HIBISCUS INTERNATIONAL

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JOLANDA GOMMERAND HER FAMILY

Dick Johnson

Jolanda Gommer (left) wascreated by Hendrik Gommer ofDalen, Netherlands and isnamed after his wife.

The offspring of a crossbetween Topaz Glory x FifthDimension, this large andcolourful bloom wasregistered in 2005.

Below are just a few of the manyseedlings I have produced usingJG ­ mostly as a pollen parent.

One of the common features isthe veining. Another is colour fornearly all JG's progeny comethrough with multiple colors andshades of lavender are common.Crossing some of these withMoorea Imperial Blossom orsome of its progeny like TahitianEnchantress, can emphasizesome of those colors. As a resultJG seedlings provide a wealth ofpossibilities for hybridizing.

Photo by BrigitteVeronika Hubmann

20627­13 T. Amber Star x Jolanda Gommer 20627­14 T. Amber Star x Jolanda Gommer

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20627­15 T. Amber Star x Jolanda Gommer 20834­3 Night Runner x Jolanda Gommer

Tahitian Autumn Odyssey Tahitian Golden Rainbow

Tahitian Lavender Galaxy Tahitian Lavender Twilight

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Tahitian Pink Sun Tahitian Rainbow Cartwheel

Tahitian Sweet Desire Tahitian Purple Passion

Hendrik Gommer, the hybridizer of Jolanda Gommer, owns a specialised plant nurserywhich is one of Europe's best sources of Hibiscus hybrids. Based in Dalen, Netherlands,his large selection includes many of Dick Johnson's famous Tahitians. The website can

be accessed in several languages by clicking on the appropriate country's flag.

Use the live linkbelow to takeyou directly tothe Gommer

website.

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The Attack of the AphidNO HIBISCUS IS SAFE FROM THESE HUNGRY PESTS!

APHIDS, also known as plant lice or greenfly, areone of the most destructive sap­sucking pests.Over 4,000 species are known worldwide and theycan be found in a range of colours from white toblack. Once they have found your plant they willquickly form colonies which feast on tender newleaves and growing tips.

Sap­sucking is not the only problem associatedwith aphids. They excrete a sticky honeydew whichcoats surrounding leaves and drops on your floorcreating an ideal environment for fungus to grow in.

Also, some species of ants farm aphids bycollecting the sticky honeydew so, if you haveaphids, you could soon have columns of antsmarching up and down the stems of your plants.

The aphid's natural enemies include ladybirds,hoverfly larvae, parasitic wasps, aphid midgelarvae, crab spiders and lacewings.

Aphid colonies consist of wingless females thatgive birth to live young. Winged forms developwhen overcrowding or other stress induces amove to another plant.

A good blast with the hose will dislodge most ofthe adults. You can also spray them with soapywater which both loosens the bugs and helpswash away the sticky honeydew.

Fortunately many of the readily availableinsecticides on sale at hardware stores andgarden centres will kill aphids.

Aphid excretinghoneydew.

Black aphidcolony.

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Aphids on a Hibiscusflower bud. Photo byKatie Noll

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HIBISCUS TOP 20GOOD SEED SETTER LIST

William J Huang

TOPAZ GLORY

GEORGIA'S PEARL

ROSALIND

ALL AGLOW

MISS LIBERTY

SAFFRON

FIFTH DIMENSION

MOOREA ABYSS

MISFIRE

HERM GELLER

The figures in this list were extracted from theInternational Hibiscus Society's CV search

engine.

Use the push­button link below to visit the IHS CVsearch engine ­ an outstanding online resource!

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BLOOM MUTATIONS CAUSEDBY HERBICIDE

Dick Johnson

On the left is the normal flower and on theright is the temporary mutation which,depending on the cause (normally exposure toglyphosate herbicide ­ i.e. Monsanto's 'Roundup'),usually passes after a few blooms and revertsto normal. It can happen that some flowers

open the same day on the same plantshowing the mutation while others don't, butthat is uncommon. With severe exposure thenew leaves can become deformed. Theychange form and become very thick whichtakes longer to grow out.

MIDNIGHT BLUE

ITS SO EASY

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Fortunately, Hibiscus are quite tolerant to thisherbicide, and I've never had any die from itthat I know of.

