Perennial Hibiscus

[kHT]

It's my favorite time of the year when these start to bloom!!

[Chris_W]

Hi Karma,

I love these too, but are they just starting to flower for you now? Yours must be a lot later than ours, but I know that when there is a really wet and cool spring they come up really late too.

That last one looks like Hibiscus 'Clown' and the first one is called 'Plum Crazy'.

Thanks for sharing

Chris

[kHT]

Thank you so much Chris, you had DH as he stated, "how could you forget that name? " There is a lot of shades of purple in our yard.
For the past couple years we have had some really strange weather out here, we haven't been getting hot until late in July. We are just coming off a week of
90+ degrees so everything is so late. We should be in the mid 70s now but what can one say, Mother Nature will prove she still is in control? I can tell you the tropicals that
I set out early all faded and those that were put back into the greenhouse were just moved out a month ago and they are starting to bloom. I'll be putting them away soon!

Here are a couple more photos. The one white one is totally covered this am and I'll get another shot. I have a couple more of our hybrids to finally bloom, this two years to get them to bloom is worth it!!

[kHT]

Yesterday the pink one opened, we still have a couple crosses to open that are out back.

[newtohosta-no more]

Those are all lovely, Karma.

[kHT]

Thanks Joan, these are becoming some of our favorites!

Chris, is your Plum Crazy setting seedpods at all?

[kHT]

Here is one of our new ones, our cross of the white w/the hot pink.

[morgansrgr8]

I started some seedling of these last year. This year 21 have come back up. I hope they bloom this year, only one of them did last year. They are so pretty when they bloom. I tossed some seed out this year but dont think anything came up. I'm not very good at starting seed indoors.

[kHT]

Sorry I missed this, to much going on here. I have found that it takes a couple years before these bloom from seeds. Keep us posted.

[morgansrgr8]

Last year I was lucky. One of them did bloom the first year. Dont remember what color it was. This year it was the first one up. Dont know how its going to do tho. I moved it from its happy place. It was in a pot so I moved it onto my back porch. It gets a little different light there. The rest of them are up and growing. Not sure how the seeds are doing yet. Its been so dry I dont think they came up, along with some hosta seed.

[otnorot]

These are seedlings from seed I collected last fall in a local park.

[kHT]

Really nice!! I have been moving some of ours and they are about to bloom for this season!!

[Bob Scott]

My Kopper King was super early in breaking ground this year and has been blooming non stop.
Question
The seed heads start forming then seem to die and fall off before they mature. Is this the particular variety or just the lousy, hot year. I've watered almost every day till we got all this rain coming up from the Hurricane.
I know they probably wont come true from seed but the kids always want plants from Pop's garden.

[morgansrgr8]

I have found that to get seed this year I have to pollinate it myself. They have plenty of pollen but the bugs arnt getting it to where it needs to be for pollination. This way I am crossing colors. Mostly using the pollen of one of my seedlings that has a red flower 13 inches across. Using that pollen especially on my white. They have small flowers. Wanting them to be huge. Will have plenty of seed if anybody is interested. 9 pods so far on the red. I have even gotten some pods on my volunteer varigated rose of sharon. I was told by a nursery it wouldnt have nice flowers but they were wrong. The color of the flower is redish. I think I figured out which plant it came from. One is kind of mottled. I thought before it was a deficiency in the soil but none others around it are affected. So there is a possibility of more varigated seedlings coming from it. But I am only going to plant out the seeds from the one varigated seedling. Cant call it a seedling anymore. Its 3 years old and as tall as I am. LOL

[kHT]

Bob, I find from our seeds, they usually take after the mother plant and one might want to water them every other day unless they are droopy from the heat.
morgansrgr8, can you post of photo of your variegated one, I'd love to see it. I cut all our Rose of Sharons back to the soil last year and we are seeing an albino
sport on one plant this year. Plus I have one that I got from a friend that is three years old that is a double.

[Bob Scott]

Mine seem to start a pod but they turn yellow and fall off. I've been watering most every day with the heat and no rain we've had this summer. Now were getting soaked from the hurricane left over coming up the Midwest.

[otnorot]

Bob if the flower is pollinated then the bloom wont fall of so your blooms are not getting pollinated.
Bill

[morgansrgr8]

Tried to get a pic yesterday when I got this email but was clouding up and to dark. Its still raining this morning so when it stops I will get a pic to show the varigation and a flower if it has one open. It doesnt have lots of flowers but the ones it has are just as pretty as on a regular Rose of Sharon.

[Bob Scott]

Bob if the flower is pollinated then the bloom wont fall of so your blooms are not getting pollinated.
Bill

Lots of bees and humming birds. I'll try and do a few myself...... I mean..aaahhh....You know what I mean.

[morgansrgr8]

Here is a really bad pic of my varigated rose of sharon. It was dark and already losing leaves starting to go to sleep for the winter. It did set some seed. Will be bringing them in tomorrow.