A Few Blooms From Ft Lauderdale, FL In The Past Week

Howdy. Here are just a few pictures of Hibiscus blooms from the past week. Not many blooms right now as plants are adjusting to the summer heat/humidity and high nighttime temperatures. This is Hibiscus "Eye Of Kali"

This is Hibiscus "Braveheart"

Hibiscus "Black Dream"

And the last one you all probably immediately recognize by now........"Misbehavin"

Jon

Just gorgeous, Jon. Have you entered any shows this year? Looks like you have some ribbon winners here. Thanks for sharing with us.

Hugs,
Judy

Thanks much Judy. No, I haven't entered any shows this year. The closest show was in late April and I didn't have any decent blooms the day before or the day of the show. Sometimes it just works out that way and the timing of good blooms doesn't happen when you're hoping for. Have also decreased the number of varieties in the collection from around 50 to about 35. Removed some of the older plants from the collection as they're not blooming as well as they used to and the plants were probably 5-7 years old. Would like to add more, but it seems to be much more limited in terms of what's available this year. Has anyone else noticed that also? Not nearly the number of choices compared to the last few years. How are your hibiscus doing Judy? Have you added new ones this year?

Nice pics! Was that Eye of Kali from the co-op with Robert? I hope my Misbehavin' comes back...it's looking kind of iffy right now.

I agree, not as much to choose from as in years past. Can we blame it on the wacky weather patterns or the economy? When all else fails, buy clematis and fuchsias! :-)

Just beautiful, Jon!! Love that Eye of Kali and your Misbehavin' Looks great :-)

Thanks. I believe Eye Of Kali came before the co-op.... at least I'm pretty sure it did. Recall specifically asking about that one and was able to obtain it a bit early. My Misbehavin is a bit leggy looking. Had pruned it back, but it still came back leggy. Some of them need a real hard prune, like a good 50-75% of the plant....I think.

It's hard to tell why the choices are much more limited. Seems like most are claiming record sales. Must be they can't produce them fast enough or they cut back anticipating sales would really slow down and they didn't. Also seems like more and more are being grown from cuttings, instead of grafted, and the cuttings take longer to grow.

Eye of Kali holds the flower upright on the bush? It looks like a huge flower.

That's an excellent question and a characteristic that is very important to me. Yes, the blooms are always upright on "Eye Of Kali" and very consistent in coloration. What makes that bloom great is the multicolored eye. The blooms vary in size just like they do on all hibiscus. They can be anywhere from 4-8 inches depending on season and how many buds/blooms there are on the plant. The majority of them are 6-7 inches.

Here are a couple of today's blooms. This is "Strawberry Cream"

And this one is "Midnight Serenade"

Ahhh, makes me miss my Strawberry Cream that much more!

Beautiful, Jon! I don't think I've seen Strawberry Cream before, but it's really lovely :-)

It's a HVH cultivator Karen. It's "High Voltage X High Voltage". LOL I know.....it sounds a bit freaky. Sorry to hear you lost yours Dee. Did you have it a long time?

Wow Jon That Strawberry Cream is very much a "Patty hibbie". Love that pink and white!!!!! Enjoying your pictures. Had another flower open on Stolen Kiss today but didn't snap a picture. I do like my new one. We got quite a bit of rain this morning so no gardening done today, but we got out and mowed the yard this evening.

Glad you're liking your new "Stolen Kiss" hibiscus Patty. You picked out an award winning cultivator. Nothing like those hibiscus blooms with good form and heavily textured.

Didn't even have my Strawberry Cream for a year...it was one of my first hybrid purchases and I got 3 blooms before I lost it. I was able to capture one digitally and add it to plant files so it will live on :-). I'm anxiously waiting for a new one from HVH.

Here are just a few more from today. This is Hibiscus "Fine Wine"

And "Pocahontas"

This is my first seedling I named "Toucan Tango".

Beautiful blooms, Jon! Wow, if that's your first ever seedling, I can hardly wait to see what else you come up with - just stunning!!

Thanks. I don't have lots of extra room for seedlings, so doing one or perhaps a couple a year just for the fun of it. Have a new seedling growing, but its tiny and only a month old.

Jon, all are beautiful....Toucan Tango is stunning!!!! Wonderful colors. Jon, I'm finding some of the Dupont Hibs & Bahama Bay Hibs at Home Depot. Was told to ask the managers at the Garden Center to carry what I was looking for. Was surprised to see a "good" one after making one call. Then I told all my friends so they could buy one too. Just takes a few minutes to make a call & you never can tell. Also told them I could drive to Dallas (30 miles from Ft Worth) & spend $200.00 or spend it here if they had something other than the run of the mill Hibs. May have already posted this pix but this is Goin' Steady that I found this week. Your Eye of Kali is wonderful. Has anyone heard from Wilfred?

Hugs,
Judy

You're Goin Steady is cool. Lucky you finding some good ones at Home Depot. Haven't seen any hybrids here yet this summer. Usually just see them once or twice each year. The other issue here is that 2 growers seem to have a monopoly on the growing/supplying plants to the various retailers. All plants, not just hibiscus. That makes things a bit more limited. I generally look at their websites just to see what they are growing each season. It gives you a "feel" for what you might be able to find in the upcoming months.