What's bloomin'?

Here are a couple of Hibiscus that are blooming this sunny morning in S Florida...The first one is Purple Crystal MITES. (tag attached to plant's trunk)

next one....

I do not remember the name of this one or the one above. The above one is a double peach hibiscus, not sure what the TRUE name is. This one I picked up a couple of weeks ago. The leaves are multicolored, I did not buy it for the blooms, doesn't bloom much. I really like this one.
Enjoy...

Beautiful color for a flower. Maybe someone can name them, sorry about not knowing their names.

BEAUTIFUL! That first one is delicious. It looks good enough to eat. Thanks for sharing.

Lacewing

Well, I don't know their names, but they are just lovely! I really like the first one :-)

#3 is hib.Cooperii "red hot"
#4 is hib. "Cherie"

Wowzers! They are all pretty, but that first one is gorgeous.

Thanks for the compliments. :)
Eclipse, thanks for the names. So far, Crystal (picture number 1) looks the same this morning with the blooms still open. Guess it is a two day one.

All so pretty! I just love Purple Crystal MITES. Is it really called MITES? Sheesh, that almost ruins iot. LOL

Yes, and the tag around the plant has the entire word in capital letters. Odd, huh? I am not complaining though, the flower is a favorite of mine.

It is beautiful. I love the texture of the bloom too. I went to bed last night dreaming about these hibiscus. I am on the hunt. LOL

Purple Crystal (forget that other word) is just too beautiful but I am on a hibiscus fast. Can you hear the big sigh????

Kell, go buy lots of pretty ones and post the pictures so I can drool.

Oh Alice, I so want some pretty ones. I did get a few yesterday, 1 is in bloom. I will see if it is still open today. Nothing to swoon over though. The ones from last year that survived the winter are all still recovering. I will say I do not have a natural knack for these. Every year I spend a fortune only to torture them thru the winter. I can't blame it on my climate because I see my neighbors with huge bushes in full bloom. Then I wonder if their garden varieties are the same kind as these fancy hibiscus with the same needs. I wonder if they want more heat. We are so cool here.

Why are you on a fast? You are no fun at all! LOL

I know, I am no fun at all when I am not buying plants. DownscaleBabe and I are going to change that later this week I hope.

The Hibiscus fast was brought on by a pending remodeling on the house. The deck where all my prettiest hibs are will be torn down. I didn't want to bring any new babies in while my house and my life was in a mess. Sadly, they haven't even started yet. :-(((
One of our 2 bridges to the mainland was seriously damaged and traffic has come to a standstill. No contractor wants to come out to the islands right now so we are stuck.

Earlier this year when I was sprinkling alfalfa pellets on my roses I thought to myself - it they are good for roses, etc. Anyway, I found out Hibiscus do not like that alfalfa, probably too much nitrogen. I have the healthiest and greenest hibiscus ever but they are just now starting to bloom. The ones I had in the ground did very well, if my back ever gets better more and more will be planted.

Oh I need to remodel so much. We need a total house redo. My husband wants to padlock the door and walk away and start over! LOL

I just can't seem to get myself to start the process. All I see is chaos and intrusions into my life for a very long time. When I quit work last year I told my husband I would get it together and start but I am so overwhelmed. I have no clue what I want or where to start. I need to go to new model homes I guess for clues. Instead I go to nurseries or play in my garden.

So tell me your secrets to your great hibiscus. Mine are not so great. What kind of soil do you use and what is your feeding schedule.

Ardesia, I hope they fix the bridge, what a hassle, yuck. Remodeling is a big undertaking, long process, BUT really worth it in the end. I am not sure about alfalfa being good for the hibiscus, but you never know. One day I might get into rose gardening, just not sure about it here in the tropical humidy of S Fla.

Kell, no secret, maybe just the fact that I live in a very humid environment and that it is almost Summer might be the reason my hibiscus are in full glory. HOT, HUMID, and did I mention hot?
I do have them in containers. I use Miracle grow Potting Soil. I have them out in full sun facing an eastern exposure. They get hand watered everyday. I mist them twice a week with miracle grow, I do not use bloom booster. I use a mister rather than a spray bottle since I do have quite a bit of misting to do. I make sure I soak the new emerging growth. I found my mister at Walmart. Gotta love good ol' Walmart. ((Edited* I guess its not a mister. Its an RL Flo-Mater half gallon sprayer. It's a pressure sprayer, the one that you pump then release to spray.***))Edited
I use coffee grounds at times on my gardenias as well as the hisbiscus. They seem to like it.
As for fertilizer, I use Osmocote, simple to use and it is slow releasing.
On Sundays (hose watering day) I give all my tropicals a good soak. They love water not only on the soil but in their foliage, lots of it.
That's about it. I am not expert and I am sure some might not agree with my methods, there might be better ways to tend to them.......lol.
Buggy

This message was edited Jun 15, 2007 5:02 PM

Buggy, sounds like you are doing everything right! No, do not use alfalfa on the hibiscus. I did and I am sure that is why they are just starting to bloom this year. Usually I have flowers by March. The last cold spell around Easter probably didn't help either.

Kell, I will have to move a bunch of plants also, I would cry if they get stepped on.

We just had word that the bridge will be repaired next week, 5 weeks ahead of schedule. Woo Hoo!!!! They realized the population could not be evacuated in case of a, oh, I can't say the word but it begins with a H.

Oh Alice I sure hope you get your redo done fast. This is just the wrong time for messing with anything but plants. Or so I tell my husband. LOL

I appreciate any advice you can give me Buggy ( I feel so weird calling you that! LOL!) I sure need it. Mine do OK in the summer but lots die over winter. I sure would like even more blooms though.

Last night I was reading about care on a site I was trying to buy from. They said to use fertilzer with a very low phosphorus number. I was going to go thru all of my fertlizer today looking to see if I had any. Also it said to use slightly acid soil.