How are your hardy Hibiscuses this year?

Nice! I purchased both of those this spring, they are budding, but the buds are still tiny. Can't wait to see them here in my yard :)

I went outside today to pick the dead flower and water my crandberry crush, and to my suprise i have 2 seed pods.. I thought these puppies didnt seed :)
jen

Yea! Almost nothing makes me happier than a seed pod! A few days ago, I found one on my tropical hibiscus 'Oliver.' ;)
Barb

Agreed!!!

I have a HUGE seed pod on a fancy iris right now. I don't do any purposeful hybridizing, but if I get one I definitely get excited. I have mine covered in an organza bag so that it can mature naturally and if it busts open before I cut it off I won't lose any seeds. I have several peonies I've grown from seeds collected from my seedpods, they are all lovely, but nothing spectacular... Yet ;)

Smurf, It will be really exciting to see what comes of the Cranberry Crush seedlings!

I had some seed pods on my Louisiana Iris Black Gamecock last year. I did not think to enclose them. My mow and blow guys that never trim anything trimmed off all twelve seed pods. I bought one Gamecock and probably now have 20. And I gave more away.
No seed pods this year. Last year I had many seed pods on quite a few of the hardy hibiscus. Moi Grade was loaded.

We have very large Carpenter bees that live across the street in the neighbors palms. They are in my hardy hibiscus all morning long. I will let you know if I get any seed pods later. Sharon

My hardy hibiscus have started their show ...

Sharon, your Hibiscus are just to die for. New to these I bought 2 plants last year Fireball. They grew about 20 to 24 in. tall. Cut them back last fall and have been amazed at the amount of flowers these two plants put on this year. I got two packages of seed last winter to sow indoors for this year. Out of over 20 seeds only got two up. These are now about 20 in. tall. I belive they are pink also. I been reserching here on DG on how to sow them and hope to try the methoid i learned here. Now my question is I feel the seed I bought might not have been to new ( both pkg. from different suppliers one pkg. nothing showed up this one had the most seeds) is there a variable in the age of seeds and suppliers? Thanks for any help.

I purchase plants. Mamajack on Cubits had a co-op from Walters. Great prices and 3 year old roots. I always get seed pods but I have not planted any. They are hard to get started but some individuals on here are really good at it. I will probably have fresh seed at the end of the season and I will send you some seeds if you would like some.

First photo is summerlicious. Second photo is 4 HH planted together enjoying the Las Vegas sun. Third photo is My Valentine.

Sharon, that would be wonderful. If you D-mail me I will send what ever is need to recive your kind offer. Thanking you in advance, Txtea

Sharon, Here is a pic of what I do to make sure I don't lose seeds I want. I use inexpensive little organza bags (they are .10 each or so) and close them really tight at the bottom. Then when everything is dried I just cut the stem right under where I've tied the bag. Super easy, super quick :)

My Pink Elephant. This is a new plant I purchased this spring and put in a wine barrel. She's loaded with buds, I am (not so) patiently awaiting the blooms!

Oh wow tombaak i never thought to use those little bags what a great idea... False alarm on my cranberry crush :( they were deformed things that all i can guess.. They were all dry and ready for picking today, so i went outside to get them all excited of course... And to my sad surprise i opened them to a flower bud all dried up inside... Almost like they were trying to bloom for a second time... Oh while i still have a very nice plant even if it doesnt seed...

OK, Tombaak, where did you find the little organza bags? I have one going wild in the front landscape and just did not get around to taking a photo. Hopefully there will be more blooms tomorrow. It was cloudy, about 84 and we also had a slight breeze. Spent the majority of the day in the garden with a worker. I did a lot of cleaning and he did the major pickup. I spent about 7 hours in the garden and am still hyped. Sharon...

Waiting for your bloom photos TB

Forget about saving seeds, which can be very useful, we can use these to prevent accidental pollination by covering the buds before they even open. The Organiza Bags come in all sizes and colors but I need to know the fabric and dyes used in the manufacture of the bags. How long will the bags survive outside exposed to the elements?

Here is a Google search:
https://www.google.com/search?num=100&q=organza+bags Note: Spelling is a TM.

Perhaps I will not have to get up at 4 AM to pollinate Hibiscus as they open. While seed dispersal is generally not a problem with hardy Hibiscus,, it is a big problem with some of my semi-hardy Hibiscus.

Mike

Hi Mike,

I buy the organza bags by the hundreds because I use them in my business. They are available in dozens of sizes. The organza bags I buy are a polyester, you can find some made with nylon, but I like the poly bags better. If you are concerned about the "green" factor, you can buy silk organza bags, but as they are made of silk they cost much, MUCH more!

