What hibiscus would you pick?
Tough question, sorta like which child do you love the most, or the one I was asked in a vocational aptitude test - You must kill one of your parents, which will you choose?
Based on this years performance I think my choice would be Ross Estey. Long lasting and nice color shift as it ages.
Gorgeous. I would probably have to keep Erica Noel as it is my only large flowering tropical hibiscus right now. I can't wait to get some liners purchased.
No doubt about it - my favorite would be Purple Magic.
Large blooms (7-8 inches), with vibrant coloring, prolific blooms, fast grower. The only negative is that photos do not capture how pretty this one really is.
Awesome blooms nathalyn. I'm going to have to get this one next year.
Brugie, I purchased mine from Curt Sinclair (Exotic Hibiscus), but I see that the lady that they are talking about doing the liner coop through has this one.
Nat
Thanks. I just looked it up and saw it at Exotic Hibiscus. It and about three dozen others that I'd like to have. LOL!
Curt has several good sales during the year. I'll let you know if I hear of another one. If I remember correctly, he usually has a sale in late winter - - probably trying to jump start his spring sales. His fall sale just ended - with $5 off per plant and a free bag of his special potting soil for every plant ordered
Last spring, I picked up a couple gallon size ones for $1 - - which made it much easier for me to fork out the money for a couple of the $15 ones!!
Cool, thanks a bunch.
Nathalyn:
Love your Purple Magic. Can you give me the email address or web site of the buyer that you purchased from. I found one in Houston this summer in Aug. and got it for my DIL for her birthday. Had plans of getting a cutting off of it when I went back the first of this month. But she planted it in a pot without any drain holes and the roots rotted. Yours is really beautiful. Purple is my favorite color, and the Hibiscus my favorite flower.
2pugdogs -- www.exotichibiscus.com is Curt Sinclair's site - - excellent plants
and liners can also be bought from this supplier on Ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=25463&item=4337283403&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
Several DGer's have purchased from her and been pleased - and there is supposed to be a coop for her liners soon.
THANKS I appreciate the information. I am going to check out the ebay site and check in on Curt Sinclair's site as well. I am planning on getting in on the coop they are starting but want to wait until they have it again in March. Don't want to take a chance on shipping in my zone before then. Plus I am starting to run out of room in the house. I am sure a lot of DG'ers are having the same problem. Especially if you don't have a GH.
And there is Hidden Valley http://exotic-hibiscus.com/ for us on the West Coast.
And the possible co-op http://www.billmooreco.com/proplants/proplants.htm
And DuPont http://www.dupontnursery.com/ProductCategory.aspx?pcid=6
So many choices, so little soil. ;-{
George - You're such an enabler! LOL
This message was edited Nov 15, 2004 8:04 PM
PotEmUp: I have added them to my favorites. Thanks
Do we need to start a 12 step program for members of DG?
What is the12 step program?
Haha, at my house - - the 12 steps would be:
1. work and save money
2. buy plants
3. pot plants
4. water plants
5. feed plants
6. weed plants
7. trim plants
8. treat for pests
9. appreciate plants
10. root cuttings
11. take inside for winter
12. return to step one
:) Nat
nathalyn, I like your 12 step program....LOL
Anna
Maybe the modification of the original from Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) could read:
The 12 Suggested Steps of Hibiscuses Anonymous
1. We admitted we were powerless over plants--that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Come to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to plantoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
But I like nathalyn's much better.
George
This is one of my favorites " Holly's Pride "
lazygirl I really like that one. That is very nice.
Robin
Lazy Girl,
Holly's Pride was my first that I didn't kill (before I became a gardener) and many hibiscus later it is still my favorite. First for the color and also for the number of blooms it gives.
Exotic Hibiscus "Curt Sinclair" will give $5 off per plant year round if you let him know you are a member of Dave's Garden.
Hi Twin lakes,
I think I am loosing my Holly's Pride. It is not doing very well at all. Yellowing leaves and then droping off..... I am not over watering.....Trying to get it to hang on a few more weeks till the sun warms up..... I hope I suceed.
Anna
lazy,
It's just pouting at you. Some hibiscus completely defoliate when I bring them in; they don't like to be too wet, repotted (well ~ roots disturbed mostly), you are supposed to only turn them an eighth of a turn per week (or maybe a quarter of a turn ~ can't remember),
They like the temp to be above 55 year round ~ and if they don't get it ~ they will go dormant. Even a blast of cold air from a window or door will force them into dormancy. Depending on how you handle them, watering, feeding, light needs, pruning, repotting ~ they will do different things. If I prune them, they go into a phase where all the energy goes into branching and making leaves, but no flowers. From being too cold, a few of mine pouted for a year before they would give a flower.
I just read that if you put them in the ground they will be more of a bush - like a dummy, I just put a bunch of liners in the ground in CA. Next time I go, they will have to be dug up and potted. Evidently
being a little root bound makes they flower more. Some I plop in the ground here in Iowa just for the summer ~ seem to gain a little more stature.
Last Spring when I brought Holly's pride outside, it's leaves had gotten very small over winter ~ it droped them all and kept blooming while dropping! I lightly pruned it and all summer, no flowers but it did get healthy and produce large leaves. It has not put on one flower all this winter.
Lastly, different cultivars have traits that vary how they will behave.
It seems to be universal that we should use a fertilizer with a lower middle number.
I only had one hibiscus bloom last summer after a very tough winter. And it did not bloom until October. Thought I pruned them back too much. I kept the greenhouse a more consistant temp this winter except when it got down into single digits. They are all naked with a few leaves hanging here and there.
Satin Pillow
Still hoping mine hangs on
Anna
Here is a picture of mine from last summer..
Anna