Two particular cases are interesting. Once Itried to get rid of a Hibiscus of Sprinkle Rainand thoroughly treated the 2 ft bush. It didn'tdie and still persists today some 10 yearslater.

On another occasion I phoned and asked mywife to mist some young grafted plants. WhenI got home I discovered that she had used a

sprayer that contained glysophate. Again Ididn't lose any plants that I thought wererelated to the accidental misting with theherbicide.

Some growers have reported that mutationscan happen when there has been no knownexposure to this herbicide and I havespeculated that it could have been from theuse of industrial recycled water, or perhapsgraywater or sewage exposure, but that ispurely speculative.

TIGERAMA

CAMPFIRE GIRL

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PERDANA BOTANICAL GARDEN

KUALA LUMPUR

HIBISCUS PARK

'Sada Jabaa' by Alam Rahman

The Perdana Botanical Garden, formerlyknown as Taman Tasik Perdana or LakeGardens, is situated in the Heritage Park ofKuala Lumpur. Originally created as part ofa recreational park but planted withcollections of tropical plants, the gardenshave been rehabilitated and turned into aBotanical Garden. The garden has not onlybotanical collections but also features thatgive the visitor the ambiance of being in atropical rainforest, despite being in themiddle of bustling Kuala Lumpur.

Among the many attractions are an Orchid

Garden and a Hibiscus Park whichshowcases the various species ofMalaysia’s national flower, the BungaRaya (Hibiscus rosa­sinensis). Otherattractions in the garden include a 4­metre(13ft) high waterfall, pools and fountainsand a lovely colonial style building hasbeen converted into an exhibition hall witha tearoom and a gallery.

A large pond in the Hibiscus Park featuresa flamboyant Hibiscus sculpture (above)which will take your breath away!

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GROWING ROOTS IN

STRANGE PLACES!

Daniela Pradais

Daniela lives in Bacau, Romania. The city is situated in WesternMoldavia at the foothills of the famous Carpathian Mountains. The

Ghimes Pass links Bacau to the equally famous Transylvania.

On 10th March Daniela received anunregistered Hibiscus cutting from a goodfriend. She kept the cutting in water for twoor three days and then decided to plant it.Because the leaves she had removed fromthe cutting were nicely shaped she stoodthem in a glass of water (with a piece ofcharcoal to keep the water clean). Of allthe leaves she saved, only one stayed niceand green so, as it was pretty, she kept itin water.

Three months later on 25th June, Danielarefreshed the water as usual and, to herastonishment, discovered that it hadproduced a root!

Bacau county Prefecture ­ built in 1891.

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A CELEBRATION OF

BEAUTY

A selection of fabulous photos shared by members of theInternational Hibiscus Society

PUSHPA SURESH

(Medicine Man x Taboo)Hybridized by Barry and Susan Schlueter

Photo by Elena Flamenta

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Not registeredHybridized by Laurent Gimenez

MARIANNE CHARLTON

(Ice Princess x Godiva)Hybridized by Barry and Susan Schlueter

Photo by Monika KS

MOOREA SUNSET DREAM

Photo by William J Huang

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TAIWAN UNICORN

Not registeredHybridized by Linda Lee

Photo by Linda Lee

PPrrooppaaggaattiioonn uunnkknnoowwnnHHyybbrriiddiizzeedd bbyy CChhaarrlleess BBllaacckkPPhhoottoo bbyy MMoonniikkaa KKSS

SSEEAA OOFF TTRRAANNQQUUIILLIITTYY

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MATT'S BLUE MOON

Not registeredPhoto by Thomas Narolewski

PRINCE CASTLE

Not RegisteredPhoto by d Daniels

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METEOR FALLS

Not registeredPhoto by Linda Lee

BLACK DRAGON

Dragon's Breath x Treasure ChestHybridized by Dupont Nursery

Photo by Anjali Blakely

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PULSAR

Propagation UnknownHybridized by Joe and Joyce Marks

Photo by Thomas Narolewski

SSEEAASSOONN''SS SSUURRPPRRIISSEE66((UUnnkknnoowwnn xx MMiill lleennnniiuumm SSuuppeerrssttaarr))HHyybbrriiddiizzeedd bbyy SShhyyaammaallaa MMaaddaappppaaPPhhoottoo bbyy JJaassmmiinnee CChhiieekkoo GGeerrnneerr

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JOEY CARLSON'S

TROPICAL WATERCOLOURS

'Sada Jabaa' by Alam Rahman

Honolulu artist Joey Carlson paints these stunning watercolors and we are honoured to havehim as a member of the International Hibiscus Society! This one is called 'Hawaiian Orange'.

