A few for 02/18/08

AuntB, the flowers on my Black Dragon are beautiful and very maroon, no purple, but the plant itself is unattractive with branches that go this way and that. It blooms well but it has never had a nice shape and is just sort of ugly looking. This year I pruned it all the way back to the main trunk in hopes that I can shape it nicely this spring. Lots of new branches coming out, we shall see.........

Polyester quilt batting is another lightweight cover for cold nights. It really insulates well with a sheet tossed over the top.

ardesia some plants are just leggy and you can prune them untill the cow's come home. It always seems that some of the most beautiful blooms are on some of the worse bushes. The one that comes to mind that I just love but the plant is about uncontrollable is Chocolate Berry Truffell. I have it and I just wish it was not so wild. There are just some out there like that and some of them work best in baskets. Thats my 2cents worth. take care...............Gene

My peach poodle is that way. I love the blooms but it sticks limbs out like a scarecrow.

Anne

Gene, do you grow Black Dragon? I am curious if others have had the same issues with that one. I know these fancy ones are grown mostly for the flowers and I haven't found any that have the full bushy shape like the common garden variety hibs. My BD is just unusually unattractive but I haven't ruled out trying another because the flowers are amazing.

ardesia - I had the same luck with my Forever Young. The flower was absolutely stunning, but the bush was "leggy" as gene put it and didn't have any type of upright form.

Ardesia sometimes your location will make a difference and other times it can be issues with watering or feeding location in you yard so many things. Trial and error sometimes is the best was to solve some of those problems. My BD grows rather slow and does not bloom as ofter as I would like but when I have a good bloom it's worth the wait. Don't give up on it just keep trying. Now my forever young has been a good bloomer for me so there you see there are so many variables. Pruning is the very best was to improve your plant you just have to be willing to give up some blooms for a while since they bloom on new wood. It does pay off in the long run though. You'll have a more attractive plant with many more blooms on it. good luck....................Gene

gene -

My Forever Young was an excellent bloomer. I loved how the blooms lasted for 2-4 days at a time, too. But I was referring to the bush not having an upright form, being "lazy" or "sprawly." It's hard to have a neatly trimmed look to a flower bed with a hibiscus plant like that. :)

Amanda pruneing is the only answer to that and in a lot of cases it can be helped and the plant can be made to look much better I've done it many times. Good Luck
....................Gene