GETTING TO KNOW YOU
To locate other IHS members participating in “Getting To Know You” either scroll down or click on the name above
As many of us may be talking a lot together on the IHS
mail list, it might be interesting to know a little bit about those we
are communicating with and/or put a face to the names of those placing
posts, hence, the reason for this section.
It’s sort of a substitute for the social element of classic hibiscus
organizations but missing in an Internet association.
This is a purely voluntary section, but if you feel so inclined,
it would be a pleasure to post your biography and/or photo.Just post the info on the mail list or sent it to snowball@libero.it
pictured
on their terrace in Tahiti where they live.
Richard
is the founder of the IHS.
He
is American
born and
also a naturalized
French citizen.
He
is a marine biologist by profession.
For over a decade, he specialized in shark behavior resulting in
his having authored numerous articles and a book entitled “Sharks Of Tropical
& Temperate Seas”. For over 20 years he owned and operated the
islands most complete nautical
activities center.
Dick,
as he is known by
friends,has
had plants most of his life and
a few hibiscus forover
20 years.
Since having
retired the end of 1998 his hibiscus collection has grown to over
250 cvs and he has recently become interested in hybridizing.
Hi
everyone. As an 'absolute beginner' with Hibiscus, I hope that as I creep
and go, learning bits and bobs along the way, I will eventually have a
lovely array of potted Hibiscus, happy and healthy ones at that! I live
in the port of Kingston upon Hull, on the north east coast of England,
which has an average July temperature of 20 degrees, and some winter temperatures
falling below freezing!
I am a freelance artist. I love traveling, and it was on the beautiful
Greek Island of Zakynthos that I came across my first Hibiscus, and was
enchanted, so began my great Hibiscus
hunt, in vain until just now! I am married to Paul, who works for the
M.O.D. as a driving instructor, and have a 17 year old son, Alan (who
prefers to be called Al, as he is into Jazz!) I also have 4 incredibly
spoiled cats, and a small, but much loved garden,
in
which I try to
grow plants that appeal
100
% pure French product, I became a European having married Mary, a pure
Dutch product. This cross produced
one girl and two boys, and our daughter has given us two grandchildren. At 16 years old I began to learn horticulture
in a specialized school. For a
time I worked throughout France, Holland and Germany before beginning
my own nursery in 1970. My
first culture - Hibiscus!
because I fell in
love
in 1965 with this plant discovered in a Dutch nursery. 
At this time I was the first hibiscus grower
in France. In 1971 I tried my first
crossings and in 1975 began to sell my own cultivars.
Having sold
the nursery in 1985, I was obliged to stop all my work with hibiscus,
but kept the idea to begin again when I retired. In
between I worked in other commercial sectors as an indoor landscaper.
Retired
since 1997, in May I bought my 6 first new hibiscus and began
to
search for those in my old
collection. I’ve
been a participant in the Tropical Hibiscus Mail List since spring 1998,
from which I learned more. My
spirit refreshed with hibiscus, I tried my first grafts.First experience
was quite difficult, but in 1999 I perfected this technique and I'm now
a convinced grafter.
With much help from all parts of the world, I've
now a collection above 250 cvs. My hybridizing research is based on developing
plants well adapted to pot culture.
I live in the Isere valley between Grenoble and Valence, France,
with a view of the first chain of the Alps before me.
Climate: hot in summer, very cold in winter.
Two problems to solve: the over wintering of more and more plants
and my English language use! In any event, I am very happy to share with
you my experiences and knowledge.
My interest
in hibiscus spans 50 years. As a child I loved the white blooms of Hibiscus
heterophyllus lighting up the rainforest.
Geoff and I taught in Papua New Guinea for almost 14 years.
Hibiscus lined the roads and every garden had the single red and
“Mrs. George Davis”.
We discovered
Abelmoschus manihot and ate the
high protein leaves of this hibiscus relative.
Upon
returning to Australia 25 years ago,
we
began collecting
Australian native hibiscus and related species as we enjoy the delicate
beauty and subtle shades of plants such as Hibiscus splendens
(pictured).
