Part 1: From The President | Secretary/Treasurer's Report | Part 4: Hibiscus Hybrid-ization Guide: "Qualities That Make A Good Plant Breeder" | Art Imitate Life: Illeana Frometa Grillo | Working Your Way Through Conflict | Chronicles of the Mysterious Flower Genie | A Fijian Hibiscus Odyssey | Bob's Beautiful Bouquets | Caring For Hibiscus: The Merits of Mulching | From The Archives: Hibiscus in Fiji | Hibiscus 25 Years Ago |

Part 2: A Fijian Hibiscus Odyssey Continued | IMHO: Pollinating Hibiscus | The Magic of Mendel | Culture Notes: Hibiscus Repotting | Ken Perk's Tables 1-5 | Hibiscus International No.18 Special Supplement (Magnificent Malvaceans! - Part 1) | Hibiscus International No.18 Special Supplement (Magnificent Malvaceans! - Part 2) |

Also, having the AmHS Nomenclature on the World Wide Web is a development whose time has come because it will aid many hibiscus enthusiasts, hybridizers and growers from all over the globe in accessing more easily information which would have been otherwise difficult to obtain. Moreover with this, IHS' Global Hibiscus Library and other similar sources available through the internet, it should also now be easier for serious and new hybridizers to avoid names that are already in use.

IHS views this as a development in the right direction and are projects that all of us, from every corner of the globe, can openly aid and support. I am certain that many in IHS will be pleased to assist the AmHS further develop their nomenclature program by providing photos or information that might be useful to them. Such assistance reassures that the nomenclature programs has full international support for without it, it cannot be expected to function properly.

We are also gladdened to hear that the AuHS and Mr, Chris Noble as ICRA will undertake to provide the latest full International Hibiscus Registry on CD with regular updates. Even as online sources are very helpful, there is still no faster way than having a CD loaded to hard drive. For those of us that use such information frequently, I admittedly being one of them, it is the best way to go.

The time certainly has flown since my last report; there are not enough hours in the day to do all the things I would like to do!

The Grand Champion has been selected from the 2003-3 TPC, which was won by Dawn Pickering from Townsville Australia with her bloom Moonlight Dancer, a worthy winner, congratulations Dawn.

The BOD have appointed seven SOTY/HOTY judges to make the final decision on SOTY blooms after the membership have eliminated 50%. The panel of judges will select the top seedling, plus four runners up. These will go into the HOTY to be grown for three years in selected grower's gardens, then the panel of judges will choose the Hibiscus of the Year. The Judges will be guided by the IHS HOTY rules including point systems for both the SOTY and HOTY evaluations.

The IHS Seedbank officer has forwarded $209.30 USD to the Treasury funds from the sale of hibiscus seed to members and affiliates. The recent seed, pearl and pearl shell jewelry auction items will bring in about $400 USD.

The new TPC 2004-1 is now open, so please send photos to Jim Purdie before 31/12/03.

IHS Paypal account now stands at $1,133,32 USD with a little more to come. The MasterCard has a credit of $403.25 AUD. I wish you all a very happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Happy hibiscus growing!

Regards
Richard Mansbridge

A knowledge of genetics is not essential to the breeder, but it can be very useful if the basics are understood. For this reason the "Hibiscus Hybridizing Guide" gives a fairly comprehensive introduction to the subject.

Good plant breeders need only to have the qualities of being naturally observant, having a sense of beauty, patience, a willingness to go to a certain amount of trouble and a good deal of common sense. As noted above, no scientific knowledge is essential to achieving success. The most important characteristic is that he or she should know the plants, knowing what is wanted and then getting it.

Generally speaking, scientific institutions have not done much in the way of producing novelties in ornamental plants, compared with the results of amateurs. As beauty cannot be measured, the scientist tends to be at a disadvantage. If you observe your plants closely and keep careful records, you will begin to find that certain crosses are more fruitful than others. Many amateurs have considerable success merely by playing their hunches. All plant breeding depends on chance and this means that skill in the art consists in shortening the odds against you. Hubert Groszmann says that "breeding is done because we have to meet some new need, or to meet some long term requirement better". How much one achieves depends upon desire, faith, persistence and ability.

The most beautiful Hibiscus in the world may well be those that bloom every day in the tropics on tall arching canes. The have graceful recurved blooms of many colors, whilst some such as H. schizopetalus cascade down in pendulous splendor.

