Merry Hibismas!

How cool, I am going to bring my Tacca inside tomorrow; maybe if I baby it I'll get a flower too.

Kell, I thought about you a lot recently; I had sprouted a clivia seed and then I mistreated it so badly. It kept getting knocked out of it's pot but it is amazing, it just keeps on growing in spite of my abuse. I figured you would be the clivia expert to advise me on what to do with the seedling now?????? The root is about 5" long.

I do have my youngest hibs indoors but they are not happy. We have a heat pump so the air is so dry and my windows are low E with hurricane film which really limits the light. You would think plants would grow well in a house that is mostly windows but it doesn;t always work that way.

Actually Alice, abuse is just what clivia like. I kill them if I pamper them. Mine go for weeks with no water. Plant it up in a very well draining soil. I use a deep pot for those weird roots. I had special mixes noted but I do not know where I have that info stored. And in my usual bad way, whatever mix my soil bin has in it, is what I use at any given time for any plant that needs repotting. I foliar feed them with great results.

I just sent out a bunch of variegated clivia seeds. Is yours variegated? I may have more if you want some. I will need to check. See the variegation in my picture above? That is my favorite kind. Oh spring will bring clivea blooms. How thrilling.

I also have one with 5 to 6 inch wide leaves. The flowers have green centers. I crossed those flowers with clivia with green flowers. That is very hot right now, wide, wide leaves with green flowers. I leave that one outside in a protected place and it thrives.

I am such a lucky girl. LOL

Oh I foliar feed my tacca too with stuff I bought for my begonias. And I have gotten great flowers on everything. Romeo.

Kell, in your post above the double is almost certainly the good oldie Jimmy John. Google that and see if you don't agree based on your findings. It is one of the first hibiscus I grew . . back in the early 80's.
Peace and Happy New Year,
Barry

Well shoot Barry! I could only find one reference to it and no pictures. But it evidently looks like H. Nova. I couldn't find any pics of that one either. LOL
http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:KQDtiWv8EtIJ:www.freepatentsonline.com/PP15281.html+Jimmy+John+hibiscus&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&ie=UTF-8

Thanks though for the info! I do not have this one but I sure see it around town and love it.

This message was edited Dec 27, 2007 6:42 PM

Kell,
love the pic of your bush. Beautiful.
Linda,
Your Christmas Eve Simple Pleasures is gorgeous!
Alice,
Robert talked me into Jamalaya, sight unseen. And, I am so glad he did.
It is fast becoming one of my "top 12"

This message was edited Dec 27, 2007 9:46 PM

Isn't it amazing how plants bloom in California? For many years I had a large double deep pink, a common variety back then, and it stayed covered with flowers but for me "covered" meant about 18 - 20 flowers blooming at once. The plants Kell pictures are the same size as mine was but they appear to have many dozens of flowers blooming. Sighhhhhhhh My zone might be the same but I have climate envy, gotta love those cool CA nights.

I can't take credit, none of them are mine. But California can. I wish I had time to find the pics of the fancy hibiscus I found driving around. It was incredible. I am so hoping it makes it outside thru the winter.

I sometimes think if it was hotter, my fancy ones would bloom more. Here it stays in the 70s, about 75 all summer. Nights in the 50s. Low humidity. Some tropicals want more heat and more humidity.

Kell - If you decide to trim your BEAUTIFUL nameless double - I'd LOVE to get a cutting! I've never seen one like this!!

Big Easy (Robert)

Blueberry Thrill (Robert)

this one is a cup/saucer in summer and single in winter.

Madelyn (Home Depot)

Midnight Moon (Matt)

Perfect Moment (Matt)

This message was edited Dec 29, 2007 1:45 AM

Red Dragonette-2 (Robert)

PS...sorry about the above. Forgot to include the pic.

Sweet Potato Pie (Matt)

I love this bunch of pictures, Cat. Red Dragonette is awesome as is Sweet Potato Pie.

I really like Madelyn too--I hadn't seen that one before. Your Home Depot carries nicer stuff than mine! Fanciest hibby I ever found at mine was Celia!

Kell, that big photo of your huge plant is convincing. Jimmy John is the name of that old hybrid, and I've never seen it so happy. H. Nova is one of my hybrids, and I promise you that it has never grown anywhere as well as that huge plant of yours, nor bloomed that much at one time! All Florida sources used to grow and sell JJohn, but I guess not many currently do, despite all its good qualities. Among hobbyists Jimmy John has probably been replaced by reliably larger doubles, because JJ is the wrong size to win at shows, though now and then I see it as winning double in an amateur category. But there are really no hibiscus shows in CA so you don't care about that size factor, since nearly none of the bigger ones will bloom as much as yours is. Some of the newer, larger doubles I have marketed include Double Date, Atlantis, Dorothy Wolfe, the very popular Goin' Steady, and very new ones like Renaissance and Sorority Girl and Yoda and Magic Potion and Amy's Hope. Other hybridizers have nice ones out there also, and I especially like some produced by Nora Reynolds in FL and Bobby DuPont in LA. Though you might have trouble finding one, Curt Sinclair's Red Snapper is one of the prettiest and largest doubles ever . . and I recommend also Pete Conrad's Amber Suzanne . .
luck to you,
Barry

Aggghhhhhh, more to add to the never ending *wants* list..........

I finally have a couple--my hibbies have really slowed down lately. But here's Ring of Fire from just before Christmas:

And here's a first time bloom from Barry Schleuter! Not quite the same color as the pics I've seen of it (my hibiscus never seem to look like the pics!) but it's really gorgeous.

Liz
Your Barry is beautiful!

5th Dimension (Winn)

Ali Uli (Charles & Cindy)

Black Dragon (Charles & Cindy)

Cloud Nine (Robert or Matt)

David Boulin (Matt)

Envie (Robert)

Gabriel (Robert)

Alice,
getting back to your post way above, I have a Nikon D40x. Photography is my other hobby (has been for -- years, since high school).
I was taking pics of the hibs with my Canon S2, but then I dropped it :(

Nightfire (Winn)

Not nearly as rich and deep as Matts, but probably my first hib ever.

Orange Lagos (Ace Hardware)

This message was edited Dec 31, 2007 2:36 AM

Plum Crazy (Charles & Cindy)

Royal Treasure (Matt)

Voodoo Queen2 (Robert)

Wild at Heart (David))

Tomorrow, I have to:
finish 3rd application of 3in1 (takes me 3 days to do entire yard)
and, get ready for the freeze coming to Florida!
Spoke with Matt today, and, he guided me to keeping my babies safe.

If I can, I will take pics of any new blooms tomorrow. But they will all be covered for the next 4-5 days.

Wish me luck.
Cat

Good luck, Cat; we have freezes forecast the next few nights also . . and thanks for posting all the fine images. Don't you just love the crisp form and colors of little Royal Treasure? I don't remember the hybridizer but I admire the work.

Attached is a bloom of New Year's Day, normally a single. This is a third day bloom . . and count the petals!
Peace,
Barry

Barry,
Notice how many flowers are yours, lol?
I LOVE your work :)