This collection is currently on our "retirement" block in Brisbane
with 3/4 acre planted with hibiscus,
bushfoods and potager.
The
block was contoured and mulched and our last water bills
were 90 cents
as
we only water
in extreme conditions.
The garden was shown on television and we were invited to garden groups
and because of the interest we developed a web-site with our son's assistance,
http://www.hibiscus.org. We have information
on more species ready but with current commitments this is on hold. Given
the difficulty we experienced in obtaining native hibiscus, we have worked
with Hibiscus World and native hibiscus are now available within Australia
with more to come. We have just moved into the country.
We plan to add native hibiscus to the existing garden which includes the
single red and Mrs George Davis of our first gardens almost forty ears
ago. I work part-time as a school counsellor and Geoff has recently retired
so we have more time to enjoy growing, hybridising and especially eating
our native hibiscus.
Hi! I'm Tammy LaPlante - a newbie to your List.
I live with my husband, Jeff, our two sons, Brett (7) and Marc
(5), and our two Siberian Huskies, (Nikki & Shira), here in heart
of Ohio. I have been uying and
collecting Hibiscus plants for about 8 years now, but still feel as
if I am 'new' to this wonderful breed of flower.
Since
becoming a
member
of the IHS and
learning more about Hibiscus, I have ventured into new
areas, and now own
my first group of "named" plants! Before,
I only had Garden Varieties and didn't even know they had names - only
knew them by color. At the present
time, I own 15 tropical Hibiscus plants (all potted), 1 Hibiscus tree,
and now have 10 to 15 Hardy Hibiscus planted in-ground around our home.
I have a very long Wish List
for more Hibiscus, but space is limited right now, so it will take me
a few years to get all the ones I would
love to have some
day. Hopefully, within the next few years we will find our 'dream home' or the
right piece of land to build it, and I will have the room needed for all
my plants, and more! (By then,
I know my Wish List will become longer!)
I have a BFA
in Graphic Arts, and right now I'm a 'semi-retired' Draftsman - having
quit work 7 years ago to stay home with our first child; then along came
number two, so I'm still a 'Stay-at-Home' Mom.
With two little boys, and two big dogs, plus the husband, I am
kept quite busy and find that I have very little spare time of my own
- so it's good that I do not have a full-time job right now.
Our little family transplanted themselves here in Ohio about five
years ago, having moved from the West Texas area - (Midland, TX, to be
exact). Jeff is a petroleum engineer, but after five
years of that he took a different route in his career when the Oil Business
took a nose dive, and he is now an Applications Engineer with a company
that builds Natural Gas Compressors. So far, so good!
I'm enjoying
being a part of your List, and getting to know each of you a little better
each day.
I
live with my wife Elaine, on a 2 1/4 acre block at the town of Glasshouse
Mountains, which is in the hinterland of Queensland's Sunshine Coast,
Australia. Our first horticultural love was with palms
and cycads of which we have approximately 800 in both landscape and cultivation
situations. We have some 200 Foxtail Palms (Wodyetia Bifurcata)
growing in ground and hope to sell seed from these in a few years.
Our
new love, however, is with the addictive Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, which
we have been growing for 5-6 years now.
We boast over
180 bushes at last count (but who's counting!). As Well as being a member
of the IHS, I am also a member of the Australian Hibiscus Society. My
main interest with hibiscus at the present, is in the area of hybridizing,
and although I have not registered many new cultivars, I do have a number
of seedlings being evaluated. In the last year I have acquired a number
of good USA cultivars and hope this addition to my gene pool
will enhance
my chances of success. My big
wish at the moment is to get a digital camera (and learn how to use it),
so I can share some of my beautiful blooms with you all. Although I do not have the horticultural expertise of some list
members, I am happy to share what knowledge I do have with all, and am
very keen to learn from others more experienced.
30
years ago, at the age of 19, I married my childhood sweetheart, Patricia.
I was not settled nor happy in my job as a medical officer working
the off-shore oil rigs in Australia.