Have you ever seen a massive specimen of Albo Lacinatus with hundreds of blooms, tall hedges of Andersonii, dark red double Sabrina, perfumed pink Kona, or scarlet ' Camdenii' - H. Flora Plena ? The magnificent 'Rose Scott' or Prink Versicolor is unforgettable, as is Dainty White. The variegated Snow Queen and many, many more. These Hibiscus don't receive fertilizer, pest disease eradication and most often no pruning. Most of them will grow for decades whilst our modern hybrids have a short productive life. These were the Hibiscus I lived with in Papua New Guinea and were to me the "real thing" or the "original Queen of the Flowers". Yes, they are grown in Australia and classified as "landscapers". Generally they are too big in growth for our modern gardens. Some enterprising breeder may attempt to produce the same thing in miniature size - just imagine the pronounced schizopetalus or ' El Capitolio' on a compact bush loaded with blooms.

With Hibiscus the trend of the times is for prolific flowering, freedom from sun scorch, pest and diseases and bud drop. Large bloom size is a priority, heavy texture, tufted, ruffled and near flat, opening early and lasting 2 or 3 days. Flowers of bright colors with attractive pattern and form have been most popular, but the American trend towards browns, grays and somewhat muddy colors has gained ground particularly on the show bench.

Unfortunately, the tendency for some time has been towards superb flower quality of giant size at the expense of flower numbers with the breeder aiming at show blooms. (Left photo, inset: JR-111 Seedling).

There is a need for freer flowering to attract the average gardener, who wants a showy bush, rather than a show bloom. Attention must be given to plant vigor, ease of propagation, growth characteristics and adaptability to climate and soil as well as suitability to different localities.

Hybridizers today are faced with the problem of producing varieties better than those which are currently grown. The objective of achieving distinctive-ness should not be overlooked. There is no point in registering and/or releasing seedlings which do not differ appreciably from the ones that we have. Of course, distinctiveness may refer to the bush being more vigorous, prolific or compact apart from the flower type.

In Europe and America there exists an interest in potted indoor Hibiscus to flower under conditions of lower temperature and light. Chemical growth regulation and tip pruning is used to produce a good quality Hibiscus house plant.

When summer is over and the effects of the retardant wears off, the plant becomes disposable. In Australia we have ample genetic material to produce dwarf plants with an abundance of blooms that would last in pots for many years. (Upper right, inset: Futurama).

Some Hibiscus blooms stand up and present themselves very well on the bush, whilst many of the large show blooms hang their heads. This is another problem that needs to be addressed by the plant breeder. In my observation the medium-sized flower will always outperform the larger ones, especially over an extended period. To understand Hibiscus and what the gardener wants there should be a close association between nurserymen, the Hibiscus Society and the Hybridizer.

Perhaps retail nurseries should divide their Hibiscus stock into different sections:

  a) Popular garden varieties;
  b) Miniature plants suitable for pot culture including standards;
  c) Large growing landscaping varieties; and,
  d) Collector's varieties for special purposes such as the show bench.

The potential to grow Hibiscus hydroponically under light shade cloth as a protection from weather and pests, to supply the floral potential is a distinct possibility. Attractive long lasting blooms, brightly colored with good petal substance would be ideal.

Blooms needed all the year indicates breeding would be an issue, as well as the key requirement of adapting the necessary cultural and marketing techniques. Resorts, hotels, tourist offices, florists, weddings, etc. - the mar-ket could be very big if properly developed.

There should be a clear purpose in our breeding, growing and promotion of Hibiscus. There is a great danger that in the perfection of bloom, such characters as hardiness, ease of growing and freedom of blooming may tend to get overlooked, so that after a time the plant becomes one that is grown only by enthusiasts.

A recent Nomenclature printout prepared by Chris Noble lists more than 7,800 named cultivars. Palmers "Hibiscus in Color" provides 470 full color illustrations, whilst The Australian Hibiscus Society Inc. publication of 1992 "Hibiscus in Color" lists 405 cultivars over 1/3 of which were bred in Australia.

Nurseries must be faced with a dilemma deciding what to stock and what not to stock. If it was decided to offer for sale a selection of 300 cultivars, 10 plants each at Aus$ 7.00 each the stock value would be Aus$ 21,000. Whilst Aus$ 7.00 per plant in a 140mm pot is very cheap, some nurseries charge more than Aus$ 16.00 per plant.

If the Hibiscus hybridizer has any doubts about registering his new seedling after proper evaluation, he would be well advised to not do so. As can be seen we do have a proliferation of varieties. Some are good and a lot are not, whilst the difference between some is only marginal. The decision to initially charge Aus$ 5.00 to register each seedling was a good one as it helped ensure that we added quality to our extensive listing. But as of this writing, registration is now free of charge. Some of our favorite varieties are not as good as they used to be due in some instances to viruses and perhaps other factors as well.