KKoo''oollaauu mmoouunnttaaiinnss ffrroomm tthhee MMaannooaa cclliiffff ttrraaiillHHoonnoolluulluu,, HHaawwaaiiii

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Above:'Sea through the Jungle'

Left:'Red Hibiscus'

Joey creates his magic onhot press (no texture in thepaper) watercolour paperand each painting can takeseveral months to complete.

Many of his paintings are forsale and he can be contactedvia Facebook. More of hiswonderful art can be viewedin his Facebook photo album.This is a link to his profile.

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A MARKET STALLIN TAHITIDick Johnson

On the last Saturday of every month my friend Capo from Moorea sells Hibiscus ata local market here in Tahiti.

For several years now I have given him wood from some of my best varieties and,as a result, perhaps 75% of what he sells are my Tahitian hybrids. I give the woodgratis and he is kind enough to supply me with plants or replacements of mine thatI have lost. It’s a good arrangement and at the same time some of my hybrids get

spread around the islands.

In this photo Capo is on the right talking with a client. There are only three or fouron the table that I don’t recognize as mine.

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Above is Capo’s main display. The majority are mine, except for Bold Idea and HighVoltage (top left). The three smallest blooms are Moorea (Charles Atiu) hybrids (twobottom and one at the top). The lavender with the white eye (left, second from thebottom) and the orange to its right are Moorea (Laurent Giminez) hybrids, and also

possibly the double orange with lighter rim.

Living sculpture in Montreal Botanical Gardens, Canada

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'SADA JABAA'(AKA 'DAINTY WHITE')

Alam Rahman

The Ahsan Manzil Palace,Dhaka, Bengladesh ­ nowa national museum.

Alam Rahman, a freelance photographer, livesin Dhaka, Bangladesh where he took theselovely photos of a rare white Hibiscus which, inromanized Bengali, is called 'Sada Jabaa'.

Elsewhere in the world this delicate beauty isknown as 'Dainty White'.

'Dainty White' is a very rare, early gardenvariety hibiscus that blooms with hundreds ofpure white 3" mini blooms per day. The bushgrows very vigorously, very fast and very tallwith many branches. It then develops agraceful weeping shape that makes a hugebush covered with white flowers like asnowstorm of hibiscus flowers. 'Dainty White' isa sport or a natural genetic mutation of itsmother hibiscus, 'Dainty Pink.' Both varietieswere either collected or hybridized in the early1950's by Florida growers Norman Reasonerand L.K. Thompson, who were knownrecipients of hibiscus specimens sent back tothe United States by Ross Gast in his journeysaround the world in search of native hibiscusspecies.

This information is reproduced from theHidden Valley Hibiscus website:­'Sada Jabaa' by Alam Rahman

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A close­up of 'Sada Jabaa', otherwise knownas 'Dainty White', showing the pollen sacsand distinctive pale staminal pads.Photo by Alam Rahman.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

OFFICE BEARERS

President: Kes Winwood : Vice­President: Peter Moll : Sec./Treasurer: Dick Johnson

BOARD MEMBERS

Eurasia (EU): Taner Turt : Petar Tiholov : Eurasia (Russia): Elena Tabuntsova

Indian Subcontinent: Pushpa Suresh : Oceania: Joseph Bautista

Africa: Gail Cahi : Orient: Bi Yu Jin

N. America: Damon Veach : S. America: Elizabeth Jordan : Australia: Sue Lansdown

Wild Card Reps: Wendy Williams : Doyle Williams

ICRAR: Ian Rabenda

PRESIDENT EMERITUS : Richard Johnson

Web Address ­ www.internationalhibiscussociety.orgE­mail Address ­ InternationalHibiscusSociety@yahoogroups.com

I.H.S. PATRON ­ DAVID FRANZMAN