Posts Tagged ‘tropical’

I got Purple Goddess from a wonderful hibiscus company when it was shutting down- he’d intended to keep her, but his wife just didn’t like the blooms.

And I have to say, it doesn’t ever come in nearly as dark as the breeder said it would, nor does it bloom very often, so when I noticed just at dinnertime that it had actually flowered, I plucked it and put it on the table, even though it hadn’t opened fully. (It’s been ungodly hot, so I’m happy to get any blooms right now- in a month we’ll have color galore. Right now…eh.)

All of which led to getting a little arty with a flashlight, and the effect is pretty cool…even if you can’t really see the flower for itself. Above is the best idea of what it actually looks like- it’s a mid-range purple with a reddish eye.

Another Dupont Cajun variety- and no, I don’t have stock in them- we have an overabundance since they’re the supplier the local chapter of the American Hibiscus Society’s chosen to use for their annual sales.

Low AHS price + gorgeous blooms = another hibiscus in the backyard.

And this one’s a doozy- it’s huge and practically florescent- what’s not to love?

This was actually taken a couple of months ago and I’ve just gotten around to uploading it. There aren’t many blooms at the moment- we’re in the middle of a god-awful streak of sky high temps with near-drought conditions, so I can’t blame them for not wanting to be bothered. Every time I step outside I lose any motivation I might’ve started out with, so I can completely relate.

I think it just confuses Bianca when I take photos of boring things like plants. She tends to get in the middle of it and look at me like I’m crazy.

So Black Jack is/was a Dupont variety; I note it’s not listed on their website any more, so it might have been discontinued. I’ve never been a big fan of the browns and greens in hibiscus blooms, but Charlie thought this one looked exotic.

It’s a slow grower, and even after being pinched off twice, this was the first bloom in 9 months. (though a second followed close behind.)

It’s a damn cold night here in NOLA- hard freeze warnings on both the North and South shores, my heater is not cooperating, and I have too much to do tonight to rely on some real Schnapps-like beverage to create any internal warmth, so we’ll just have to Think Spring.

Or Schnapps. Whatever works for you.

It’s been a slow grower, but despite not being very big made it through the winter just fine and has started to bloom with fair regularity.

Tis the season to replace all the stuff that died over the winter. My favorite Hibiscus guy is gone, alas, but I bought several from his recommended source.

They were decently large, and budded up. They’re at least twice as big as most mail order exotics. In short, they were really good… except that…you know…they’re not David.

Anyway, this was Hibiscus Metallica’s first bloom, and I was trying to get a shot of it, not realizing I was being so closely watched until I edited the photo.

Nice and big, beautiful bush. It’s been 2 days now, and it’s still open with very little color degradation. Definitely a keeper!

Another new-ish one, this is the first bloom since it arrived. Nice growth, fairly big flower.

This is the time of year the hibiscus love- the big heat’s over, and it’s only moderately cool. Now if we could just get some rain, we’d be all set.

Nevertheless, there are buds and blooms everywhere. Here’s one that’s been pretty quiet since I got it- one of the last shipment from David Franzman. (sob)

Rosalind goes for a good 2 and a half days, gradually fading from a rich red into shades of orange. David had to talk me into this one a bit, but I’m so glad he did.

Day 1:

Day 2: