From Hawaii

I brought back a cutting from Hawaii the size of a bic pen cap last march, and today...it bloomed. There are actually two big blooms on the plant.

Beautiful.

Love the color

Hi
My family just returned to a trip to Oahu. Our hotel was surrounded my hundreds of Hibiscus (that I decided needed a little pruning, lol).

The one that needed pruned, of course, was right next to the road. It was a lovely orange with a bright red center. Traffic was very heavy on the road and there was no sidewalk. So, I made my way along the edge and pruned two small cuttings from it.

I'm making my way back and was about 2 feet from the Hibiscus and I stepped onto what appeared to be an iron plate (guessing a sewer cover). The plate shifted and my leg went directly into the hole and I fell flat on my face. I'm sure everyone in their cars was laughing about this. The leg that went into the hole came out a bloody mess. LOL. I paid for that cutting with my flesh and blood, lol. Don't think I will mess with Hawaii again. I sure am hoping that these cuttings survive.

I then went to the local Oahu Home Depot (drove my DH crazy till he took me) and bought a Hibiscus. Clipped it into cuttings and brought those home. DH thinks I am nuts!!! LOL. (DH did bring an almond seed home in his pocket, though)

It was 82 degrees in Hawaii - now I am back to temps in the 30's.

Hi,
LOL, oh boy how we get distracted with pruning! You should have seen me at the conservatory on Kaui. It was soooo beautiful, and well I thought the grounds needed a slight tending here and there as there were seeds of everything all over. They are mostly scientest there, so they had no issues with my languishing behind the tour stuffing seeds in my pocket.
I actually bought that cutting in the photo at the dozens of ABC stores around there. I also have several wood rose vines growing now, from seeds I got at the same store!
82 degrees is a much preferable temp than 30. !
Rj

Oh Crystal, that sounds just terrible. I hope you fully recovered. You could have snapped your bone in 2!

Hi Rj. Love your hibisucs.

Hi Kell,
how are u?

On these Hibiscus cuttings, should they be woody or green? I don't have too much experience on the cutting end.

I've had both do well for me. It's seems to be hit and miss. Some of my woody ones rotted, but others did tremendously well - rooted in 1 week. I've been using the EZ Clone hydroponic system and get great results with most of them.

Crystal

Thanks Crystal,
do tell more about EZ Clone. sounds most interesting.
Rj

LOL. I bet it does sound interesting. Rj loves to experiment with new things.

I am good I guess, trying to recover from Christmas. It sure takes it time coming in and then is over so suddenly.

I am planning lots more hibiscus this summer! How are you doing?

I am doing well. Been worknig on special project at work, which has really stolen garden time. I have a nice break until mid FEB, so will be busy planting flower seeds. My nose is telling me early spring here. Been sneezing away. Have bulbs blooming in the front garden. This year Is a concentration on landscaping. I need to develop your sense of shrub placement accented with the flower and plant venue- combined with the species blooming cycles. That is definately a trick in and of itself! I too am drifting into the Hibiscus arena- unbelievable the pin wheel of colors that I see on the thread here. I really want to aquire a nicely shaped crisp yellow hibiscus. Problem is, here, like the brugs, they turn into enormous entitites!
My 1 foot tequila sunrise I planted last april is 11 feet tall and trying to turn into it's own hedge. I am going to try and propagate some cuttings from that as it needs some trimming.
This fellow in picture threw out two more blooms today. It sure is a beauty. It will go in the ground soon.
I have two of those Hawaiin wood rose vines growing from those seeds I brought back, I may try a couple more this season.
So far the coconut tree still lives, and is nearing 6 feet tall, from that 6inch sprout. I hope it stays alive. I planted it right next to the house in front of the living room windows, which must be leaking tons of heat!.
Hows the brugging going? I saw some picts of those red ones..very nice.

I have a love hate relationship with brugs. LOL. They can be such a pain with all their bugs. I am getting to old to handle them too for they get so big. I am forever tossing them and replacing them with new ones. My husband is done with them, he is threatening that he won't help at all. I need him more than I need them.

