My tropical hibiscus that I barely was able to keep alive in the greenhouse last winter are starting to bloom!
This one is Cherry Appaloosa.
Just had to share!
And this one is Sun Showers.
I have another one just starting to open called C'est Bon - hopefully tomorrow!
Absolutely stunning!
They are .. the Sun Showers is a real stunner .. can't wait for C'est Bon to open today.
WOW = totally beautiful!
I have Cherry Appaloosa; got it in a trade. Mine hasn't bloomed yet. It is gorgeous, isn't it?
Barb
I was in love with Cherry Appaloosa until Sun Showers bloomed. They both have stunning contrasting colors .. I had problems with both dropping buds at first and discovered it was mites. The buds looked perfect and healthy but would drop off about 2 days before they started really opening. I started spraying them with spectricide and no more bud drop.
Have you thought about crossing the two????
Barb
I was wondering how they do cross these guys .. I have never had any luck getting any rosa-sinensis to produce seeds hand pollinating them to themselves. Plant files says propagation only by cuttings so I didn't even try. But next time they bloom I'll certainly give it a try.
I got these last fall the 3 mentioned above already rooted .. and 3 more unrooted cuttings. It wasn't until this summer I actually got the three cuttings to root. I was astonished to have them stay alive for well over 9 months stuck in vermiculite! The three that finally rooted are White Magic, Rosalind and Love Story.
Still waiting on C'est Bon to open .. I'm worried it might be considering a bud drop.
Although I only have a couple of hibiscus left, and none are blooming because the deer munched on them, I used to have many of the fancy hybrids. Some of them are known to be good seed producers and some aren't. There was aTarentella that always set large seed pods but they were always empty. You might ask about the seed producing abilities of your cultivars over on the hibiscus forum.
Good luck with them.
Ardesia is right. Some produce seed pods easily, others don't. My Erin Rachel does, as does my Irish Spring.
I tend to just spread it around and see what happens.
Barb
Those are gorgeous!!
Still waiting on C'est Bon .. bud hasn't dropped off and petals look like they are slowly unfurling, maybe a millimeter each day.
X,
If you stand there, staring at it for days on end, it will form a seed filled pod...;)
Lol
Well I was beginning to think the C'est Bon was a cleistogamic hibiscus (but never opens but does pollinate itself). The bud finally fell off without opening .. I have two more that hopefully will open.
Nothing is more frustrating........
The several hybridizers I have spoken with say fertilize heavily (low middle number) and give them a tablespoon of epsom salts every month.
I agree - they are heavy feeders.
Well one more feeding for everyone tomorrow then starvation diet .. time to let everyone know it's getting close to dormant time.
My hibiscus all took a beating this year. I just noticed one today that I thought died off, it just took till August I guess to start growing. LOL. I leave my in the ground over winter, they are all stunned one way or another.
Well I had totally given up on C'est Bon and quit watching it since the buds kept falling off .. I went out today and voila! Not as stunning as the other two, but pretty.
They put on their prettiest flowers in the fall, they love the cooler nights. They do not go into dormancy, you can have them blooming all winter in your greenhouse.
Cool! I guess all the tropical hibiscus will get the best seats in the gh. I love it when some of my plants bloom in the winter .. cheers me up!
Those are some beauties. I hope mine live over winter as one is huge.
Lavina
I have a plain Jane red one that just grew 3 ft in a week i think, not a flower yet but it's the biggest it's every been. Not sure exactly what going on with that one.
3 feet in one week? Sounds like it's on hyperdrive!
It rained a lot about two weeks ago and it went crazy after that. It was late to come back and just looked weak and feeble all summer. Lady across the street had the same problem her hibiscus didn't start blooming till August. I also have hardy hibiscus in bloom right now too which is odd since they should have bloomed months ago.
That is weird .. my hardy hibiscus .. the luna pink has been blooming for months .. what's not blooming for me are the brugmanisa .. out of 12 plants only 1 had put out a flower.
very jealous....
My brugs are just starting to bloom, which is fairly normal.
My hibiscus did OK in the crazy heat and are really enjoying the cooler temps. Starting to get a steady supply of blooms.
Barb
Only two of my brugs have buds on them - teeny tiny .. the rest didn't even Y.
X - I'm having the same problem with mine! it is nearlyl reaching the top of the deck but still has not Y'd - that's over 6' tall...oh well there's always next year and I did transplant it in April from the old house...I love your hibiscus by the way - awesome pics!!!
Ditto for my brugs, nothing doing. I'm going to have to look into these hibiscus more, every time I look at them I can't help but smile. Just gorgeous.
The only problem with tropical hibiscus is that in our zone they have to be wintered over in a place that doesn't get below 40 degrees at night for a prolonged time .. but they are gorgeous and am scouting out more!
I feel better now that I know no ones burgs are doing right this year. Mine are punny and no blooms or even 2 feet tall. Wonder whats going on.
Lavina
I wish I knew too but like you it's nice to know it's not just me concerning the brugs. I'm giving up on my brugmansia room. It looked stunning one year and lousy from then on. I'm just going to keep 3 of my doubles. I have a white and pink and am looking for a double orange/yellow.
Keon - and just think if you started some seeds now you could have them at your reception and keep that tropical Hawaii feeling :)~
I think if we hold the reception in Charleston I may rent a UHaul truck to take some of my giant potted tropicals down there. Why rent what I already have, LOL. Will definitely have to consider brugs too, I hadn't even thought of that. Most of the brugs I have this year are fairly large cut shoots from last year, and they almost ALWAYS bloom using that method since they already have a lot of their stem in-tact. I just cut them off at the ground and stick them in water for the winter, they grow a ton of roots and usually I only loose 1 or 2 over the winter. Then I just stick them in the ground come spring and they are already 2-4 feet tall. But no blooms this year and hardly any additional growth - very strange with the Brugs this year.
Ditto on the Brugs. My "Charles Grimaldi" has been in the ground for 7 years, each year bigger and more floriferous than the last. This year it only got about 6' tall, far more spindly than in the past, and nowhere near as many flowers. It's always started flowering in early July in the past; this year no flowers till the end of August, and they're puny.
Stono- do you think all that rain we had depleted the soil of nutrients and then all of a sudden hot n dry spell? I've noticed my one brug up next to the house that gets fertilized weekly has done much better than those 'further' out in the yard that I don't fertilize as religiously because it's just been too hot to drag that hose around lol