Some from across the country, in Southern California

I do not pollinate or hybridized - I'm just not that advanced, lol ;-) I have never made or traded cuttings, either. My plants were all hard-pruned last year, so this year I'm not planning any pruning. I keep them no larger than 5' tall, and most are less, Pruning is usually done in the late spring, but in your climate, I'm honestly not sure.

Everybody has been a newbie some time, so I'll be glad to answer any questions I can :-) It's a wonderful (if very addicting) hobby, sure to bring lots of beauty into your life.

I've got a few more to add from today.

Here's my first bloom on Black Dream.

And, a much nicer bloom on Climax.

First bloom on Dark of Night. Not very nice form today, but I like the colors and will be looking forward to subsequent blooms.

Eye Shadow - looks like I need to find the dirty little grasshopper that took a bite.

Medicine Man.

And lastly for today, Wild Dream. I'm so excited to have just received this one from HVH! I had it several years ago when it was first introduced at one of their open houses as a "one of". It was just a little plant, and it sadly died over that first winter.

Everything else blooming here today is daylilies, and that has quite a pretty day's crop.

Have a beautiful day!

karen

Very nice. Black Dream is a tough one to photograph quite right, isn't it? The camera has a hard time picking up the depth of the colors.

Yes, Jon, it is very hard to photograph. The colors are much richer in person. From my photograph, it almost looks like a really big, without spots, Red Beans and Rice. Although it can't top my very favorite, Black Dragon, I really love the flowers :-)

LOL I have a love/hate relationship with Black Dragon. Have had two of them and both of them committed suicide on me. Do I go for a perfect 3 for 3????

Jon, that reminds me of one of my favorite Samuel Beckett quotes: "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better."

Of all hibiscus, BD is my total consistent favorite (it's my "signature color"), and at this point I've gone through several myself. Had one old one (one of my first ever hibiscus) that had really gotten big and was SO incredibly beautiful and prolific, but when I moved houses for the second time, it finally gave up the ghost. So, I've tried a few more than that, but it's the one bloom - well, this one and Magnifique, that I always HAVE to have - so "try again, fail again, fail better." LMAO!

karen

Oh, I'm sure I'll try again sometime soon. The last Black Dragon was doing very well, growing at its snails pace, and then it just immediately went down hill and died last summer. I think it got too much of our typical summer rains.

Trying to think of my favorites and can narrow it down to three. High Voltage has always been my favorite. It's just a simple white with red, but the blooms are always perfect and the bush is superb. Number 2 would be "Misbehavin" because its so loudly bright and easy to spot. Number 3 would be my own creation "Toucan Tango".

Glad you mentioned it Jon, I'm still waiting on that Toucan Tango cutting...(hint hint)

oOOh,
Whats Toucan Tango look like?? Got a picture? I have my first Black Dragon on its way from Winn's Fancy Hibiscus right now... Eesh, wish me luck. I asked him if it was a difficult one, he said no...

LOL. I think it's a very difficult plant, but it's a beautiful bloom. It's extremely sensitive to over watering and it's tough to get it to grow right and develop a nice shape. I'll post a picture of Toucan Tango with my current subject of recent Ft Lauderdale blooms. I just have two of the plants (the original one and a grafted copy from the original).

I think you need to start a "sell it to these people first" list for your Toucan Tango, lol! Make sure my name is on there!!

Blupit, Black Dragon is a difficult cultivar, as is its kin, Dragon's Breath. Did you read the reviews on Fancy Hibiscus before your purchase (I hope so, and wish you luck). It's just as difficult in Southern California as it is in Florida, and no matter what I've done, it's a sprawly mess of a bush. It's sensitive to heat, water and, I think, it's many moods, lol. Also like Jon said, the flowers are absolutely stunning when it blooms!!

I'm always coveting Misbehavin and wish we could get it in California - darn those ag rules anyway ;-)

High Voltage is indeed a beautiful, perfect bloom and plant, and blooms so prolifically too!

I noticed the review of Black Dragon has been completely changed on that website. I distinctly remember reading a completely different review of Black Dragon just a year or two ago there. I'd still tell you to buy it and give it a try because it's bloom is awesome, but I wouldn't tell you its easy to grow.

Another incredibly gorgeous double bloom hibiscus is "Dancing Fire". The bloom is huge and its just about the best looking double bloom I've ever seen. The bush it grows on is another story. The kind word would be to call it "sprawling". Another issue is the blooms are so huge and heavy that they cause the branches to bend downward, therefore the blooms are almost always facing downward. I had a Dancing Fire for awhile because I wanted to see some of the gigantic blooms, but eventually rid of the plant to make room for better growing plants.

Hi Karen,

Your plants look great, I especially like blue book and campfire girl. I am glad you commented on Blue book because I was wondering about it and heard it's a difficult bush to grow but all of your photo's look great.

bluepit007, Keep us updated on how your plant does because the reviews on that company are not great so don't be discouraged if the bush doen't do good because alot of people have gotten plants from him and have had bad luck.


