Florida Grower’s Spotlight

Pete and Jo Conrad Receive a Royal Treasure With Capistrano - Hibiscus of the Year for 2000 for the American Hibiscus Society

By Gloria White

In August 2000, I joined the American Hibiscus Society, Dr. Jack Hoffman South Dade Chapter located in Miami, Florida. Soon I was invited to the annual picnic and got to sit and chat with hybridizers with a lifetime of growing and loving the Queen of the Tropics.

That day, I met Pete and Jo Conrad of Conrad Nursery. Sitting and talking to Pete, you get a glimpse of South Dade Florida history rushing by in a time capsule. Pete remembers South Dade when there was nothing there. Even before Hurricane Andrew made South Dade County famous, Pete remembers growing up as a boy and recounts tales of those bygone times. We reminisced about times before I was a twinkle in my parents’ eyes and talked about what it was like to grow up on the farm. He told of times before my parents came to the United States. Pete made the stories very real for me that day, and I really enjoyed our chat.

Pete started collecting the Queen of the Tropics in 1957. His first question was: What is a hybrid hibiscus? Pete had never seen anything like these beauties so when he built his home, he chose hibiscus for the landscape. He purchased his first plants from Tony Kuhn who lived on 27th avenue in Miami, Florida. Tony had 87 varieties in those days, which he would sell for $2. The winning flowers, he would sell for $4-5. Pete bought one of each variety.

Pete and Jo Conrad married in 1970 and became members in 1979 of the Sunrise Chapter of the American Hibiscus Society located in West Palm Beach, Florida. Pete has been a member of the seedling evaluation committee since the beginning. They were amateur exhibitors in 1979, open collectors in 1980 and in the commercial grower category in 1981 to present. They were unbeaten in this last category for ten years and would bring over 200 blooms to every show. They were unbeaten in sweepstakes in Florida and Texas during this time period.

Jo and Pete Conrad at the November American Hibiscus Society meeting in Winter Haven, Florida.

Pete was elected President of the Sunrise Chapter in 1981-2 and served as National President of the American Hibiscus Society 12 years ago. He has been Director and 1st Vice President. Jo has been a National Director and 1st and 2nd Vice President for the Sunrise Chapter.

Their daughter Dawn Conrad-Shew first hybridized hibiscus, and then Pete got into this hobby. Dawn is famous for Amber Suzanne, which is named after her sister. Pete feels it is one of the best flowers ever, and having owned 800 varieties in the past, he should know. He and Jo had 1,600 plants at one time, and it got to be too much work that they scaled down to 400-500. Some of their seedlings currently are Northern Lights, Sorceress, Crossfire, Kristin Marie, Thunderhead, Sly Fox, and Royal Treasure. Each of these flowers commands your attention in a room full of beauties. Other flowers that are currently shown are Windjammer and Trade Winds. The Conrads have named over 200 seedlings over the years.

The Conrads just won Hibiscus of the Year 2000 with their seedling Capistrano, a pale pink single that can measure 8½ to 9½ inches. The beautiful soft pink gem is out of Vickie Lynn and Sunshowers. In 2000, the cold destroyed many promising seed pods, but the Conrads continue to pollen dust their hibiscus. I asked Pete for his opinion of what were his favorite cvs. He replied that he loves Amber Suzanne, Northern Lights, Ivory Coast, Roulette, and Erica Nicole.

I asked Pete for a tip for amateurs, and I think it is great advice. He said that most people loose plants due to over watering. He suggests plants be moved to 3 gallon pots if they do not stay moist from one watering cycle to another. Jo suggests using a light soil mix because some mixes can turn to mud which is not good for hibiscus. Pete also advised to fertilize plants around the edge of the pot and not right at the base of the plant. In January or February, he also suggested feeding the plants heavily and then cut them back to 2 feet tall. In six weeks, he said you see your first blooms. Talking with Pete and Jo, one comes away with a treasure of information, and it always helps to have a pen and paper to write down the golden nuggets. I was fortunate not once but twice to get his undivided attention on questions regarding fertilizers, pesticides and plant problems. Pete shares his knowledge with beginners and contributes to our world with his lovely flowers. From the early days of Florida to the world of hibiscus, Pete always can tell you a story, and I will always lend an ear if the occasion arises.

