David Thompson is on ebay!

plant_maniac is the best hybridizer of streptocarpus in the US. He is a botanist and I can vouch that every single plant I have ever received from him is the best of the best as far as growing goes.
Just wanted to you let you hibiscus lovers know he is on again.

I don't know about other hibiscus vendors , but I do know that David is the best when it comes to streptocarpus and all gesneriads.

What does this have to do with hibiscus?

He has tropical hibbies listed too. Gail is just giving us a recommendation based on the experience she has had buying his streps. It's sometimes hard to buy on ebay when you don't know anything about the seller. He sells his hibbies for $9.95 I believe cause I've looked at them and considering order from him. I know Gail personally and I trust her opinion.

Hope this helps.

Patty

David Thompson has some of the most beautiful hibiscus ever and I know his plants are sooooooooo healthy ........patty is right.............

Florida chick , did you think I might not be talking about his hibiscus???? You must have thought I was trying to tell you about streptocarpus......smiling.......

Gessiegail, thats exactly what I thought. When I pulled up his name on ebay, all I saw was those streptocaprus. I still havent seen any hibiscus, are they on ebay too?

Stop....what am I saying......stop looking at hibiscus to buy....just say no!!!!

LOL..........when you are on the streptocarpus of his, just click see all of seller's items and there they are.................at the end............he is the best grower of anyone I know...........bar none.......and hybridizes all kinds of plants...........I bid on his florist's gloxinia he hybridized but I got outbid .........

Oh no, I shouldnt go over to ebay, I really shouldnt. Well, just a little peek couldnt hurt....

Warning! Very contagious, Beware of the hibiscus bite, once you are bitten by one you get hibs fever and you can't stop buying them, some symptoms are multiplying them, start tacking photos of them, cross pollinate them, then you start to show them on the DG forums to other very nice and beautiful people who have been contaminated too by this wonderful epidemic, ..........................................darn it, why did I have to be curious and check it out for, now I'm contaminated too, Thanks a lot gessiegail for the info.

Wilfred

This message was edited May 31, 2009 7:45 AM

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZplantQ5fmaniacQQfrppZ50QQfsopZ32QQfsooZ2QQrdZ0

Enabler....... :-)

I can't get into hibiscus with our heavy hard winds................but I love them!!

gessiegail is there anyway you could put up any type of wind breaker, do you have any photos of your front and back yard you could post, maybe somebody can suggest to you an idea to you'll be able to put up so you can have at least a couple of hibs.

Wilfred

You are so nice to even be concerned. I live way out in the country and remodeled an old farmhouse. No one has lived here so they didn't plant a wind break like everyone else has down here. I talked to the best nursery in Corpus Christi. Oleanders are the best but I have to deal with cattle across the fence so that is out! He said the next best windbreak would be Vitex trees and let them grow as 'shrubs'....................

Now for the funny part: I am old and think it would probably take at least 4 or 5 years for the Vitex trees to provide some kind of a windbreak...........so still thinking about it.......

I have mesquite trees but they are too big and too high to help with the wind.........It is almost impossible for me to grow anywhere except the front screened in porch facing the south and inside the house. I do have 7 big gro light stands where I grow my gesneriads...............

Instead of doing a living windbreak, could you have some fencing or wooden trellis type thing put up to block the wind from a small area? I live in a wind tunnel here, but I have a wooden lattice panel put up across the back of my deck (which otherwise would be directly exposed to the winds coming from the west) and it does a good job of keeping the wind down enough that I can grow things (including hibiscus) there. I also have containers on the east side of the house where the house blocks most of the wind. Even with the protection I'll still get pots blown over from time to time when the wind gusts swirl around, but except for the occasional bud getting knocked off I haven't had any major problems with my hibiscus (because of the wind at least!) Here's a pic where you can see the lattice in the background:

Nice yard, ecrane.................One 60 mph day and the lattice would go with the rest of all the pots that tumble down the field.......smiling.............

Mine's survived that--it's basically built like a fence, posts are cemented into the ground, etc.

Here is my problem with wind.........I am standing face due north taking this picture...........the house faces due south. The winds blow from the east and southeast. So I would need to plant something all the way from the storage building to the right at the back of this picture.........down the fence line where cattle are.........and then from east to west about 200 feet......that means I need to plant a Vitex tree every 10 feet (for a total of 300 to 350 feet) or nothing would do any good..

Or..........a combination of Vitex letting them be giant shrubs and then using the oleanders on the south side of the mesquite trees where I am standing.

We are in extreme drought conditions this year, but we did get 2 inches of rain last week. (our first measurable rain this year). That is why everything is brown.........

That's why I was thinking you could just create a small protected area up by the house somewhere (either with shrubs or something manmade). I've given up on protecting most of my yard from the wind, but having the lattice in that one spot lets me have containers on the deck without getting blown around too much. In your case if the wind's coming from a couple directions you might have to build/plant things on two sides, but it would still be a much more manageable approach than trying to protect the whole property.

I know but I want a yard......with roses, etc...........well............I can't have it (LOL)

The reason I want to protect the whole yard is because we spend a lot of time out on the screened in front porch with the breeze and I don't want to look and see big wind breaks..........

Thanks, Ecrane

How about---4x4's as the posts. Frame 4x8 thicker lattice and attach to the 4x4's. They sell the framing boards with a groove to hold the lattice. Don't use the thin lattice as it will fall apart. Plant climbing roses with the hibiscus in front of the roses. Then you could have your roses and hibiscus. I built a 3 section one but you can make it to go as far as you want. The posts are cemented in. Mine is as sturdy as when I built it.
You can even make into an "L" for a sitting area. I would not use the chaste as slow growing and mine is more like a tree now.
Lynn

Thanks for the help!!!

Hi Gessiegail, sorry I didn't get yo you yesterday, so many thing to do in one day beside working. After seeing your photo I understand why you don't what to block it with something unnatural, I've been looking for other types of plant that would look appealing, grow fast and bushy maybe in a year or so, also inexpensive, with lots of flowers and that can withstand drought from time to time. On our island there are many types of climates conditions, we have wet zones, dry soon, cold zone and very hot zone, we even have a petrified forest, the only thing we don,t have yet is snow. temp has to drop only 3 more degrees in winter to get it. I found that in one of our driest region they grow bougainvillea which tend to get quit bushy, always have flower, grow fast, withstands drought, and are inexpensive also you can propagate the from cutting, they come in different color,( White, yellow, orange, rust, violet, magenta, purple, red ). they also grow the bushy type mandevilla, check them out in the plant files, they are beautiful for a wind breaker and a nice background for some hibs ask your garden center to see what they thing. We also have a red hib. that can be trimmed and shaped like a hedge that grows pretty fast and the more you trim it, the thicker it gets, I don't have that one but I can try to get you some cuttings for you, mean while I'll keep looking and see if I can find some to help you with your dream yard.

Wilfred

Not a bad idea Wilfred. They use Bougies in Hawaii the way we might use azaleas here in the southeast. They even prune them into hedges.

Great photo ardesia, just hope gessiegail like the idea, really would like her to have a beautiful yard and garden full of flower she could relax, enjoy and admire all day long, the beauty nature has to offer is unlimited and only limited by ones desires.

Wilfred

That is a beautiful picture ardesia.

Thanks, I was amazed how they used the bouganvillas.

I have some giant bouganvillas but they are deciduous in my zone 9a.......which means that in the months of March, April and May........they haven't had time to get big again. Those spring months for wind are the very worst of all..............good idea though.