My true hobbies were and still are, plants, photography, computers
& fishing. I would take as many photos of plants and things of interest
as I could, only restricted by the high photography costs incurred.
In
1974, with little horticultural or business experience, we purchased a
retail nursery which expanded to a wholesale nursery in Melbourne Victoria
(cool region) specializing in Hibiscus. This nursery supplied 80,000 Hibiscus
per year to the Chain stores in Victoria & New South Wales.
In1980 we joined the Australian
Hibiscus Society and became life members and developed a keen interest
in the culture of Hibiscus in the warmer state of Queensland. Being regular visitors to hibiscus shows and conventions there,
we decided to sell up our two businesses and move the family of 6 to Sub
Tropical Queensland where we could make our dreams of Hibiscus activities
expand and come true. I took a
job as a plant propagation advisor while purchasing 2 acres of house and
land.
Deciding to
further my horticultural education, I enrolled for 3 years full-time at
Grovely Horticultural College, graduating with honours with Associate
Diploma of Applied science (Horticulture). I then furthered my education by studying
Business Management and Law, again graduating with honours. Currently,
I am invited by the business college to return 4 times per year to motivate
new students on the strength and weaknesses within the business world
of today.
We became more involved with the Australian Hibiscus Society,
and I took positions on the committee for the local Caboolture branch,
eventually becoming president for 4 years. Patricia (who has a Hibiscus named after
her, Patricia Noble) is presently President and has been for 4 years. The Aust H S is the official International
Hibiscus Register and I was appointed in 1995 to the position of Registrar
for Hibiscus (international). I
also took the position of President of the Australian Hibiscus Society
as well as being foundation Web Master and designer for the Aust H S,
Show manager, Public Relations Officer, etc.
These positions became overwhelming and I decided to resign form
all but the positions of International Hibiscus Registrar and Hibiscus
Evaluator.
Computers being
one of my interests, I created my first Hibiscus database on Dbase 2 which
has now developed into a massive collection of over 7000 Hibiscus Cultivars
with 700 photos and data (400mb) using MS Access 2000.
We have created a very successful
Wholesale Hibiscus Nursery which services all of Australia and many other
countries, importing and exporting Hibiscus to countries such as India,
Holland, America, England and the Pacific Islands.
The local demand has compelled us to expand further into the retail
sector and Hibiscus World has selected another 5 acre site (15 minutes
away) for the retail sale of Hibiscus in its many forms such as hanging
baskets, topiary, wind breaks, patio pots, Bonsai and many other forms
of Hibiscus.
We owe our
success and are in deep gratitude to the very kindest of people.
These include Colleen and Geoff Keena (they have to be the KEENEST,
no pun intended , Australian Native Hibiscus breeders and fanciers ever),
for allowing us to share and distribute their wonderful and exciting hibiscus
species and hybridized hibiscus babies (seedlings).
We employ 7
plus staff and our total plant turn over this year will pass the 150,000
mark and is continuing to increase rapidly.
Our aim is
to learn from others and share this knowledge and experience with all
who seek it and to do the best we can for the promotion of the World of
Hibiscus. The humble Hibiscus
puts food on our table, pays our bills and buys the things we need
to live a simple life. Hibiscus have introduced us to so many close
and trusting friends who also share our love for them.
In the not
too distant past Patricia and I saw ourselves as being an isolated island
with Hibiscus and only a few near friends with whom we could share and
suddenly with the advent of the computer internet and the Hibiscus mail
lists we realize we are NOT on an isolated island but on top of the world,
with so many wonderful Hibiscus fanciers from all over this world to share
our love and experiences with, The Queen Of The Flowers, Hibiscus.
To Hibiscus
and all our Hibiscus friends we are deeply grateful and we salute you.
Patricia &
Chris Noble
Hibiscus World
I
live on 3/4 of an acre lake front property in Manitoba Canada. The gardening
zone is 2b and presents a variety of challenges for an avid gardener.
Our temperature range is one of the greatest anywhere. We can expect summer temperatures of 70+ to high 90's.
Winter temperatures are often in the 25 to 30 below category and 40 below
not uncommon nor unexpected.