In the early morning light, the day was greeted enthusiastically by a gem sharing the colors of the pink dawn. The soft sunlight made the gem glow with opalescence, and the play of light caught the sharp eyes of the mysterious flower genie as she walked in her garden. Rich in texture and beauty, she knew she had spied a rare treasure in her enchanted garden in the peninsula of flowers. This particular gem joined her gems of many colors in displaying their faces to the sun. This day, she chose this pink gem with the colors of the dawn as the jewel to adorn her turban. She climbed onto her flying carpet and joined the circling birds to enjoy the sunny day.

From the chronicles of the mysterious flower genie from the peninsula of flowers – Capistrano.

Morning Coffee With Nadeen Pickard

Winter Concerns

For the indoor grower the winter months bring little change in the demands of your hibiscus. They still need to be watered, fed and kept pest free, however, this is the time when many growers are apt to loose their plants. The main culprits are over watering and pests.

In spite of near constant temperatures between 65F and 70F your plants will not need as much water as they would outdoors in the same temperatures. The environment in most homes simply does not mimic the outdoors enough for the rapid evaporation of water. This means the air is quite dry but the room temperatures do not allow the hibiscus to draw as much water from the potting medium as they would outside. Plants may only need to be watered every ten days (longer in some circumstances), but you are still best to mist the plants at least once a day to counteract the effects of the arid surroundings. Check your pots carefully before you water to ensure your plants actually need a drink.  

Pests in the home do not encounter the natural predators they would outside so one must keep a careful eye out for spider mites and white fly in particular. Providing you’ve done what you could to eliminate nematodes and other soil dwelling pests, spider mites and white fly are generally the ones you want to watch for. A large infestation of spider mites can drain a plant of its nutrients and sap and if left unchecked will cause the certain death of your hibiscus. Misting is a good time to look for the fine webs at the base of the leaf where it joins the stem as the water will collect on the webs and make them visible if held up to the light. There are a number of products on the market that will make quick work of the mites, but do use caution inside your home. Products that use no pesticides are best in the home environment where animals and small children may come in contact.

White fly is also a problem that left unchecked can cause serious damage and possible death to your plants. Here again there are products on the market that are safe for indoor use. One of the products I have tested myself and found very effective for both spider mites and white fly is Safer’s Ends All. This is a new product and contains ingredients such as alcohol, oil and water in a convenient spray or concentrate form. If used as the directions indicate on the label you can feel safe about both your home and your children or pets.

As the days shorten and natural light becomes less and less, the addition of supplemental lighting should be considered if you want to keep the plants blooming during the winter. From the metal halide units to the affordable fluorescents, there is something to suit every budget. The use of timers can be a great help to ensure your plants get the same number of hours of light each day. As the days shorten the timers can be adjusted to keep the supplemental lighting on longer. Twelve hours is generally considered adequate. Your hibiscus will still appreciate as much natural light as you can possibly provide but do check the temperatures where your hibiscus are situated. Often times even the best windows will have small drafts that can significantly lower the air temperature around the plants by as much as 10F degrees. Chills such as this can cause bud drop or lack of buds on your plants.

Nadeen Pickard - Secretary’s Report

October and November 2001

October brought about some changes with the BOD members. Allan Little, our Australian Representative regretfully resigned. Allan felt his busy schedule would not allow him the time needed to attend to the BOD matters. On behalf of the BOD, thank you Allan for all your hard work and time you’ve dedicated to the IHS. At the same time a warm welcome to our new Australian Representative Jim Purdie. It took Jim very little time to get caught up and his contributions are most welcome. Another new member joined the BOD ranks in October as well. William (Bill) Cagle has accepted the position of Membership Chairperson. Welcome Bill, your contributions to the BOD have been most appreciated.

