More than 800 plants to be featured at Hibiscus Society sale
The community is invited to the annual hybrid hibiscus plant sale, which will feature 50 varieties of hibiscus in a vast array of colors.
The annual James E. Hendry Chapter of the American Hibiscus Society hybrid hibiscus plant sale will take place from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., or until sold out Saturday at the Salvation Army, 10291 McGregor Blvd, Fort Myers. The event has free admission and parking.
“We do it every fall,” Wanda Schmoyer, with the chapter, said. “It’s been so successful in the past. This is the fifth time we have done it. Every time we have sold them all in less than an hour.”
Buyers begin lining up at the door an hour before the sale begins.
This year the sale will have 800 hybrid hibiscus, double of what they had last year. Schmoyer said last year they sold 400 hibiscus in 25 minutes.
“The people know they cannot get these hybrid hibiscus,” she said of those available at big box garden centers.
The hybrid hibiscus are coming from a wholesale nursery, Big Bad Flower, out of Sarasota. Schmoyer said they are bringing the flowers down on Saturday morning.
“We will be unloading them and setting them all up,” she said. “We have 50 varieties. We only had 30 varieties last time. They are really beautiful plants and people love it.”
Some of the blooms will reach more than 8 inches and are available in numerous colors including reds, yellows, blues, greens, purples, oranges, pinks, white and some with up to five colors.
The small hibiscus are $15 and the large are $25. There is special pricing for members of the James E. Hendry Chapter of the American Hibiscus Society.
Members will provide expert growing advice during the sale. In addition, books, pruning shears and fertilizer will be for sale.
This is one of the chapter’s larger fundraisers. Schmoyer said they are getting ready to allocate some money to go towards college students pursuing horticulture degrees.
“We are a nonprofit. We make money, but we don’t keep it for ourselves,” she said.
For more information, view www.hendrychapterhibiscus.com, or call (239) 848-7090.
The chapter meets at Berne Davis Gardens, 2166 Virginia Avenue on the second Sunday of each month at 1:30 p.m. The next fall meeting is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 14 and Sunday, Nov. 11.
Half of the organization’s members are from the Cape.