The poly bags I use hold up to the relentless summer heat and horrid windstorms we get here in the high dessert. This spring I found one that I had missed collecting on an Allium because the cats had made a bed in my flowers and mashed the whole thing into the ground. It had gone through weeks below freezing, the snow and rains of winter and the cats napping on it for months and it looked fine. Lots of nice black Allium seeds still safely stored inside :)

If you are looking for the poly organza bags I get them from this vendor http://stores.ebay.com/favorpro/SALE-Organza-Bag-18-Color-/_i.html?_fsub=6866612&_sid=243494122&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322 her bags are shipped (very quickly) from California and they have good tight seams. Some of the less expensive bags are meant to hold wedding candy etc. and have very loose seams which won't hold smaller seeds and I suspect wouldn't hold up well to the elements.

Today's bloom - Party Favor. Or at least that is what the label says.

Second photo is pink and white rain lily. I need to look up my order to get the name. No label.

I included the rain lily photo because they are right next to each other.

Worms - I love your rain lilies! I miss mine so much. My stepson was "helping" me pull weeds and pulled up all of my rain lilies because he thought it was grass in the flower bed! I could have died. . . luckily I just purchased some bulbs to replant. I am hoping they will spread like my previous long lost lilies. . . . ahhhh.

Rain lilies are another addiction of mine. I have many different colors.

My hardy hibiscus got trashed. Sunday night we had hail and rain for 15 minutes. 1 1/2 inches of rain in fifteen minutes after 10 minutes of half dollar sized hail. I had spent Friday and Saturday, with a helper, cleaning th garden to perfection. I guess I was getting to prideful and Mother Nature showed me.

Helper and I are going to clean up again Saturday. Then I will know the full extent of the damage. Sharon

Bummer about the hail, but interesting about the rain lilies - my mom has pink ones ... didn't know they came in other colors. I used to have some but they got frosted one year. Mom's had some stress but are doing better now so maybe I'll be able to get a start from her to have them again.

Sharon,so sorry to hear about your bad luck with the rain and hail. I had been showing my DL the pictures of your different hibiscus. She was thrilled to see so many different color ones. Having only seeing the red of Fire ball I have. We hope a lot of your other plants were not damaged. Regards, James

Worms & Kljflower- I'm so sorry to hear of your damage, it is so disappointing when something happens to the plants we love. I had a beautiful passion vine and my eldest dog was out in the yard with me and decided to dig a hole in the flower bed right where this was planted and lay down! I walked around the corner and shrieked - there lay my poor blooming plant in pieces. . .

I previously had the ones you have pictured above, but the bulbs I just purchased are yellow. EdenBlooms has bulbs for $.30 each. I thought that was a pretty good deal.

Out of the ones you have Worms, which ones do you like the best?

Well first you must be aware, I am nuts. So when I like something I go totally overboard. So I have at least 15 different Hardy Hibiscus. I find it difficult to pick just one. I like Moi Grande and Berrylisious. But then there is Pink Elephant and Peppermint Swirl.
Actually, if I do not love it, I get rid of it.

As for rain lilies, I have about 7 different colors. Orange, yellow, white, pink and white, pink, white and pink and orange and white. I paid $18 per color and each order had three bulbs of each color. Now, of course, I have over 50 of each color. I will need to thin them this fall and I am always willing to share for postage. Just D mail me if you would like a few. I need to look up their names. I believe I purchased them from Plant Delights. The pink one I purchased years ago. When we built our current home we moved some bulbs with our move. The one pictured above is white with pink accents. The sun was just to bright. I tried enhancing the photo to get the color right but it is much prettier than the photo.

In the spring I taught our new schnauzer puppies to eat dandelion blooms in the greenbelt. Well I taught them well because when they see a rain lily bloom, they eat them also. I cannot blame them. Worms

Hi Worms - it must be a garden disease that we all get, because I have the same sickness - LOL. I have the same thing with jasmine. I have several different kinds and if I find one I don't have - I become obsessed with finding it. I guess there could be worse things to obsess over :)

I would love to have any bulbs that you are willing to part with. I will send you a d-mail.

Well I have seed pods on Pink Elephant. First Photo

I also had seeds on the white HH I have had for close to 25 years. My Dad got it as a bonus from Burpee. I was shocked to see the seed pods had already ripened. I got about 10 seeds. There are still two green pods. Second photo is the bloom. Always the first to bloom.