The BOD discussed the possibility of an IHS Seedbank and the appointment of a Seedbank Officer. This question was directed to the membership and polls set up. Thanks to member participation the IHS now has both a Seedbank and Seedbank Officer. Congratulations to Ursula Lengdobler of Germany, our first International Seedbank Officer. Please contact Ursula via email at ulla@lengdobler.de to request seeds. There will be a slight charge for some seeds while others will be free. A notice to the general membership via the Yahoo Groups mail list will be posted as soon as the fee(s) have been decided upon. All proceeds from the sale of the seeds will go into the IHS treasury

The IHS web site is once again getting a slight makeover. New pages are being added and old pages are being reworked to enhance your viewing pleasure. Robert Cook has lent a hand with Search Engine submissions so that others will be able to find the IHS web site while surfing the net. Thank you Rob, your attention to this very important matter is greatly appreciated.

FROM THE FILES OF BOB RIVERS-SMITH
NEW ZEALAND

THE SECOND INTERNATIONAL
AUSTRALIAN HIBISCUS SOCIETY INC.

CONVENTION
28th APRIL to 3rd MAY, 1990
HIBISCUS STORCKII
A NON-BOTANIST'S VIEW
R. H. PHILLIPS
SUVA, FIJI
MARCH, 1990

HIBISCUS STORCKII - FACT OR FICTION
INTRODUCTION

The name HIBISCUS STORCKII appears regularly in Hibiscus literature, often as if it is a plant which is regularly available, often in vague references to compatibility with HIBISCUS ROSA-SINENSIS. And, of course, just what is the HIBISCUS ROSA-SINENSIS that we know today?

These notes are based primarily on Ross Gast's letters to Joe Stanniford collected and published as 'Hibiscus around the World'. Fascinating as this book is in relation to HIBISCUS STORCKII, it raises more questions than it answers and, the more I read it, the more I am sad that neither Gast nor Stanniford put together any summary of their findings and possible conclusions.

We know that the botanist Seemann considered that HIBISCUS STORCKII was different enough to raise it to specific status - but botanists often differ and there will always be (God bless them!) lumpers and splitters.

These notes attempt to get together some of the threads which we might follow an attempt to discover what Seemann was looking at when he named HIBISCUS STORCKII, attempt to trace its possible movement away from Fiji; attempt to locate a plant which, with some degree of confidence, we can say, 'This is what Seemann saw.'

The notes are submitted. in humility, by a non-botanist who is merely a reasonably competent grower of plants in the hopes that those more competent than I am, will add information lacking here. It is important, I believe, that this knowledge should be shared widely amongst those who are interested in locating a plant which we can say, with reasonable confidence, is HIBISCUS STORCKII, and not kept hidden.Hopefully, some of my comments will also add interest to Gast's comments on people and places in Fiji. Fiji has been my home for nearly forty years and despite a few problems in 1987, is still a wonderful place to live.

R. H. PHILLIPS - SUVA, FIJI - MARCH, 1990

1856 Jacob Storck arrives in Sydney from Germany to work in the Sydney Botanical Gardens.

1860 Berthold Seemann (with Jacob Storck) collected in  Fiji and (from 1865 to 1873) published his Flora Vitiensis. He found HIBISCUS STORCKII on the island of Taveuni at Sequelu - now Soqulu.

1861 Seemann left Fiji but Storck remained taking up land on Nukumoto Island at the mouth of the Rewa River. He planted much of his collected material there but moved further up the Rewa River when floods and hurricanes forced him to leave the island.<

1864 Storck moved to Viti Plantation and moved most of his collection to it. Specimens and plants were being sent all around the world including Kew, Brussels, Sydney,Brisbane, Melbourne and the Smithsonian.

1876 Storck again moves further up the Rewa River to Belmont Estate. Again, he moved much of his collection.

1893 Storck died.

1900 Hochreutiner published his Revision of the Genus Hibiscus which included HIBISCUS STORCKII. I can find nothing to indicate that he had access to living plant material.

1935 R.R. Anson of the Colonial Cotton Growers Corporation was in Fiji and sent seeds of HIBISCUS STORCKII to the Danish cytologist Skovsted in Trinidad.

1941 Skovsted publishes Chromosome Numbers in the Malvaceae which includes HIBISCUS STORCKII from plants grown from Anson's seeds.

1963 Gast visits Fiji. He does not locate any plant which he

1965 accepts as HIBISCUS STORCKII, but in a village near Nasilai Reach, locates the hibiscus which we now refer to as Nasilai Pink.