I'm a complete beginner with hibiscus
but have always
had various tropicals including African Violets and Orchids. At present
time I have seeds from both Allan Little and Martin
Henn that
will
hopefully start
me on
the path to having exotic hibiscus living in my house.Ultimately I hope
to do some experimenting with hybridizing as the gene pool in tropical
hibiscus seems as varied as in dogs and I enjoy a challenge. I breed and exhibit toy and miniature poodles
under the registered kennel prefix Zyan and have bred and exhibited dogs
for over 20 years. It is through this that I have gained some knowledge
of genetics with an emphasis on recessive and
dominant genes.I
have been on the board of executives of a number of clubs and have served
in each of the official capacities as well as show secretary and show
chairman.
I
was born in Fiji of Scottish, Welsh, English, Fijian and Kiribati origins. My maternal grand parents, both master mariners,
were amongst the early pioneers prior to Fiji being ceded to Britain.
I was employed, for some 25 years, as a specialist in trade, tariffs,
regional and industrial development by the British Ministry of Overseas
Development to assist Fiji in these areas.
I represented
Fiji in both rugby and hockey, served
on the executive
committees of cricket, hockey and rugby at club, district and national
levels.
My wife Carol
and family of 6 moved to New Zealand in 1974 after my position was localized
and took up employment with the Department of Trade and Industry until
retirement in 1988.
We live in Green Bay, Waitakere City, Auckland on a 1/4 acre section
with harbor views on both sides of the North Island.Although
hibiscus were all around us in Fiji my efforts were concentrated on hybridizing
and exhibiting temperate flowers viz. Orchids, roses and dahlias. Since
moving to N.Z. my focus is now on things tropical. I became an AmHS M.A.L in1992 and have been
hybridizing and experimenting with hibiscus for the last 10 years.
My focus has been on producing hybrids, which will grow on their own roots
using the hardier Fijians as parents. Experiments with planting depths
have been interesting and may hold the key to some of the problems being
experienced. I have some 300 plants/seedlings
in pots, which are yet to bloom, have just sown 150 seeds and have 6 beds
of mature plants. During the last
2 years I have been gathering as many records as possible of early hybridizing
in New Zealand and Fiji.
I
was born in a little German community in North Louisiana called Zylks.
My dad worked in the oil fields and later did work in the shipyards in
Orange, Texas and at the Oak Ridge, Tennessee government facility. I graduated valedictorian from Logansport
High School in Logansport, Louisiana, got my degree in secondary education/biology/chemistry
(with minors in geography, English, social studies) from Texas Christian
University in Fort Worth.
I
tried teaching, but there just wasn't
enough
money
in this field so I gave it up after a year and a half for better things.
I'm now living in the historic Spanish Town section
of the downtown area of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, just a few blocks from
the new State Capitol, which I can see from my home.
It's the only
bungalow cottage of
its type in the city and has been featured in The Times-Picayune
in New Orleans.
I purchased the house at about the
same time I
bought an old building in the Central Business District, so I've been
involved in restoration for several years. I'm a preservationist from way back and have
been president (and founder) of Le Comite des Archives de la Louisiana
for 20 years. My genealogical work began in a high school civics class,
along with winning writing awards, public speaking, and parliamentary
procedure competitions. I was Metrostate copy editor for the Baton Rouge
newspaper for 14 years and did forms and reports control design work for
General Dynamics and Ling-Temco-Vaught prior to this. My gardening interest
started as a child when I did the yard work for my mother.
I think I missed my calling and should own a garden center.
Back in the early eighties, I had a newspaper friend who bought
a guesthouse in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and when he ran out of money, he
couldn't open it until someone invested in the project.
It was probably my biggest gamble, but it was this action that
created my love for islands as well as the beautiful hibiscus which I
found in the rainforest and all around the island.