Patrick

That's lookin like a nice mid morning "Silver Memories" bloom to me!!! LOL I'm not touching that "company" comment Patrick. Just sitting here with a smile on my face and nodding my head.

Awwe Mannn! Seriously? I ordered from Winn; Black Dragon, The Path, Fifth Dimention, & Tigers Eye. The path and tigers eye are the ones I most want, but got carried away. He hasn't sent them to me yet (i suspect he will on Monday). I wonder if I should cancel Black Dragon and Fifth??? He told me that The Path he is sending me is really small, like 8", but I really wanted it. And I think the Fifth was just really cut back (not sure I want it anymore!). I don't know what to do. I am spending so much money buying plants I don't really have room for. I cant have a sprawling black dragon! Uggg!

Also, is Voodoo Magic finicky? I have just a tiny clipping from BigBadFlower that is talking #%@* to me every other day. Complaining about something or other... Im too cold, my feet are wet, More Sun!!! I was super excited about this one because the photos on the HVH site were amazing!

What should I do about my flowers coming from Winn?

I'm not sure what you should do. Black Dragon is most likely to be a sprawling, very very very slow growing plant regardless of who you buy it from. The other issue is I don't see it currently available from anyone else right now, although it will eventually be available again. The only other two I'm very familiar with is "Fifth Dimension" and "Voodoo Magic", because I have them. Both of those are good growing plants so they shouldn't give you problems if you received healthy plants that were grafted correctly. I can relate to you when it comes to quickly adding plants to your collection. Probably every one of us did that when we first started, because we had the hibiscus fever. Always keep reminding yourself that you need to bring these plants inside during the winter and that you need to have enough spaces with some sun to get them through the winter. There is never going to be a shortage of hibiscus plants that you like and would like to buy. Perhaps you should just stick with what your intentions were and just order "The Path" and "Tigers Eye" for now and see how those two plants from Winn do for you. When you haven't ordered from someone before, regardless of who it is and what type of plants they are, it's probably best to start small with just a couple of plants. Within a year or two you will have your favorite online companies, to order from, simply based on how their plants do for you.

Jon

Great advise Jon, Thanks. I think I will call Winn today. He seems nice enough... About Voodoo. Do your flowers actually look like the photos on the HVH site? Crazy beautiful!! I think the clipping I got must be soso, it has been funny since day one. It came with one leaf curled. Then 3 curled. I emailed about it and he said too much water. Then the helpful man at the store I go to said that the Foxfarm (?) soil I have them in is way to potent for the young roots and to put them in seed starter soil from Foxfarm. Since then, they look much better actually. Two of the leaves have flattened mostly.... the tiny leaf is still curled, but the plant looks much happier.

Karen, they are all sooooooo pretty. My favorite is Fantasy Charm, which has been on the top of my list for some time. It is so hot here & people close to us were floating away while we are dry as a bone so I really don't need anything else right now. But, the only way to keep from buying something is to stay at home. Your collection is stunning. Thanks for sharing with us.

Hugs,
Judy

OK Everybody,

Winn sent my the 4 plants, there was a package sitting on my doorstep when I got home from work just now. Sooooo..... They are all grafted into a thicker base stem??? Ummm, does that sound right? $25 each... Should I be mad? I will show you. Couple photos to follow. I am asking because as you know I am new at this hobby and don't know the protocol. I hope the plants Im getting from HVH are not grafted like this. At least the 'lil bits' I got from Big Bad Flower are they own plant!

Check em' out!
Later
~K

The grafted trunk #1

Tiger's Eye with tape bunched up...

The plants themselves look pretty healthy though. I am looking them over completely for bugs. There was specks all over the leaves that I dont know weather or not it was packing, moss, perlite, or bugs. Will know tomorrow when they dry off. Either way, Im spraying them with Neem in the morning!

wow blupit, I am no Hibiscus expert, my area is Brugs really, but I would be mad to pay $25.00 for these plants. I can see plants this size coming from the big bad flower site cause of the price....but as a consumer, I would expect Winn to send a big healthy bushy NOT GRAFTED bush to me for 25 smackaroos....this makes up my decision not to buy from him. I would try to get my money back if I were you.....

Mind you, this is only my opinion, not meant to try and upset you...I am new to this forum. Other members or you may feel differently, and that this was a good deal hon. Whatever happens, I hope you are pleased with the end result. Good luck, Karen

Thanks for the compliments, guys. I've got some more to add, or a new thread to start sometime this weekend. I've been a bit off on the daylily crazies track with all my pretty new blooms there. I'm such a plant junkie - and fickle too, although nothing will ever replace my tropical hibiscus :-)

Hi Karen - I didn't mean a review of Black Dragon as a cultivar (sorry), I meant a review of Winn as a hibiscus seller. For individual cultivar reviews, this is a great place to come. Ask member growers/collectors who are experienced with a certain one in different areas of the country, and you'll be able to find out growth/bloom/bush strengths or weaknesses. Some cultivars do better on one side of the country than the other, which is why I love seeing everyone's blooms!

