Hidden Valley Hibiscus Open House - Fallbrook

Hidden Valley Hibiscus in Fallbrook has an open house on the last Saturday of each month from May - October (11-4). Otherwise, they are not open to the public. The reports on HVH are mixed, with most issues being late delivery of orders.

Has anyone been to an open house at HVH? If so, what did you think? Do they have large stock? I've been looking for hibiscus and I'm wondering if it would be worth the trip up there.

I go almost every month, and I have nothing but great things to say about both their plants and their customer service. Charles and Cindy are always there and ready to answer any questions, and their plants are large and lovely! If you're looking for tropical hibiscus, this would be a wonderful place to start. They usually have quite a lot of plants for sale at their open house, but not as many cultivars as are available on their website. Sometimes though, you find a one of a kind plant, and other stuff that you just don't see for sale. It's hit and miss on that, but I've made a number of terrific finds.

Check over at the hibiscus forum, you'll find lots of good things said about HVH :-) I posted a thread with pictures from their open house last month.

karen

Their mail order is also great, I've ordered things from them 3 or 4 times this year and the plants have always been perfect. If I lived closer, I'd definitely go to the open houses.

How strange...I've lived here 24 years and never heard of them! I guess hibiscus are not my thing or I would have stumbled onto them by now. As I've probably said before, just about every third property here is a nursery, so there's probably one for everything here.

I think they just recently moved there, they used to be in Escondido.

I wondered about that ...Escondido means "hidden valley", so I assumed as much.

This message was edited Aug 24, 2007 7:58 PM

Hi Amarantha, It was so nice to meet you and your mom today. You are right, the trip to HVH was well worth the trip. I am putting in a new planter (yeaaa!) in the front and found what I was looking for. Folks there were very friendly and helpful. My son and DH had a great time playing with the (fenced) dogs on the property while I looked around.

There is one other Hibiscus that they had a sample of but none for sale. It was called 'black dragon'. Cindy said it's hard to grow and suggested I order it on their web site.

She also said that because it is hard to grow, it could take months (maybe up to a year) for me to get my order from the web. I am glad she told me that because I know what to expect. She explained that delivery depends on how fast things grow. This is probably why there is feedback here on DG regarding the length time to receive orders. It would probably be a good idea for them to communicate these possible delays to folks who order so they know what to expect up front.

Sherry, Yes SO many nursery's is one of the reasons why I totally love Fallbrook. HVH moved to Fallbrook about 18 months ago from (you guessed it) Hidden Valley near Escondido. Their old place is now a paintball field. Of course, the Fallbrook location will be much better for them weather-wise. If you ever decide to try a hibiscus (I only have a few myself), you should give HVH a try since you are nearby. They are only open to the public on the 4th Saturday of each month during the summer months. The HVH web site has details.

http://www.hiddenvalleyhibiscus.com/pages/contact.htm

If you really want Black Dragon and HVH is out of stock, you might try Hibiscus Place instead (mail order). http://www.hibiscusplace.com/ I just got one from them last week so they had it in stock then, of course it may have sold out by now but it's worth emailing them and asking. I've ordered from them a couple times this year and have been very happy with the plants, they are always large and healthy.

TLeaves..true, we do have perfect weather here for the tropicals (except for last winter, which we all hope was an aberration). All the more reason for you to move to Fallbrook!

Ecrane, Hibiscus Place has a really nice web site. Lots of options I hadn't seen. Thanks for the reference.

You pegged it Sherry. Going to HVH was a great exerience AND it gave me another excuse to get up to Fallbrook. :)

Gosh, TL, you must have gone right by us on your way there. I was tempted to take a look, as I do like hibiscus, but they don't fit here. Hate to waste someone's time and take up space just to be a looky-lu. Good to know about them, though.

Hi T, nice to meet you too! I'll look forward to seeing you again at future open houses :-)

Hi K, HVH is actually close to the place we'd like to buy. I know you do mostly natives. BTW - Have you seen the book "Native Treasures" by M. Nelvin Smith?

Ooooh, thanks, T - I'll have to look that one up.