I became a member of the American Hibiscus Society at this time and have been collecting my favorite flower since then. I haven't gotten into the hybridizing like I should have, but I have been rooting cuttings for friends for a long time. I'm just now acquiring seeds to see what I can do with the seedling process and will be doing more of this in the future since I now have a greenhouse. I just go out in the morning, check my beauties of the day (over 100 and growing), and look at the various web sites for hibiscus pictures and am discovering that I'm just one of many who have an interest in this flower. I'm divorced, have four children, and four grandchildren. My ex-wife is still a friend who moved back to Texas to take care of her ailing parents. My main work now is with my genealogical columns and articles, which I do on a freelance basis. I don't have an editor standing over me telling me what to do. I pick my topics and if the resulting articles sell, then I have accomplished what I set out to do - enjoying my work and receiving payment for the product of my efforts.
I own a local bookstore, which I work occasionally, and also own Damon Press, which is inactive now because it requires too much editing and dealing with people who think their poetry efforts, genealogy compilations, and cookbooks are going to make them millionaires. My last editorial work, which I do occasionally, was for a retired newspaperman's account of the first woman hung in the state of Louisiana. The older I get the more I want to enjoy the simple pleasures - writing, traveling a little, island hopping in the Caribbean, working with a Mardi Gras krewe, and enjoying my hibiscus adventures. I write constantly, read a lot, collect books, have fun with my children and their families, and thoroughly enjoy just sitting on my front porch or under my giant banana trees in my tropical garden. This is very appealing at this stage of my life. At 63, I feel as if I've earned the right.
Jan
is from English & New Zealand origin, while I am of German & Irish-Scottish
decent. We are "Old age
Pensioners", only just. We
live on the Central Coast of New South Wales, OZ. That is about 85 k's or 53 miles north of
Sydney. The temperature ranges
from around 6c to 36c, where we live; we do not suffer from frosts. Our home is on what you call, a battleaxe
block, with two houses on it. 
We
are at the back and have the right of way to the drive. I decided that the strip of grass down one side, had to go.
I had no where
to plant my
hibiscus
seedlings
which I had
hybridized in 1996, before we moved here to Wyong. I have always been
interested in plant breeding. I have successfully hybridized Fuschias
and Roses (two of which are still with us and receive favorable comments,
from our visitors.) The Fuschias, here suffer badly from the humidity
and rust.
For as long as I can remember,
I have been
in "LOVE" with Hibiscus. In 1996,
I decided that I would stick to the Hibiscus and not knowing of any Hibiscus
Soc's, I just went ahead and hybridized all of ours at home, then when
we were out, I would bring home the stames, off the hibiscus that we went
past. So that is why all of my original seedlings,
have NO named parents. A bit about
our work period: Jan has worked as a Telephonist for about 25 years and
I, Jack of all trades and master of none. In other words, many different
jobs, then having injured my lower back at work, I took on Taxi Driving
at Sydney, Central Coast & Brisbane, in all about 15 years. Home life
now consists of Jan, Mara & Myself, ( Mara is our ten year old Cardigan
Welsh Corgi) who is the household boss. Up till the January 98, Jan's
mother lived with us for 16 years and then was confined to the nursing
home with A.Z's Her name was Merne
and has one of my Hibiscus named after her, "Mumma Merne". Some of you have some of my seeds, which
I have hybridized from it. Thanking you for the opportunity to meet so
many, Hibiscusers. If anyone of
you wish to contact us via the internet, the address is: mervnjanweis57@idx.com.au
Jan and Mervyn G. Weis
Gloria
White is a native born Floridian who moved back to Miami in 1984 after
having lived a time in Calif. where
she met her husband. 
Gloria
just started collecting hibiscus in June 2000 and has 43 plants, including
several Australian varieties.
She also likes plumerias, heliconias,
bromeliads and gingers. She
has a master's degree
in human resources development and is a senior research associate
for a
neuropsychologist
specializing in Alzheimer's disease for the University of Miami.David
& Gloria have a 4 1/2 year old son named A.J. that is hismother's
helper in the garden. The White’s raised and showed Dalmatians
for many years and now have two stay at home dals. Gloria is learning to graft
and prepare rootstock and looks forward to enjoying the gems of many colors
in her little bit of heaven.
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