New tree in training

This is General Courteges..a lovely variegated beauty gets large red flowers, likely a sport of Brilliant originally. I took the cutting about three months ago. Gonna train it as a tree.

Yours will be a very pretty tree. It has a great start now. Please post more pictures as it grows. What is the method you use to make one form a tree. Just keep all the lower branches removed, and stake it so it grows straight.


I have a variegated one like that, I mean the leaves are white and green, not sure of the name, but when I got it last year off EBay it was about 24 inches high and now it is about 5 ft. tall. It is really all spread out, but it sure likes to bloom. Its not full at all. Just lanky and spread out, can you picture that. I like the variegated plants, I also have two that have green and red variegated leaves.

Linda

I start with a straight cutting and stake, then keep the side shoots off till it reaches the height I want then pinch out the tip and keep pinching all branches till you like the results.
:-)

Thanks a bunch. I have learned something new today. I knew when we got our hibiscus liners last year from the coop we were told to pinch off the top new leaves so the liner could fill out. I guess that would hold true to wanting to make a tree, by pinching off the tips to make it fuller. So this can be done with any Tropical Hibiscus? I am going to take a cutting and see if I can root it and maybe start a tree.


Eclipse, you are a very informative, thanks a bunch.

yes thanks for the info Kyle. Several of my hurricane surviving hibiscus are just straight sticks. Never thought about making a tree of them. I have a huge Hibiscus Yellow Wing tree. have to take a pic and you tell me what to do to them to get them going.

Just saw my first Hibiscus Standard last night and am still drooling over it. I had been wondering how difficult it would be to train your own.

Eclipse, do you overwinter yours in a gh? If not, how do they fare indoors, do they grow well as a houseplant over winter? I've got a lot to learn, obviously.

If I can't get a standard somewhere I hope I can at least get a cutting and start my own.

Thanks for the info!
Heather

Heather, they do alright as houseplants in winter, give lots of natural light near a window,water when dry, and feed only a couple of times overwinter.Spring comes, when the nights hit 50F then time to go out for a summer vacation.

Check out the coleus forum and look at my post of pics of how to grow a coleus standard same technique.

I have that Coleus thread saved, I'll check it out again when I find a cutting or a small Hibiscus to start with.

The standards I saw had twisted trunks, kind of spiraled. Any ideas on that? I figured they just wrapped them around a stake as they were growing. I don't know if this would make them any less sturdy, but it sure did add to the overall appearance.

How long do you figure it'll take them to get about 3' tall? I'm just concerned about my short growing season here, I'm sure they'll slow down quite a bit once brought in for the winter.

Thanks again!

I can grow a 5 inch cutting into a 3 ft. tree in about 4 or 5 months easy.

Sometimes they grow too fast..keep an eye on the twist ties around the trunk so they don't strangle them.

Thanks. I just found a cutting. A gorgeous pink being sent from FL. I'm wondering where I can read up about rooting it?

Should I try it in a bubbler or just put it right into soil?

This came together so fast, hard to believe!!

Root in water or under mist for best results.

Thanks. I found some info and it looks much easier to root Hibiscus than I thought it would be.
Thanks for all your help!!

Funny I should find this thread, today. I just dragged my 2 standards out to the backyard this morning. A 10 and a 5 year old, Konas.
They have lost a lot of leaves but continue to flower.
They will get a severe pruning this week.
Andy P

Andy this may be a real dumb question but what is a Konas?
I googled it and didn't find anything under a hibiscus.

Sorry, I was told they were Hibiscus 'Kona'.
Just for fun, here is a pic I took last Fall as they came indoors.
Andy P

This is what they look like today.
Like I said, they lost lots of leaves.
The pruning will make them look bald.
Andy P

The young one will get a real pot, too. LOL

This message was edited Jun 5, 2006 4:51 PM

Sarahs, Kona is a double pink flowered tropical hibiscus..peony flowered kind.

Yes, Here is a pic from January.
Andy P

WOW that is beautiful does anyone know where I can get one of these. Do I just look for a double pink Hibiscus? I have a peach one that looks close to your pink.

I'm told it is a common one used for root stock in grafting.

Eclipse, have you started many standards?
My first ones were cuttings so I have only grown them this way. The ones posted above are the 3rd and 4th generations.
How often do you prune an established plant? I do it once in Spring when it goes out.
Andy P

Andy, I have about 60 standards in progress right now at work.I trim as the branches grow, some grow fast some slow.I keep pinching them to increase the number of tips for more flowers and better shape.All of mine are own root plants, no grafts.

Here are two plants of Florida Sunset, started as cuttings last fall, the watering can is for reference, its a two gallon size.

Heavens, I feel like a rank amateur now, lol.
Those are beautiful.
Andy P

I hope someone here can help me with this. The cuttings I had coming didn't make it, but that's ok because I picked up a little standard at Wal-Mart last week. It's about 22-24" high and has a braided stem/trunk. It came potted in a 7" pot, I got a 9" pot to put it in. The 9" seems so much bigger than what it's in now.

I was hoping it would grow taller and that I could continue to braid the stems and continue to increase the pot size. A friend just told me that's not likely to happen...I don't understand why? She said the top would grow but the stems wouldn't. I don't know why I can't understand what she means. Could someone here please explain it to me? ( I AM blonde, by the way, LOL!!)

Should I have gotten a bigger pot? I know Hibis like to be rootbound, so I didn't want to go too big, even if he's going to be growing. My plan was to repot as he was growing, as many times as necessary. I just learned Hibis don't like their roots disturbed. How should I change my plan?

TIA for any help or links you can offer me. I'm most interested to know if this will get any taller and if I can continue to braid the stems.

Have a great weekend,
Heather

Here he is w/ his 7" pot sitting inside the 9" pot...he's not blooming yet, but from squeezing open his blooms he appears to be a soft orange/peach double...thought that the blue pot would go nicely with that. Remember he's from WM, so he needs some extra TLC!!

Make sure you new pot has holes in the bottom for drainage, because Hibiscus doesn't like to have there feet kept wet. They will rot.

Edit to add, even though it came from WM it is a great looking plant. I have a nice braided one that I got last year from Lowes. Before I replanted mine I used a little h202 on it to give the roots more oxygen, and to help the roots take in the plant food that I use.

This message was edited Jun 10, 2006 8:17 AM

I don't know the answer to you question about the height but I do have a comment about that gorgeous blue pot.

Because the pot's middle is wider than the opening at the top it will be very difficult to transplant that hibicus to a larger container as it grows and it surely will need still a larger pot fairly soon. It's roots will form a large round ball that will not easily fit through the smaller opening. You would have to do major surgery on the roots - or - sacrifice the pot.

How do I know this will be a problem? Well, I am a blonde (or was many years ago) too and I speak from experience. LOL

OMgosh, I never thought about the pot! You're right, I'd have to smash it. I better find a different pot to use. Thanks so much for mentioning that and not letting me find out on my own. I'll never forget that about those shaped pots. Annuals only in them!! Yeah, don't blondes have more fun?? LOL!!

This pot does have a drain hole, but I'll make sure the new one does too, thanks for that tip too!