OOPS!!! WHATS BLOOMING AUGUST 7th. I AM A DAY AHEAD OF MYSELF. SAD HUH!!!
Creole Darlin'
This message was edited Aug 7, 2007 10:01 AM
This message was edited Aug 7, 2007 10:29 AM
Whats Blooming 8/8
Cajun Blue
Rum Runner
Light My Fire
Hot Bikini
Mon Ami
"Envie"
City Slicker
Blueberry Thrill
Hoochie Coochie
Fireworks
Wow...they look awesome.
Nics pics, Robert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BTW - I'm coming to the Trade Days this weekend if I don't have to work the mission (I work at NASA and I'm on call on Saturday if we have to do a Focused Inspection) ... trying to bring a sis-in-law along!
BTW, here's one of my red hardies ...
And one of the peach hardies ...
One more of the peach hardies ...
ok, here's mine
double red garden variety
el cap yellow
hurricane lily
pink garden variety
cream garden variety
wild at heart
(yaaaaay, she survived!)
Hot Bikini, City Slicker, Blueberry Thrill, love them.
Can't wait for mine :)
Amanda, are your peach hardies really hardies or just tropicals that survive well in your area? The leaves look a lot like those of the tropicals (H. rosa sinensis). If they really are the hardy variety, I would love some of those seeds; they are a beautiful color.
Hummmmm ... well ardesia, I have not a clue! At the Houston Garden Center they were labeled hardy peach hibiscus so ... ? But I would still be glad to send you some seeds if you could tell me how to collect them! :) Or where they come from! I'm guessing the tips of the "tendril" or "stamile" in the middle of the flower?
I'm thinking these are hardy also because they've reacted to the weather and some of my mistakes just like the hardy red ones have ... anyone else know?
Cat - LOVE the El Cap and Wild at Heart!
Oh, ardesia, these peach "hardies" do bloom a lot and constantly ... I usually get 3-7 blooms on each 3 1/2 ft. tall bush a day, occasionally more. Makes my home look stunning!
Amanda, thank you!
This is a picture of a hardy hib seed pod. Each pod has many.many seeds inside. This one is from a Texas Star but most hardies have similar looking seed pods. http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/22490/
Most times the leaves on hardies are a gray/green color and have a dull finish, not shiny like the tropicals. But, there are ALWAYS exceptions in the plant world. :-))))
The red & peach ones look like tropicals to me, but I don't grow any of the hardies so I could be wrong.
Wow - so does this come after the flower? Or does it form like a flower bud but get this dead brown look to it? Help?
Nevermind - I found this helpful link: http://www.rozpat.net/Basics%20and%20Beyond.htm
It comes after the flower. It will be green at first then if you leave it on the bush it will eventually turn brown at which point the seeds are ripe. The hardies grow very easily from seeds. I will go and check one of my hardies to see if it has any seeds on it right now. The heat and humidity is unreal today and I have been avoiding going outside at all.
One thing I need though - how can I tell the difference between a seedpod and a bud? I'm very embarrassed but I have to ask.
oops, we cross posted. Amanda, that link deals only with tropicals. Some here on this forum (like Eclipse) grow fabulous tropicals from seeds, they never come true to the parents however.
The hardies are more likely to come true although I planted the seeds from a pretty pink one and got a plant with beautiful deep red flowers. It is always interesting.
Beautiful PICS from everyone as usual. Thanks for the PIC of the Wild at heart Cat. I have some small plants that I had gotten and have been waiting to see a real bloom not edited like we always have to see. Hi Amanda maybe we will see you this weekend. If you look on the website I have put a link to the trade days and you can get directions if you need to.
ardesia - yeah, you're right. But I'm geussing the concept is the same with the seed pod - it comes up after the bloom has died off. So I'll go out tonight, mark a few of the bloom dying off today and watch the seedpods form. When they do, I'll mail them to you! When is the best time to cut and mail them? When they turn brown and are beginning to open?
Don't feel embarassed, they do look a lot alike and we were all new to this once. But, you will figure out which one is which. You wouldn't pick a seed pod before it is brown and if it were a bud, a flower would form instead. After a while you will know the difference. I got my first hibiscus, a tropical, more than 30 years ago and I am still learning.
Ok, well I'll keep you updated on the progress then! :)
After being offline for a few days, I've some pics to share too. All are from today, except Creme de Cacao and Fireworks, which were taken last night (but since I was offline that's okay, right??).
My yard is looking very purple and blue today. Starting with Electric Blue.
This one is a two-fer shot, with new blooms on Renaissance Blue (left) and Belle de Jour (right). The BDJ bloom is the first one on this plant. I purchased it at the first HVH open house I went to last summer and it was super small. I decided after seeing the big plant my mom bought that I wasn't going to be able to wait for the little girl to bloom. So now I have two Belle de Jour (impatient, ME NEVER!)...
Soft Spot has another delicate lovely bloom.
Voodoo Queen bloomed in order to offset the pastels in my yard today.