1966 The Gast/Stanniford Hibiscus Project at L.A.S.C.A. terminates.

1983 Gast dies. His private collection goes to Quail Botanical Gardens at Encinitas, Southern California. (Gilbert Voss, now Curator, worked with Gast in his later years). Included in the collection was one plant marked HIBISCUS STORCKII said to have been received from Les Beers in Australia. Beers advises that all plants sent by him were collected in Fiji either in the Hedstrom Garden or at the Suva Cemetery.

1987  Smith (Flora Vitiensis Nova) reduces HIBISCUS STORCKII to synonymy with HIBISCUS ROSA- SINENSIS

HIBISCUS STORCKII was located at Soqulu (Seemann - Sequelu) on the island of Taveuni several miles south west along the coast from the chiefly village of Somosomo. Somosomo is the home of the Tui Cakau, the Paramount chief of the Province of Cakaudrove which includes the island of Taveuni and a part of Vanua Levu. The Tui Cakau is also head of the Confederacy of Tovata, one of the three Confederacies into which Fiji is divided.

At the time of Seemann's visit, the Copra Estates which are a feature of Taveuni had not been taken up and planted to any extent but later Soqulu became a quite large and well-known Estate. The Manager, at the time just prior to Gast's visit to Fiji, was W. Warden and his wife (of whom more later) was a keen hybridizer of hibiscus.

The Estate was later bought by a land developer with the idea of dividing the land for individual homes, condominiums etc., but the venture failed and quite a few people lost a lot of money. The old homestead remains though I have not been through the gardens. Seemann's description of HIBISCUS STORCKII is as follows:

H. (Ketmia) Storckii, Seem. in Bonplandia, vol. ix. p.254. sp. now. (Tab.IV.); fruiticosus, inermis; foliis ellipticis v. ovato-ellipticis acuminatis integerrimis v. versus apicem serratis 3-nerviis utrinque glabris; petiolis pendunculis bracteolis calycibusque puberulis; bracteolis 10 line-aribus acutis, laciniis calycis ovato-trinangularibus actis; petalis obovatis (roseis) extus puberulis, ovario apice glanduloso-puberulo. - Nomen vernac. "Sequelu". - Somosomo, Island of Taviuni (See-mann! n. 23), growing as underwood like the allied H. Genevii, Bojer; rare.

This is closely allied to H. ROSA-SINENSIS, but I think sufficiently distinct to entitle it to the rank of species. Unfortunately my specimens are not so complete as could be wished, and so prevent a thorough comparison with its nearest ally. I have never seen it cultivated; it is a more straggling shrub than H. ROSA-SINENSIS. The leaves are always more elliptical and less deeply cut on the margin, the segments of the calyx are also somewhat differently shaped, and I have never observed a variety of H. ROSA-SINENSIS with such fine pink-coloured petals. I have named it in honour of my able assistant, Mr J. Storck, who was with me when we first found it.

Plate IV., Fig. 1, bracts and calyx; 2, ovary, with style cut off; 3 and 4, sections of ovary, - all slightly magnified.

A colour print or a colour slide of the drawing in Seemann's Flora Vitiensis is attached. Gast (Page 12) records that this drawing was made from botanical specimens, not live material.

It would be reasonable to assume that Storck would have endeavoured to have HIBISCUS STORCKII growing at the various places he lived over the following years. The island near the mouth of the river reverted to native ownership many years ago and, even allowing for the dredging of the Rewa River which was undertaken during the time that the C. S. R. had a sugar mill at Nausori and, again, over the last few years, the island would be very prone to flooding.

The properties occupied by Storck after he left Nukumoto Island are thirty to forty miles away, up river. While they are now accessible by road, in Storck's time access would only have been by river. I have never, knowingly, been onto any of the properties though I must have been close to them when I visited schools in the area, during my time as Field Director for the Save the Children Fund - 1976-1983. I had hoped to try to locate the properties with a descendent of Storck who still lives in Fiji, but illness during November, December 1989 prevented this. I still hope to make the trips. Also, occasionally I am on the island of Taveuni looking for the six or seven endemic palms which grow there. On my next visit I shall go to Soqulu and see what, if anything, remains to be seen - probably not very much.