Sharon, just beautiful. I can't belive you have had this plant for 25 years. I am amazed I had no idea they lived so long. That is fantastic. I hope you remember me with any extra seeds. Thanks

It is a miracle I have it at all. My father gave it to me. There were actually two. One pink and one white. I had no idea what they were. I just took the two dead looking dried up pieces and put them in a pot near the tomato garden. That pot sat there for at least three years and then one spring two plants pop up. Then they bloomed. I was absolutely flabbergasted. They were beautiful. The pink one died the the white one grew like a weed. When we built this home 11 years ago I moved a portion of it to the garden. It has prospered and right now I have about 5 plants total of this one. I treasure it because it was given to me by my father and it grew in spite of my neglect.

The photo is the whole bush
.
Sharon

Sharon - your hibiscus is beautiful and the story makes it that much better! I have an old strawberry pot that belonged to my grandfather. It has chips and cracks, but I still have it planted and everytime I look at it I remember it setting on his porch.

I got seeds from my 'Crown Jewels'! Started them the other day.
Barb

My Hibiscus 'Kopper King' produced a bud mutation where three or possibly four buds fused to produce one flower with distorted proportions. The open flower is the size of a normal Kopper King bloom but that is where the similarities stop. I counted to over 15 petals and then gave up. The pistil fused into one stem about a half inch thick and there were so many stigmas that I couldn’t count them. In the picture of the partially opening bud you can see a Hibiscus Beetle (Althaeus hibisci) on the lip of a petal (lower left) which can’t believe its good fortune.

I pollinated the flower with its own pollen but it is unlikely that it will set seeds but you can never tell. The flower is not in a good position to consider stem cloning. This is one of the times when I wish I was doing tissue culture. For now I will continue to watch the pod to see if it sets seeds and be on the lookout for similar mutations on the same stem. The stem is unusual because it appears to be two stems which fused together.

Mike


This message was edited Jul 25, 2012 4:50 PM

Hi Michael -

I think your mutation is awesome! It almost looks like a cabbage rose with all of those petals.

I harvested two pink elephant seed pods today. Carpenter bees do all the work.

Look at the size of this seed pod. Moi Grande.

Love the seed pod AND the nail polish!
Barb

Yes, I am the only client that my manicurist has that uses red. They are acrylic so they are as strong as iron. Great for gardening. I get them done every three weeks.

I like 'em!
I use red in the winter, along with dark blues and purples. Summer, I use pinks, light greens, etc, etc. No OCD here...;)
Barb

Has anyone here sowed wild hibiscus seeds? If so when is a good time? Now ,like mother nature or in spring?

By "wild hibiscus", do you mean native species or the moscheutus?
I can start them anytime, but my Winters are a lot warmer than yours.
BTW, none of the the seeds I started from my 'Crown Jewels' have come up. Still hoping they will.
Barb

I was driving along and I saw all these wild Hibiscus growing, so I stopped and gathered a few brown pods. I figure since mother nature would be dropping them now, why cant I ?

Marie,

The first commercial grower of hardy Hibiscus in North America, for which there is documentation, was William F. Bassett of Hammonton, New Jersey, which is 15 miles from your home. The original Hibiscus stock was collected about 1880 in triangular marsh alongside the Absecon Railroad Station. The location exists today but last summer I failed to find a single Hibiscus growing in the Absecon Marsh. Here is an aerial view of the Absecon Marsh in Google Maps:

http://goo.gl/maps/mXLBc

You can find additional information at these links.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=8564791
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=7979821

The Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, Absecon, NJ is several miles north and east from the Absecon Railroad Station and is a reconstructed wetlands and the Hibiscus are the pure pink form of Hibiscus moscheutos subsp. palustrus which may not be native to New Jersey.

During the first week of August 2012 I was collecting Hibiscus seeds and plants about the Cape May peninsula where most of the populations appear to be native Hibiscus moscheutos. I did find one introduced population of Hibiscus moscheutos subsp. palustrus which are easy to identify because 95% plus of the pink flowers have no red-eye.

For information on germinating Hibiscus seeds see the following post:

Dr. Deno’s Seed Germination Books are now in Public Domain.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=8182755

Can you provide me with the location where you collected your seeds? Can you describe the color distribution of the flowers and did you take any photographs which you can post?

Mike
p.s. Attached are pictures of a Hibiscus moscheutos marsh at the tip of Cape May NJ, where H. moscheutos with red veined leaves are prevalent but the green form is also present.

I was in Maryland this week driving through the old Remington farms Wildlife refuge, and I saw them there. But we do have them in the marsh areas all around MD. This one was white. I saw better ones else where but did not get seeds.

Thank You fore all that information.