Pics of my new Hibiscus

Bought this back from my hol`s last week and now beginning to flower.

Beautiful plant and the flowers actually look too big for its body.

 

Wow!!! Are you sure that's a hibiscus and not a triffid? :WINK1:

 

Lolz.....it`s mental eh?

 

That's stunning Andy. Some flowers are so perfect they look artificial.

 

Amazing eh. Aren`t plants just wonderful how they turn out sometimes.

I also got a Gloxinia last week. Not quite as stunning as the Hibiscus IMHO but a belter nevertheless.

 

That's superb Andy. I am growing a few from seed for the first time. I would be delighted if I had something as good as yours.

 

I love H.rosa-sinensis.

They can be long lived and should bloom well if given plenty of light and reasonable heat. Allow it to almost dry out between waterings though, as they can suffer from root rot.

 

Thank you. As much as I`d love to take the credit for it, I only bought the plant last week.

Best of luck with your seeds Peter. Don`t forget to keep us updated how you get on.

 

Thanks for the tips and Latin name. I didn`t know that.

I googled it and Wikki throws up some interesting facts.

National flower of Malaysia and the petals are edible are a couple.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibiscus_rosa-sinensis

 

Lovely new thread,Andy. As everyone says, isn't Mother Nature wonderful when she's in a bonny mood.
That Gloxinia is an amazing shade of lilac too. Just looking at it slows your heartbeat down -very calmimg. It looks chuffed to bits where you have it at the moment,

 

A hint on how to do it would be appreciated Peter.

 

An update on the Gloxinia.

Was starting to go over and some of the leaves were split and unhealthy looking.




So I decided to lop a few bits off.




Got as far down to the base of the stems as I could. Quite a few new flowers ready to come through.







I assume I`ve done the right thing here.

Question though: If I were to cut all the flowers (the ones already opened up) off, will the new ones coming through open pretty much at the same time?

 

Nice Hibiscus Andy, and good to see Gloxinia making a comeback, it was very popular some years ago but not seen many lately.
I grew gloxinia from seed in the 80s, and they mostly flowered first year.

They can also be grown from a tuber, which you can dry off at the end of the summer and keep frost free in winter, to grow again next year.

For now I would just keep removing dead flowers, try not to damage the brittle leaves as they can then start to look untidy, it best to leave the foliage on as much as you can.

Allow it to dry out slightly between waterings, the leaves are fairly succulent.

 

Andy - I saw an identical Hibiscus and weakened, as it was not a lot of money. They really are spectacular.

As far as seeds went I didn't do anything special. I grew them like any other seed. I always use a mix of 2/3 compost and 1/3 sharp sand, for extra drainage. I started my seeds off in a heated propagator in a light box. That way I was able to start at the end of January. But you don't need a light box if you start them in, say, March on a window sill.

I have a book on Hibiscus, and it says they do need very well drained soil. They come from sandy areas, so when I potted them up I used closer to 50% compost and 50% sharp sand. The book also said they they like a lot of water, but you can over water. It said to only water when the surface of the soil is dry.



This is my tallest - Hibiscus coccinea. Its now over two feet high - its an annual that is said to reach 6 feet or more. Pete has grown it and said that it needs a lot of heat and would be unlikely to flower outside a greenhouse, which is why it and all my other Hibiscus are inside the house or greenhouse.

I have noticed that none of my plants look like purchased ones. The ones you buy are very compact and have thick, dark green, shiney, ovate leaves. The plant above has paler green, Maple shaped leaves. My plants also look leggy, but I don't think they have been short of light. I suspect that the purchased plants have been treated with growth retardants as Hibiscus can grow to 10 or more feet tall.



The second plant is Alyogyne huegelii. Its a close relative which used to be called Hibiscus huegelii, and its leaves look more like a Chrysanthemum! A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to see a large bush of 5' by 5', which was in a greenhouse in Devon and in flower.



This is Hibiscus syriacus, which is quoted as being hardy. However I lost a couple two winters ago - so I never take hardiness for granted.



And this is Hibiscus moscheutos 'galaxy hybrids'. I understand from my book that moscheutos has very large flowers. I am also growing (courtesy of Victoria ) H. newbiscous, which has huge flowers 8 inches or more across. Its also quoted as hardy - so I presume its a hybrid derived from moscheutos. Chilterns seeds quotes the species moscheutos as being hardy down to -20C.

Its so frustrating now just waiting - I want to see them flowering.

 

The potting compost mine came in Peter is very fibrous. Like coconut fibre so it ties in with liking a well drained soil.

I`ve been watering the same as the Gloxinia. Letting it go dry more or less then just a little water. Due to the nature of the substrate, most of it drains straight through anyway.

Patience is a virtue Peter and am sure you`ll be rewarded soon enough. Judging by the pot, can I assume you will or have them outside? Mine's strictly houseplant.