Hochreutiner's description of HIBISCUS STORCKII taken from his 1900 Revision of the Genus Hibiscus is as follows:

129 H. Storkii Seemann in Bonplandia IX, 254 (1861), nomen; Seemann Flora Vitensis 17 (1873). La premiere indication est seulement un nom, la seconde une description bien sommaire. Nous la completons ici:

Caules lignosi glabri; folia membranacea, petiolis cylindraceis glabris sed latere superiori, secundum lineam longitudinalem dense pubescentibus; lamina glaberrima lanceolata, basi acuta, apice acuta vel acuminata, marginibus parte inferiori integris parte superiori irregulariter repando-dentatis. Floribus solitariis, axillabribus, magnis; pedunculis petiolo multum longioribus, parte superiori articulatis, involucri bracteae liberae, lineares, glaberrimae; calyx gamosepalu conicus, extus glaber, intus magine pubecens, apice 5-dentatus, dentibus acutis, longe attenuatis; petalis albis (?) magnis; columna staminalis petalis longior; stylis apice liberis, in parte libera eorum pilosis; stigmatibus capitatis. Petiolis 11cm. longis; lamina 6-10cm., longa, 2,3-4 cm. lata; pedunculus ca. 3,7 longus, articulatione a flore 5-7mm. distante; involucri bracteae 6-10mm. longae, vix lmm. latae; calyx ca. 2,3cm. longus, et parte superiore totidem latus; lobis 8-10mm. longis, basi ca. 5mm. latis; petalis ca. 9cm. longis; columna staminalis stylique ca. 10cm. longi. Hab. Ins. Fiji (Seemann ann. 1860, n. 23) in hb. Kew.

As the introduction in French indicates, Seemann's description was brief. Hochreutiner expanded this - but what did he use to provide the additional information? Is it possible that he had access to live material? I have been unable to obtain any information on this. Also my botanical Latin is not sufficiently strong to make much of the description - perhaps those botanists present may be able to shed some light on this.

In 1931-1935, R. R. Anson was in Fiji on behalf of the Colonial Cotton Growers Corporation and he sent seed to the Danish cytologist, then in Trinidad.

In his 1941 publication, Chromosome Numbers in the Malvaceae, Skovsted writes..- EXTRACT FROM COMPL. REND. LAB CARLSBERG. SER. PHYSIOL VOL 23 NO 14 1941 A. SKOVSTED: CHROMOSOME NUMBERS IN THE MALVACEAE 11 STORKII (his spelling) fits excellently with HOCHREUTINER'S (1 c) description of the species apart from minor variations in the actual measurements, which may be accounted for by the present material being studied under cultivation. The writer being accustomed to the great variation in H. ROSA SINENSIS feels somewhat doubtful as to the specific value of H. STORKII, but feels it is geographically well isolated, is breeding true and is fairly fertile, the name has been maintained, but it is undoubtedly very closely allied to H. ROSA SINENSIS and probably represents a comparatively primitive type of this species in spite of the polyploid chromosome number.

Anyhow 7 is probably the basic chromosome number of this section. (Section VII Lilibiscus - H. STORKII Fiji (Fig 77) 81 (Author) S. Pages 230 and 220

In a letter to Keith Woolliams at Waimea Arboretum, Hawaii, Gast had the following comment:

In 1965, I located Skovsted in Copenhagen where, in retirement, he was curator of the Botanical Museum at the University of Copenhagen. We exchanged a number of letters, and I learned that when he was working for the Colonial Cotton Company in Trinidad, he received seed of H. Storckii from another geneticist working for the Company, in Fiji. From this seed he grew plants and made his chromosome studies. As the species made an excellent garden plant, it became quite popular in the West Indies, and later in Florida under the name of DAVID MAY. He described the plants as "very free blooming, large flat white, yellow style, small with good heavy foliage-very showy - with a pink flush which fades to white as soon as it opens.

In the 1987 Nomenclature of the American Hibiscus Society, the hibiscus David May is described as follows,

DAVID MAY Single U.S.D.A.<

 COLOR       Yellow white, slight pastel pinkish, fades                   later in day to white; straw colored style,                   lemon yellow stigmas.

