A New Kind of Game Room
Playing Around The Garden
By: Gloria White

Recently, my niece, Michelle had to come over and collect hibiscus blooms for her class in botany. The teacher had chosen the hibiscus as the flower of study. Michelle called and stopped by to pick up one of each flower in my garden and I provided her with different leaves and a green seed pod to dissect. Michelle and her brother joined my family this year when I attended the American Hibiscus Society Convention at Orlando, Florida. On our way home, we stopped to visit with Joe Ludick, master hybridizer.  Michelle left Mr. Ludick’s with curiosity for the Queen of the Tropics.

Another science project in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands was the catalyst for Nathan Sell.  I did not find Nathan in the game room but at a judges committee meeting. Although Nathan is the son of landscape architects, he came to hibiscus all by himself.  He has found himself the darling of the St. Thomas Chapter of the American Hibiscus Society.  As with Michelle’s experience it was science that led him to the trough.  Nathan and a friend did a project on grafting cactus and hibiscus. They bought the hibiscus and went on the internet to learn how to graft. The grafting experiment was a disaster and Nathan admits he was doing many things wrong. Nathan’s mother, Katina Coulianos told him that there was an American Hibiscus Society.

Nathan joined the St.  Thomas Chapter at the end of summer 2000 and has been exhibiting blooms ever since.  He is without a doubt the youngest member of the American Hibiscus Society.  He grows 90 plants and took some new ones home from the Convention this year.  When I asked Nathan what did his friends think about him growing plants, he just shrugged. I asked him if any of his other friends grow plants and he replied that another student grows orchids. The friend from the failed grafting experiment has attended a few grafting classes since.

Nathan finds growing hibiscus therapeutic and in the future wants to have his own nursery.  He and I attended our first convention together and from the looks of it, I have to say he thoroughly enjoyed himself. Nathan likes the browns and miniatures and won recently with Topaz Glory at the St. Thomas show in 2002.  His favorite cvs are Tylene, Antique Treasure, Tradewinds and Jim Berry.  He has tried his hand at hybridizing and has a bunch of seedlings sitting and growing.  Who knows what the future will hold for Nathan but the way he is dedicated to the Queen of the Tropics, it looks to be colorful and full of fun.

Above the magic carpet, flew a trio of colorful macaws, calling to the Mysterious Flower Genie as they merrily made their way to a tropical forest. Today, the Mysterious Flower Genie was visiting a young magician, who lived on a jewel of an island in tropical seas. This magician was fabled for his gift of growing the most beautiful gems of many colors. His renown grew even in his youth, and many sultans had tried to visit the tropical island only to be deterred by dreadful winds and storms.

The Mysterious Flower Genie knew that she would succeed where others had failed. The reason was that she held an invitation to visit this gifted magician and bring back a gem to heal the wounded heart of a man far far away.

As the Genie circled the tropical island, she spied a magnificent garden in the distance. In the garden the youthful magician played with his family and with his wand he pointed to air and created the most beautiful gems. Parrots sitting in the trees gave warning of the Genie and everyone watched as she landed the magic carpet in a clearing.

The youthful magician ran towards the Genie and welcomed her to their humble island. The Mysterious Flower Genie bowed to the Magician and gave him a gem the color of the gold in the Sultan's treasury. In return, the Young Magician, waved his wand and created a gem the royal color of the Sultan’s cloak.

From the chronicles of the Mysterious Flower Genie from the peninsula of flowers -- Wagon Wheel.

By: Jim Purdie

I would like to tell you what to do when you start off developing your garden for your hibiscus. First you need to find a position where you know that the plants are going to receive a full day’s sun or at least a half day’s sun, which is desirable to produce the flowers which we are looking for from our plants. Otherwise, if you plant in too much shade you will get nice green leaves but very little flowers.

A position where the plants will not receive a lot of strong winds is also desirable but if you cannot find a position out of the wind you may have to think about growing a tall hedge to act as a windbreak using something like earlier hibiscus varieties Albo Lacinatus or Landersii which grow into tall bushes. When planted fairly close together they will act as a very good wind break.

Next we have to consider what the soil is like where we are going to make our garden. Ideally, you need good sandy loam for hibiscus to flourish. If you do not have a sandy loam and it is full of shale and clay and rocks it would be advisable to consider establishing your garden above the existing soil. It is not advisable, however, to plant hibiscus into clay and shale as water does not soak away quickly enough. If you dig a hole and fill it with good soil and when it rains water cannot soak away. The hole becomes a well and the poor plant drowns in too much water.

Hibiscus roots prefer to have good drainage and do not like wet feet. More plants are lost from being planted in water logged-soil than any other way. Rather than trying to make poor soil productive by adding gypsum and compost and working the ground for ages before it becomes good enough to plant in I built all my gardens up on top of the soil.  Firstly, I removed the grass and then built up beds with boards. You can use bricks or sleepers to about 14 inches and then fill these beds with good sandy loam. To this I added some compost, manures, some blood and bone and dolomite which contains calcium and magnesium. I let it sit for a few weeks to allow the dolomite to act with the compost breaking down into humus by microbial action in the soil.