The Hybridizer must be prepared to raise approximately 100 seedlings in order to obtain one or at the most three, worthy of registration. Hybrid seedlings will invariably be inferior to the parents.

As Bert Hardy once said "there is a difference between thinking you have and knowing you have a winning bloom". Of course, it takes only one lucky seed to produce a valuable new Hibiscus. Comparing our breeding with rose seedlings where only one in 100,000 is ever sold, we are fortunate to expect even 1% to have all the qualities needed for commercial production and sales.

Inheritance of Specific Traits

Records don't seem to be complete enough to give much indication of traits inherited. One exception would be the seedlings with lascinated petals derived from the African species schizopetalus e.g. 'archerii'. The polyploid varieties within our gene pool usually give a variable batch of seedlings. Nathan Charles as the cap-sule parent will produce nicely structured blooms that are predominantly pink. When selecting parents and drawing up a program for breeding it is best to study publicized hybridizing results. This will provide useful indicators whilst at the same time avoiding crosses undertaken by other hybridizers. Unfortunately, we will probably not find out about the many discard seedlings that come into the equation. (Archerii, center photo above: Carlos C. Quirino, Jr. © 2002).

When crossing two singles most of the seedlings will be singles. Doubles crossed onto singles give roughly equal results. Most doubles cannot be used as female parents, though some of them alter during the cooler months with a rearrangement of the floral parts, such as development of stigma pads. If and when this happens some interesting crosses onto polyploid doubles could enhance our breeding scope.

If a breeder uses a limited number of plants for his crosses and looks at as many seedlings as possible he will discover specific combinations of traits probably good and bad. I am looking at Morning Glory (x) Hot Mustard and hope to raise 200 seedlings from this cross. To date, germination of strong seedlings is excellent at near 100%. If most of them bloom a lot should be learned about inheritance of specific traits of this cross. (Morning Glory, left inset photo: Jim Purdie © 2002)

As mentioned above Nathan Charles (Photo, left inset) when used as a female (capsule or pod) parent will give nice medium-sized, flat ruffled and tufted blooms with pinks predominating e.g., Dell's Pride, Morning Star, Kim Ellen, Amaroo Pink, Three Cheers, Christopher Howie and My Fair Lady.

[To Be Continued In Hibiscus International No.19: Part 5 - When and How Do We Pollinate ?]

We have at one time or another, stumbled on the List of Lists, written by the List Fiend. Very few people probably know how this list came about or the person behind the list. When I was new in hibiscus in 2000, I poured over the copious information for growers, enthusiast or the general public. Almost anything you wanted to learn regarding the Queen of the Tropics at your fingertips. Sam Andrews (right photo: Gloria White © 2003) lives in Fair Hope, Alabama with his new wife Lynn. With their marriage in March 2002, not only two people came together as one, but this joining also brought together two hibiscus collections.

Andrews joined the American Hibiscus Society in 1985. He lived in Daytona Beach, Florida at the time and was a member of the Daytona Beach Chapter that is now closed. He bought his first cultivar which was Eastern Star and a Painted Lady he purchased from a lady at a local Farmer's Market in Apopka, Florida. In 1996, he was growing 97 varieties. Red Snapper is his favorite cultivar. He loves the shape and texture of this particular flower.

A very traumatic divorce prior to his marriage to Lynn was the catalyst for the birth of the List of Lists. For over a year, Andrew's life was in limbo. Looking for something to control when his whole world was topsy-turvy, Andrews started to compile information on the care and growing of hibiscus and any other helpful information about the Queen of the Tropics.

Currently, he is a Member-at-Large, since there is no Chapter in Alabama. Lynn attends some of the Louisiana meetings whenever possible. Andrews has been a banker, worked in marketing and ran the family's hardware business. He currently writes a column for the Seed Pod called Hibiscus Without a Net. At the 2002 American Hibiscus Society convention, Andrews delivered a report on Members-at-Large, an area of the Society "where growth is coming in the future."

"The wonderful thing about hibiscus", according to Andrews, "is variety in layers of color, shape, and texture". Andrews enjoys growing specimen plants in his 20' x 50' greenhouse, where 120 hibiscus currently reside. Most of his plants are grown in pots and some in ground with a drip irrigation system that is on timers. (Left photo: Lynn & Sam Andrews with Damon Veach - Gloria White © 2003).
He appreciates all aspects of hibiscus, whether it is a discussion on nomenclature, or growing his favorite plants. Relaxing, is "taking a mental walk in my yard."