BLOOM        6 to 7 inch medium texture, slightly cupped,                    overlapped.  Good bloomer, closes early.

BUSH         Good growth habits

LEAF           Medium green.

Keith Woolliams has advised me that he once had wood of "David May" from a lady grower in Florida but it did not root - then the donor's plant succumbed to frost. An appeal through Seed Pod brought no response. I feel that it is important that we try to relocate this plant and maybe our American members can assist? So we come to Gast's visits to Fiji. I can understand Gast's exasperation that no one seemed to know or care about HIBISCUS STORCKII but as the early hybridisers in Fiji (and elsewhere) were trying to improve the size, colour, etc. of their blooms, I don't find it surprising that they did not look at a small and pale coloured flower with very much interest. After all, at that time I expect most hibiscus hybrids would grow from cuttings so breeding back into hybrids the ability to grow their own roots simply did not arise.

It is amusing for a local, like myself, to read Gast's comments on people and places and generally speaking, he was remarkably accurate. At the time of his second visit (1965) I was stationed in Labasa and would have been there when he visited the town. I agree with his description - in 1965 Labasa was a scruffy, dirty little town; in 1990, Labasa is a somewhat bigger scruffy, dirty town! I well remember the Hot Springs Hotel but am surprised that he was told that it was difficult to get to Taveuni and that there was no accommodation there. I used to visit Taveuni every couple of months and there was a launch service as well as regular airline flights. There was a very spartan Government guesthouse as well as a small "hotel" at the Government Station at Waiyevo, only a few miles from Soqulu where Seemann located HIBISCUS STORCKII.

Quite recently I was talking to a friend of mine, Mrs Ella Harness, and learned, with some interest, that as a young woman, she lived quite close to Soqulu on an Estate owned by her father. She often visited Soqulu and knew Mrs Warden well - apparently Mrs Warden used to name her hybrids after her friends. Mrs Harness tells me that for most of her hybrids Mrs Warden used an hibiscus which was (in Mrs Harness' fine botanical description) a nondescript little pink. I have shown various hibiscus to Mrs Harness but have not come up with one which is like the one Mrs Warden used.

The only hybrid, which we now have, that can be traced to Mrs Warden is known simply as Warden's Yellow.

Now let us look at the hibiscus which Gast located at Nasilai - please note the spelling as, along with most other people, I have always written the name as Naselai. Nasilai village is quite close to the beach from which Charles Kingsford Smith took off in the Southern Cross to fly to Brisbane and it was this village that the Storck Tours visited. There is a Naselai village near the Nausori Airport which tourists would pass on their way to Nasilai. Both these villages are within ten miles of Nukumoto Island where Jacob Storck settled after Seemann.s departure.

Hibiscus "Nasilai Pink" has a number of colour forms. Keith Woolliams tells me that Dr Jotani is planning to raise this hibiscus to specific level as HIBISCUS GASTII.

Enquiries forwarded to The Los Angeles State and County Arboretum led me to discover that, after Gast's death, his private collection was transferred to the Quail Botanical Gardens at Encinitas, just north of San Diego in Southern California. Gilbert Voss, the Curator, tells me that he was also able to get grafts from some of the most important material at L.A.S.C.A. when that project was closed in 1966, and that he worked with Gast during the last years of his life. Unfortunately, illness during November and December last year prevented me from following up Gilbert Voss' offer of material to grow in Fiji but later this year I hope to get some of these plants growing here.

In October, 1989, Gilbert Voss, Curator of the Quail Botanical Gardens wrote to me:

About three years before Gast died, Les Beers of Sydney, Australia sent him a package of hibiscus cuttings that had been collected in Fiji. Ross gave these to me and I got them going at Quail. They are: "Fijian White", "Fijian Pink", "Ruby Rose", "Black Beauty", Narrow-petaled Fijian White" (similar to "White Wings", but Ross thought it to be distinct), and H. cf. storkii.

In another comment, Gilbert Voss writes:

Gast gave us a plant of one he said was probably a prehistoric hybrid. He said he named it after the place where he found it in Fiji, Naselai. Do you know this place? I have seen the plant commonly cultivated in Ecuador and Peru. Its a very pretty and free-blooming plant with a flower that is an unusual shade of pink that fades lighter towards the center, but with a dark eye.

