's self was over 30,000.Those were 10,000 when the first one was put in. Talk about things skyrocketing!

I think I would call the hospital and ask to sit down with a billing expert to go over your bill--I don'y know that much about this end of things, but for 5 hours, not including the surgeon and anesthesia--seems like a lot to me--does it include the meds and supplies?

phoebesviolets, great idea, we have a good person on Nantucket. He even got me free airplane tickets to Hyannis, so I could come home on the week ends. Funny about the heart attack, as my PCP just had given me a stress test and an EKG 2 weeks ago for another issue I am having. It all comes at once. But I passed those just fine, so they think my ticker is fine. The doctor wanted to know about my daily exercise routine. Gardening. She couldn't understand that it was a real work out. Nor could she understand how a pump old lady could just keep going and going. They finally stopped the machine. I won!!!! Patti

Yay, Patti!! Go girl. Sorry about your near heart attack! Oysh! I know what you mean about everything coming at once! The good news is that you have periods where all is fine and dandy AFTER you fall apart!!

Thanks Pollyk for the hibiscus information. I did some homework tonight.

Blue River 2 (WANT)white http://www.accentsforhomeandgarden.com/catalog_i8265963.html?catId=292139
Turn Of The Century (MAYBE) bi-colored pinks to red http://www.accentsforhomeandgarden.com/catalog_i8265971.html?catId=292139
Hibiscus x moscheutos 'Robert Fleming' dark red (WANT)

Cranberry Crush.(WANT) http://www.gardencrossings.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=plants.plantDetail&plant_id=1523
Satins SERIES (WANT) Blue Satin® Rose of Sharon Hibiscus syriacus 'Marina'
Chiffon series - (WANT) for 2010 Hibiscus syriacus 'Notwoodone' and 'Notwoodtwo' 'Notwoodthree'
http://www.soonerplantfarm.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.kwsearchpost/variety/Hibiscus/index.htm

Hibiscus x 'Lohengrin' white (WANT)

hybridsTosca (MAYBE) http://www.bigdipperfarm.com/cgi-bin/searchstuff.pl?Botanical=Hibiscus
Jazzberry Jam. (MAYBE) http://www.gardencrossings.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=plants.plantDetail&plant_id=1144


These are the one we already have in the garden

Hibiscus moscheutos Crown Jewels
Hibiscus moscheutos Fireball
Hibiscus moscheutos Plum Crazy
Hibiscus moscheutos Old Yella

Hibiscus syriacus Ardens
Hibiscus syriacus Lil' Kim
Hibiscus syriacus Lavender Chiffon

Now about the syringa
we are adding more like S. v. ‘Frederick Douglass’, S. v. ‘Frederick Law Olmsted’, Hulda, Syringa x prestoniae 'Redwine' and ‘Cheyenne’, Purple haze. .. too many. Hopefully this spring.

I did add a few to my several unnamed ones so these are currently in the garden.

Monge
Albert F. Holden
Palibin
Madame Lemoine
Father John Fiala

Now I just need a bigger piece of property. Put that on my xmas list. Patti

Thanks, Boojum. DH and I worked outside today planting bulbs and pruning and it felt so good. My body is a bit sore tonight, but I am so happy to be back playing in the dirt. Good pain. Patti

Patti, great list!

Look at the website below. And look at Tosca and Lohengrin together. They go perfectly together, so I would suggest if you get one, get the other also. Height and all are so compatible. And the flowers on both are larger than the normal rose of sharon.

http://www.springmeadownursery.com/plants_h.htm#Hibiscus

Wow. Nice ones!!
I have white chiffon-a stunner.

love rose of sharon's - have a bunch here

I have one, but could really use another!

Do they prefer sun or part shade?

Sun, but will bloom pretty good in part shade unless it's too heavy.

I love them. Love the Chiffons. Lil Kim is nice. I must have over 10or 12 now.