Hibiscus Liner Co-op

A couple of years back, I ordered from a Hibiscus Liner Co-op. Has there been one recently? Is there one planned that you know of? Is there any place to buy liners? Thanks.

Here are the ones I am getting from Buried Treasure. I love the deep, darker colors.

HIBISCUS
1. City Slicker
2. Curly Top
3. Tsunami
4. Vermillion Queen
5. Beau Vie
6. Black Dragon
7. Mon Ami

This message was edited Mar 5, 2009 11:14 PM

The only place I know of that sells liners is Exotic Hibiscus www.exotichibiscus.com They don't always have a great number of their plants available as liners though. I've had really bad luck with liners so I'd recommend if you don't mind spending a little more to get a plant in a 4" pot instead. www.hiddenvalleyhibiscus.com and www.atouchofthetropics.net are great sources and both carry some in 4" pots.

Hi Liz and gloriag,
I agree about the liner's their success rate is just not as well as an established plant. I have rooted successful and once I pot them up it's downhill from there LOL Also, whatever it's worth I would definitely buy from a reputable grower and not a broker. A liner broker just orders them in from wholesale nurseries, picks them up and ships them out without any knowledge of how the plants grow, what may the best growing conditions may be etc.... When a company or broker doing a co-op consistently has to refer you to reputable growers or other nursery sites for growing and care information if you ask questions, even if you order larger plants from the co-op the success rate of it surviving is less than 50%. A grower will have the answers and not hesitate to help. Also, when dealing with the hibiscus hybrids, they are unlike standards or garden varieties. Most of the time they have a mind of their own as anyone on this forum will tell you that does grow them. When shaping a new liner or 4” pot it may sometimes seem impossible. A grower or nursery will help you with this process, a broker blows you off or gives you a website to go to because they know absolutely nothing about the plants but what they may have skimmed through and read with no understanding at all. My suggestion and it is just mine, order from a reputable company. Like all of us (especially now) we try to save money when and where we can, but if you are trying to save a little money when dealing with hibiscus hybrids, sometimes it can often lead to confusion, frustration and ultimately disappointment. Personally I would rather have 1 beautiful full bush thats prolific and gives me enjoyment than to have a dozen hopeful's that may not ever produce. I know this was long and drawn out but it is just my thoughts.

Good Luck in your quest,
Robert


This message was edited Feb 28, 2009 8:47 PM

Gloriag - In case you are interested, there is a hibiscus co-op that is still accepting orders (even though it was officially closed 2/28).

guamsorbit, thank you. I have placed my order and I hope it will be accepted. If it is not, I haven't lost anything. But those hibiscus are beautiful! I am so excited about this.
Thanks again.
Gloria

Pizonne01, I ordered the liners a couple of years ago and I didn't lose any. They all bloomed the first year, and I was very pleased. When I moved I had to leave them. I just hope this experience will be as good as the first. But thank you for the heads up. If they don't work out, I won't be able to say that I wasn't warned.

Hi Gloria,

I hope all goes well and you have a great experience!!!

Take Care,
Robert

Gloriag, I hope you get in on the order as well. I think as long as there is product available, the orders will continue to be taken. I'm pretty excited about it as well! Glad I could help spread the love. :-)

dee

guamsorbit, Yes, thanks so much!! I truly overdid it, but as Scarlett said, "I will worry about that tomorrow," Next winter is far away. I think I can rig something up to carry my brugs and now new hibiscus over until spring 2010. I will have plenty of time to think about it.

I'm having a ball now that I've discovered the more exotic hibiscuses. (Is that the plural of hibiscus or is hibiscus both singular and plural like "shrimp"or "pants"?) Whatever, two of our kids (in their 40's and 50's) came over yesterday and I had them repot my hibs out of the 3 gal. pots and pot them in larger pots and then in bigger pots for safety and weather. Starting out correctly, I have pictures, the tags, the hibs themselves are tagged and all is very organized since I am starting out small - only 7 right now and I will not get in over my head. I can do that. Yesterday I had 3 buds on "Goin' Steady" and today 2 of them bloomed each over 7". A question: from what I can gather this particular hib is supposed to be double and mine are both singles. I don't really care as they are gorgeous and huge but I understand that later in the year they may begin to be double. Do you think this is correct? The hibiscus that I now have are

Bahama Bay Series
Goin' Steady
Amazon Queen
Snowfire
Heartbeat
Sun Showers

A double peach - no name just the description
"President. Red" - that's what is on the pot and neither of these last 2 has any other description, etc.

Since the price was right, the plants are healthy and robust and the colors what I want I don't really care if they are NOIDs.
Another question: How can I tell if these hibs are own root or grafted or can I tell? The reason I ask is that if they should freeze and I lose the tops of them how would I know if the hib is worth saving if it is a grafted one and the graft is gone and I am left just w/the root stock?
Thanks for answering my "unstupid" questions.

Ann

On the one that's supposed to be double...I've found that many of them will sometimes bloom single instead of double. I haven't paid enough attention to see if it's a season or temperature thing or if it's just something that rjust happens randomly, but I've found it to be pretty common so I definitely wouldn't worry about that.

On the no-ID's...the peach one definitely may not have a name, there are some garden variety ones that don't have official cultivar names that you'll run across from time to time. I've got a double peach one and was never able to get a cultivar name for it and I suspect yours may be the same one.

Could this one be the red President? http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/46577/ If that doesn't look like it there are a few other cultivars with President in the name, but most of them don't have pics so I don't know what color they are http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=hibiscus&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=rosa-sinensis&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=president&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&searcher%5Bgrex%5D=&search_prefs%5Bblank_cultivar%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search

As far as grafted vs not...if you look down towards the bottom of the "trunk" you should be able to spot the graft if it exists. Something like your garden variety peach double is most likely on its own roots. Also different hibiscus growers/sellers have different preferences--I'm not sure if the Bahama Bay line is one that is likely to be grafted or not but someone else may know that if you're not able to tell just by looking at the plant.

ecrane, thank you so much for your input. That "president.red" may well be what this one is in pf. Time will tell. As far as the single Goin' Steady" whether or not it's single makes no difference to me. I bought the rose because I liked the color combination, the bush was green and upright, the whole thing looked to be in good condition and healthy. I haven't gotten to the point of being a "snob" when it comes to named varieties. Jim and I couldn't help but keep looking at those 2 flowers together, one above the other. ( I have a picture of this but don't know how to get it here to DG) I finally remarked to Jim that the two together made, at first glance, it look as if it was a giant caladium leaf.


Ann