How did it get to Ecuador and Peru?

Les Beers confirms (excepting H. storckii)

All of the hibiscus that I originally imported from Fiji in the late fifties and early 60's came from Mrs Hedstrom's garden, and I think some were also collected from the cemetery in Suva. Several had names but others had not. However, we were able to identify these after the visit by Ross in 1963. Originally Ross thought that our Fijian White could have been storckii as he believed this was a true species. At one other time he thought that H. denisonii could have been synonomous with storckii and they were one and the same.

From his description I had a variety named "Snowflake" and this I believed was the closest to H. storckli. Bear in mind I had never seen this species, so I sent to Ross "Fijian White", "Snowflake" and Wrightii which I found out later is known in Hawaii as narrow petalled Fijian White, and also "White Wings" in the States.

The idea was for Ross to study "Snowflake" to determine whether or not it was the true storckii, however his health began to deteriorate and he died before he could determine his findings.

In a nutshell Ross was looking for H. storckii and I sent him pieces of anything that 1 thought may be the real McCoy, but it was not until I sent him "Snowflake" that I really thought that this could be the real thing.

Part of the problem arises out of the different names applied to the same hibiscus in different countries. Only by growing them together will really help to sort out some of the problem.

CONCLUSION

From what information I have so far collected, it would appear that the last time there was an accurate identification of HIBISCUS STORCKII was in 1935 by Anson. I have hopes that there is some way that more information might be available. A recently published book "On Fiji Soil" by Phyllis Parham Reeve covers the life of W. L. Parham (an uncle of John's) in Fiji from 1914 to 1942. To date I have not been able to get a copy of the book but hope to do so in the next few weeks. The review said that the second half of the book covered the work of W. L. Parham at Experimental Stations in the Sigatoka Valley (60 miles west of Suva) where Anson was carrying out his experiments. W. L. Parham was said to have kept a detailed diary. As this paper has to be in the hands of the Australian Hibiscus Society by early in March, I shall not be able to include any information I might find there.

Another line, which should be worth following, is an endeavour to locate the hibiscus "David May" which Gast reported as being from the seeds Anson sent to Skovsted in Trinidad. With many members of the American Hibiscus Society in Florida and islands of the northern Carribean, it should be possible to run this hibiscus to ground.

The other line of enquiry could be to get all the various hibiscus which might be contenders for the name of HIBISCUS STORCKII into a number of gardens so that they could be grown together and studied, one against the other. I am sure that Gilbert Voss at the Quail Botanical Gardens at Encinitas would be interested as would Keith Woolliams at Waimea in Hawaii. A third suitable place would be the newly formed botanical gardens at the University of the South Pacific in Suva - many of my palms, cycads, hibiscus and (probably) bromeliads have gone and will go to form the basis of the collection. Dr David Greenwood, a botanist from Australia, is the new Curator of the Regional Herbarium at the gardens (the Herbarium started by B. E. V. Parham at the Agriculture Department in Suva and expanded by John Parham). Greenwood is particularly interested in the local flora.

Gast had a number of possibilities - H. dennisonii, Nasilai Pink (H. gastii?) Fijian White, Wrightii (or Narrow Petalled Fijian White, or White Wings). Les Beers mentions Snowflake.

One thing, however, that sticks in my mind is the comment by Seemann in his original description "I have never observed a variety of H. ROSA-SINENSIS with such fine pink coloured petals".

On page 73 of his book of letters Gast has this to say:

"After all, I am 67 years old and want to retire (again) and devote my time to important things, like growing hibiscus".

I am also 67 years and am beginning to wonder what this word "retirement" means. I, too, want to devote my time to growing hibiscus - and palms, and cycads and bromeliads and orchids! I only have one third of an acre.

SHORT NOTES ON FIJI PEOPLE MENTIONED BY GAST

JEAN MURRAY: Haughty, imperious and just plain difficult at times but a very competent grower of plants - orchids in particular. Don't get me wrong, Jean was a good friend who gave me a lot of support and help despite a couple of major rows we had in the early days. She kept copious records and knew her plants very well. Jean used to grow stock onto which she would get Ken Perks to graft good scions - but she used White Kalakua (Elephant's Ears) as a rootstock when the rest of us could not get it to grow from cuttings! Jean died several years ago.