Now the garden is ready to receive plants which I have chosen earlier. This is another point you must consider too. When buying plants consider those which are going to suit the position you are going to plant them in.  It is not much use buying a hibiscus for a garden near a gate or entrance of your house if it is going to grow into a big tall spreading plant as it becomes a nuisance when it grows as it blocks the entrance. It is not much fun when it rains as well.  If branches are protruding over the path you get soaking wet as you try to get by. So try to select ones that will be the same size if you are planting a hedge as it is not very good planting a low growing bush among tall growers.

If possible try to grow hibiscus on their own and not with other plants, as they have small fine surface roots which easily get broken if you are digging up other annuals. Hibiscus do not like competing with other shrubs for food, water and light which can happen if you plant other shrubs in the bed along with them. If you have your plants in pots while you are waiting for the garden to be ready make sure you watch your watering as they easily dry out very quickly in small pots.

Now we are ready to plant. I try to provide enough space between each plant. When possible, plant 3 ½ to 4 feet apart so sunlight can penetrate into each bush. When planting, I like to dig holes a little deeper than required and put a handful of fertilizer in the bottom covering it with a little soil.

I then plant the hibiscus making sure that the top of the root ball is level with the top of the soil, same as it was originally in the pot. I then put in a good hardwood stake to support the bush as it grows making sure that it is high enough to be able to tie to it as the plant grows. I always use old pantyhose to tie the plant to its own stake because it stretches as the plant grows thicker and does not cut into the bark as a tie wire does. It is necessary to tie the plant as the fine hair roots that I spoke of earlier break very easily if the plant is moving in the soil with the wind. Give the plant a bucket of water with some fish emulsion to help with shock from planting making sure there are no air pockets in the soil as well as watering the roots. Tie a tag to the stake with the name and date of planting. It is always handy to know when you planted the bush in the years to come.

Keep up a regular fertilizing program too and you should be rewarded with some beautiful flowers in following months to come after the plants become established.

Photo Gallary

Alogyne huegelii “Christopher Noble” (With Pod and Pollen Parents Shown )

Alogyne huegelii “Patricia Noble” (Same Parents as Christopher Noble)

Alogyne vase

Alogyne hakeifolia White

Alogyne huegelii (x) Alogyne hakeifolia

NATIVE HIBISCUS AND HIBISCUS-LIKE SPECIES
AND HYBRIDS
By: Colleen Keena, Australia

Alyogynes used to be known as Hibiscus but Alyogynes have an undivided style whereas the style of Hibiscus is divided. Alyogynes are now grown around the world, with “Blue Hibiscus”, Alyogyne huegelii, being most commonly grown.  Jean-François Giraud in France has noted that Alyogyne hakeifolia is worth growing not only for its unusual foliage but for its "exquisite, fine and delicate" blooms. Alyogynes cross easily. The two plants in the top row are crosses from two forms of Alyogyne huegelii, (Hibiscus huegelii var wrayae and Hibiscus huegelii var leptochlamys). Alyogyne huegelii can be crossed with Alyogyne hakeifolia. The last picture shows a cross between a pink form of Alyogyne huegelii and a pink form of Alyogyne hakeifola.
More information at:
http://www.internationalhibiscussociety.org/hiv1n5-1.htm#3

Abelmoschus ficulneus

Abutilon auritum

Gossypium sturtianum

Lagunaria patersonii

Malva australiana  (Previously Lavetera plebeia)

Thespesia populneus

AUSTRALIAN HIBISCUS-LIKE SPECIES

The images above show just a small number of the Hibiscus-Like species (Malvaceae) which occur in Australia. Flowers may be white, various shades of yellow, pink, purple, or red. Many species bloom for just one day whereas others such as Thespesia have two-day blooms and Alyogyne flowers last several days. The blooms produce nectar for nectar-eating birds and attract insects for insect eating birds. Species range from small annuals, Malva australiana, to long-lived trees, Lagunaria and Thespesia. Hibiscus-like plants occur in dry habitats, Alyogyne and Gossypium, and also on the coast, Thespesia. Some species tolerate light frosts, with Gossypium sturtianum even continuing to bloom. Other species are burnt to the ground but can regrow after frosts, e.g. Thespesia. Some plants protect themselves with irritant hairs, e.g. the pods of Lagunaria must be handled with care. Some of these species, e.g. Thespesia populnea are not just attractive ornamental plants, but are useful for food and timber. Colleen Keena,                             
(All Photos In This Gallery Section: Colleen Keena © 2003) 

Hibiscus Desert Mist  is a cross from Hibiscus splendens
and a seedling chosen for its color.

A cross (Bottom) of two hibiscus species:
Hibiscus meraukensis  x Hibiscus divaricatus

Board of Directors 

President:  Jim Purdie – Australia
Past President: Richard Johnson – Tamanu, Tahiti, French Polynesia
Vice-President: Carlos C. Quirino, Jr. – Metro Manila, Philippines
Secretary/Treasurer: Richard Mansbridge – Australia
American Rep: Robert Cook – Kansas, USA
Australian Rep: Mervyn Weis – Wyong, Australia
European Rep: Jean-Francois Giraud – Isere Valley, France
Asian Rep: Carlos C. Quirino Jr.
India Rep: Francy Kakkassery – Kerala, India
Pacific Rep: Richard Johnson
Webmaster: Joseph Dimino – Sicily, Italy 

All Rights Reserved © 2003

Articles for use in this publication should be submitted by e-mail
to the Editor at: swanwing@skyinet.net

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© 2002 International Hibiscus Society