So a 1 foot hibiscus grew 10 feet in 1 year in zone 9a? Must be your soil mixes you do, Rj! I am amazed. You need to hard prune them then in early, early spring.

I lost a lot of my hibiscus in the last frost here I think. They look bad. The year before they rotted in my hoophouse. I should have brought them in this year for I finally put heat in there and the hibiscus I did move in like it in there now. Shoot. Last winter we only had 1 mild frost. This year we are getting # 4 this weekend. Maybe #4 and #5. Double shoot.

I thank you for your compliments but my yard is now like a crazy old ladies. I have stuffed everything possible in it. Reason left a while back. When I started buying those darn black plastic pots en masse it was the beginning of the end. LOL

I think I am entering my lookiloo phase of my life where I enjoy touring other people's gardens and enjoying their hard work. It is not a bad life at all. My only regret is my husband does not enjoy looking at gardens. We could have a great time even going abroad to look and eat. LOL. My 2 favorite activities.

We will need lots of photos Rj of your beautiful yard. You have been working so very hard at it. I am sure the results would thrill me. You are so talented. Too bad work is interfering with your fun!! I wish I had been smart like Kyle and planned my work around plants.

Here is a yellow that just so delighted me last year. Heaven Scent.

Rj,
If memory serves me right.the name of it is Kona,Kona,double pink.
There is a smaller dwarf version called itsy pitsy kona as well.

aaah Tropicaman Thanks! That name fits it well too.

That is a beautifuly yellow one Kell. I will prune the tequila then very good this spring. I noticed it had a small bloom today.

Yeah the brugs are too much work. II can have figured out a new method for Brugs here in the south. They get cut to the ground beginning of June, and they grow all summer and are full size for fall and winter which are optimum blooming here. They have too many problems here during the long hot summers, and cutting them down keeps the pests down, and the new growth vigorous. We got alot colder this winter too,
We have had 2 frosts, and I lost 1 papaya tree on the west fence, but oddly, just 8 feet accross , the jade vine lives. It's roots are protected by the deck though. And the fern tree, is still robust, with two fronds at a time still sprouting. It has actually started it's trunk now, and is 1 foot off the ground..

I can't wait for full time warmth again!

Rj

Me too! LOL. So your tree fern is doing well. I have 2 and they are doing great too. Though I guess I should cover them this weekend,. I wonder how low they can go. LOL

Great brug plan. Why suffer all the mite attacks! Here we are cool in summer so they bloom all summer.

Look at this forecast. 23 degrees!!!! Unheard of here. A record. Woe is me. 5 straight days of frost. My planted brugs may bite the dust. I spent the day moving them up on the porch and into the hoophouse and I still have tons of plants out there that might die on me. What happened to global warming?


Thursday
49° F | 31° F
9° C | -1° C

Friday
49° F | 23° F
9° C | -5° C

Saturday
50° F | 28° F
10° C | -2° C

Sunday
54° F | 32° F
12° C | 0° C

Monday
54° F | 29° F
12° C | -2° C
Chance of Rain
20% chance of precipitation Partly Cloudy Clear Clear Partly Cloudy

Quickly, quickly, send all your hibiscus to me.......:-)))))))))

Kell, so sorry it has been so cold there. Nothing about the weather seems to make sense anymore. Do you have heat in your hoophouse? When I used to have a GH I used a little electic heater on the cold nights and it worked well.

Beautiful.

Kell that looks like our forecast for next week, although I think the lowest was 32F, which usually goes up as the day approaches. I bet the folks in Denver are wondering what happened to global warming too. ZERO the forecasted high for the next few days...gross gross gross...! We have a nice warm gulf stream over us now 70/s 60/s. I just checked the forecast and yup...it's raised from 40/30/s to 50's/40's for next week...with 3 nights in the 30's down from 5 nights forecasted yesterday. I'm hoping this gulf stream will divert the cold wave as much as possible. Every once in a winter, we get reminded how nice the rest of our winters usually are.
My tree fern has survived all of the frosts..but then your talking to a person who puts a heat pad on the root area if the temp is going to be below 30F for 8 hours or more...It is also next to the pond which keeps it a degree or two warmer, and the deck and fence aren't too much farther away.