SANDY & NOLA MUIR: Good growers of plants with orchids the major interest. For a while Sandy had a radio programme (weekly) on orchids. Sandy was in the produce export business and I first met him when we had to move in with cooperatives to export bananas to New Zealand. Now living in New Zealand.

H. W. SIMMONDS: Commonly known as "Woggy" Simmonds as he was responsible for a number of very successful introductions of insects to combat various troubles in agricultural crops. Had a fascinating garden but his hybrids were not of really good quality. Died many years ago.

NACANIELI: Doorman at the Grand Pacific Hotel. I have known Nat for many years and he is still around. His comment to Gast shows the wonderfully open attitude that Fijians have to their forebears having been very savage cannibals. There is a perfectly true story of one very high ranking Fijian chief who reckoned he was Scottish by absorbtion! Not from all the Scotch Whisky he had drunk (which was considerable) but from all the Scotsmen that his great-grand-father had eaten!

MOIRA HEDSTROM: Now Lady Hedstrom and living at Runaway Bay at the top end of the Gold Coast. A very good friend and competent gardener. The Hedstrom Estate in Tamavua was originally planted by J. B. Thurston over one hundred years ago and covered approximately eleven acres - four full time gardeners. There were a lot of old hibiscus in his garden but Moira did not, to my knowledge, do much hybridizing.

JOHN PARHAM: Son of B. E. V. Parham (whom Gast met in Samoa). Grandson of H. B. Richendra Parham who was an avid plant collector of plants and who published a small volume of Fiji plants. John later published "Plants of the Fiji Islands", a listing of plants with not a lot of description but the only publication available to the ordinary gardener like myself - a very valuable book, even now, despite the printing of the Flora Vitiensis Nova. John now lives in Brisbane.

THE STORCK FAMILY: Vincent Storck died quite a few years ago. His sister, Maureen Southwick is active in the nursery business together with her son, Bruce. Other members of the Storck family are in business in Fiji. Hibiscus are not one of their main interests. There are a number of other plants named after Jacob Storck - a palm, Neoveitchia storckii, a flowering tree related to the Cassias, Storckiella vitiensis, to name just two.

KEN & JOY PERKS: Ken and Joy are, without any doubt, the couple who have contributed most to the development of hibiscus in Fiji. Joy has been Personal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, for many years, and still continues in that position. Ken retired quite a few years ago from Government - Public Service Commission. He is a complete Hibiscus Freak and has been heard to comment that orchids would be quite nice if only they had flowers like hibiscus! I tried to get him to attend this Convention as I felt we would all benefit from his presence - he has a very deep knowledge of hibiscus in Fiji, particularly the old ones in which Gast was interested. He has produced many excellent hybrids which I believe would stand against those produced in other parts of the world - you will see some slides of his hibiscus after my talk.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Honorary Consul for Denmark in Fiji
The Director, Botanic Gardens, Copenhagen
Keith Woolliams, Waimea Arboretum, Hawaii
Los Angeles State & County Arboretum, Arcadia, California
Gilbert Voss, Quail Botanical Gardens, Encinitas, California
Les Beers, Warriewood, Sydney
Robert Langdon, Australian National University, Canberra
Ken & Joy Perks, Suva - who first got me interested in hibiscus
Numerous friends in Suva

Ross Gast, whom I never knew, but without whom HIBISCUS STORCKII might have disappeared into the unknown without a reasonable search to establish its existence.

(Note from Bob Rivers-Smith: I do not have a photo of H.Storkii and doubt whether there is one in existence although JFG, our European Board Member, reckons he has seen one in Holland which could be possible because Kew Gardens is supposed to have received wood from Seeman sent from Fiji. This is a copy of a sketch of H.Storkii that appears in an unpublished document.)

A sincere WELCOME goes out to Jim Purdie, our newest board member. My personal thanks go out to those who contributed material to this issue of Hibiscus International.

<

Back to home page
© 2002 International Hibiscus Society