Hoty Winners

Hi Nina and everyone. I am still walking around on air. What a great feeling to read an email and find out I had won the IHS HOTY for 2006.

I don't know if Richard remembers when he was in Orlando in May 2005. It was at the Central Orlando hibiscus show that I first showed Gator Magic. It was there it won Best of Show Seedling. Grand Slam never did make it to a show. It was a bloom that always bloomed either before or after a show.

Both Grand Slam and Gator Magic are blooms using Remembrance in the cross and both as Fathers. I still have a Remembrance that I am using in my hybridizing. Outside now in the greenhouse the plant has several seed pods on it that I am waiting on to ripen. My Grand Slam is in the ground next to the swimming pool. It is a good mother and father. I have several seed pods using it as father. Gator Magic is more difficult to get to cross as doubles can be. The pictures I have included are the prettiest I have taken of each. Both bloom pictures were taken in the month of October. The first is of Grand Slam and the second is of Gator Magic. Finally, after a very bad year for hybridizing and blooms last year, I have quite a few nice crosses this year with seed pods I am waiting on. Hopefully in one of those pods is another winner. Grand Slam parents are Scarlet Angel X Remembrance.

Bob Carran

Grand Slam was awarded the IHS HOTY, Hibiscus of the Year, for 2006 with 52.17 votes received. It was bred and entered by Robert Carran of the U.S.A.. Here we provide you some of the photos and supplemental data submitted to the HPOJ, HOTY Panel Of Judges, upon which they based their votes to select the eventual winner.

Our congratulations go to Robert for winning this IHS HOTY competition. We thank the hybridizers who entered candidates in this program, in this case at their own expense. We thank the evaluators who grew the plants and provided the photos and data. We thank Nina Bjelovucic, the IHS HOTY coordinator, for her tireless efforts in collecting this information from the trialing stations and passing it to the HPOJ. We of course thank the judges and most of all we thank the membership for participating in the initial SOTY selections, which form the core of the IHS HOTY Program. In this respect the IHS is unique in that the membership and affiliates are able to vote on what they consider to be the most beautiful of the candidates presented, after which the HPOJ narrows the field based upon their expert evaluation of the candidates chosen by the membership.

Grand Slam won the 2006 HOTY for Bob Carran U.S.A.

Another Photo of Grand Slam

Another View of Grand Slam

The Third place in the 2006 HOTY was won by Richard Johnson with his entry Tahitian Romance with 49.14 points, parents are Grand Hyatt X Tah. Rainbows

The Second Place in the 2006 HOTY was also won by Bob Carran with his entry Gator Magic with 52.16 points, parents are Gator Pride X Remembrance

Grand Slam has different colours showing at different times of the year and Bob Carran does not know what colour will appear in his seedlings using Grand Slam as one of the parents.

Grand Slam showing a different set of colours