Some tropical hibiscus need to be grafted, as they are nearly impossible to grow on their own root, and there are a number of excellent, reputable sellers that sell grafted plants. So, personally, I would not be against grafted plants in general - as a matter of fact, I own quite a number of them.

The plants you received from Winn are FAR FAR better looking than what I received from him when I was a relative beginner. That purchase was a number of years ago though, so perhaps his company has changed (hopefully). The thing is that not only plants, but individual cultivars are valued differently by different people. For a more common cultivar, I (again, personally) would not pay $25, unless I knew who I was buying from provided extremely large, healthy plants - and there are some sellers that do. For something a little more rare, or one that particularly floats my boat, I would pay that - so see, price is a really individual thing. I have a list of sellers that I buy from, and I've built that list on multiple purchases, not only of the blooms themselves, but customer service as well. Every once in a while, I find a new place when looking for a cultivar I particularly want, which is how I found Big Bad Flower. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, lol. I'm always open to new sellers, but those that I feel have done me dirty, I definitely won't purchase from again.

Just my two cents :-)

karen

That makes me feel a little bit better. What sellers do you prefer to go to? Is HVH good? I am getting some sent to me this week from them. I still am a bit mad about the small plants from Winn and that they are grafted like they are... Although the plants seem to be happy and healthy. Not sure if I should call him or email him to let him know, I'm such a baby!

HVH is definitely on my list! Not only do they provide beautiful plants, their customer service is top-notch and they're also very, very nice people. Since they're in Southern California (about an hour away from me), I always enjoy going to their Summer open houses held once per month. I've gotten to know them over the last few years, and you really couldn't ask to meet more helpful, down-home people :-)

The other two places I have purchased the majority of my plants from are www.hibiscusplace.com and www.atouchofthetropics.com. I've also purchased directly from the DuPonts, at www.dupontnursery.com. They are all good sellers that absolutely stand by their plants. There is a good hibiscus seller on Ebay too, and his name is plant_maniac. His plants, although fairly small, are always very healthy and usually inexpensive.

Just let me know if there's anything I can do to help you :-)

karen

Thank you Karen for all the tips and advice! I've bookmarked everything

Yeah, Thanks! I will check them out too! Do you think I should say to something Winn??

It's up to you. I didn't say anything to him, and believe me, the plants he sent me were pretty terrible. I just made a mental note to never, ever purchase from him again. Live and learn is my motto ;-)

Personally I don't put much weight on whether a plant is grafted or grown on it's own roots. It's how the plant grows, performs and blooms for me that determines if I'm happy with it or not. I'm not likely to pay $25 for a hibiscus either, unless its a rare variety and you have no other options or I KNOW I'm receiving a plant at least 12-18 inches in height that is well branched and full. All of these things are part of the reason I would only order 1 or 2 plants from someone new to me. If they are nice plants that adjusted well and are growing nicely there's plenty of time to order from them again.

The issue I had with plants from Winn is that they all were poor/slow growing plants. Most of them looked healthy, but they seemed to refuse to grow larger, and if they did it was at a very slow pace. My guess is that it has something to do with the grafting technique. I've grafted a few plants in the past year and have observed some growing very well and some remaining very sluggish. I'm guessing that I must have grafted some better than others. There must be a good graft and a not so good graft. LOL I do feel that Winn is a nice person and his intentions are good. I think the issue is that he is overwhelmed at times. The business is run out of the backyard and there are a LOT of plants back there.....I mean A LOT. He tries to maintain everything himself and I don't know how he does it, with limited or no help at times. I'm not sure I could handle all that work myself.

bluepit have you decided not to keep your plants from Winn? I saw them on the want to trade lists.....

Darkmoon,

You know what, I don't really know what I'm doing on this site yet. I don't really understand the trade list. I want to show you what plants I have right? So why does that make it available for everyone to trade with? I see that some people have their trade list say not available for trade, how do I make it do that. Because I want to list what I have so people can see, but I don't have anything to trade people with, as you know, everything is super small. I sometimes get Dmails asking for clipping trades and feel bad saying no.

I would like to be able to trade at some point. Right now they are tiny though.

Gosh blu, I don't know....I don't understand how the trade lists work either. Hopefully an expert will come by and tell us both, lol! Your list is looking great by the way! You have a lot that I would have chosen, I am envious! I would love to trade with people, but just don't have the trades that these hibiscus experts would want in return, sadly....Good luck fixing it like you want it hon! And congrats again on your great looking collection

Thanks,
Maybe soon you and I could make some trades. I bought all my plants. They are only $6 from www.bigbadflower.com you should check them out. Really small, but they have there own roots! Also www.hiddenvalleynaturearts.com is great. I'm expecting delivery of my Saffron, Cindy's Heart, & Bella du Jour this Friday. Big plants too, so I will have something that actually blooms this year! We will keep in touch!
Kristen