The kit arrived on a 16 foot pallet, three quarters of a ton of tightly bound galvanized steel pipe ready to be assembled. Its new home was going to be an open air growing area on the north side of our recently completed shade house project. This area had been cleared of plants earlier when the shade house was completed and the plants relocated inside it.
The first step was to level the land. The area had a 2.5 foot slope from one corner to the opposite corner. Once the ground was fairly level we assembled the hoops and set the supporting poles in concrete around the perimeter.
The following day we installed a perimeter rail and raised the hoops. The hoops were then secured with purlins to bind them together. After that we constructed the end frames which further secured the structure and will eventually support a sliding door.
With the structure now complete, the sand floor was covered with ground cloth and the sprinkler system assembled. I opted not to bury the sprinkler pipe in case I decide to change the sprinkler type down the road. When completed, this hoop house will be used to grow out seedlings and plants for my online store that opens in a few weeks. I also be using it for propagation.
Now it was time to start moving plants in from the adjacent shade house. That filled up about half the open space. I have a "work till you drop" weekend ahead of me to pot up freshly rooted cuttings. That project should completely fill up the hoop house by the end of this weekend.
With the beautiful weather we are now experiencing, I opted to wait a few weeks before affixing the shade cloth to the frame and closing up the ends of the house. I currently do not plan to cover the house with poly unless freezing temps are in the forecast. Normally the seasonal poly would be affixed November-March.
Once the shade cloth is up I can proclaim "Mission Accomplished"!
With the 2012 triathlon season starting in less than a month, I just need to remind myself that this is only a hobby and not my real job. :)
With the beautiful weather we are now experiencing, I opted to wait a few weeks before affixing the shade cloth to the frame and closing up the ends of the house. I currently do not plan to cover the house with poly unless freezing temps are in the forecast. Normally the seasonal poly would be affixed November-March.
Once the shade cloth is up I can proclaim "Mission Accomplished"!
With the 2012 triathlon season starting in less than a month, I just need to remind myself that this is only a hobby and not my real job. :)
The long corolla teeth and soft orange color give the bloom an appearance of a flame.
I like the looks of this one and plan to carry it forward in my watch zone this year. I've already incorporated it into my spring breeding program both as pod parent and a pollen parent.
The blooms are giant in size and the one pictured above was at least 10 inches across. The one shown below was equally as wide with a length to match.
The plant is also on the larger size and this seedling easily reached 8 feet tall before blooming for the first time. I plan to cross this one back to several other large flowered cultivars I have to see if I can create a few more monsters. I would also like to see if I can get some color into the next generation of seedlings.
The blooms seem to be equally split between compact and separated corolla skirts. Perhaps after a few more bloom cycles the plant will settle down and produce more consistent blooms.
Most pf the blooms on this seedling have had the bloom form pictured above. Sometimes it will produce a bloom that strongly resembles its father, New Orleans Lady, as you can see below.
Although my sense of smell is not that great, I was able to pick-up a nice scent on this one. I'm sure it was the influence of New Orleans Lady's genes.
I plan to wait until summer to decide if this one should be a keeper or not.
This seedling is the outcome of an unknown cross with Brugmansia Rubirosa as the pod parent. The long lasting blooms have remained snow white in all seasons, which is a plus. 
Often blooms on a new seedling will slowly change over the first few
bloom cycles, but this seedling has kept its wild corkscrew tipped
corolla teeth from the start.
To me this one is a keeper and is worthy of naming and registering. I
plan to chop it up for propagation next month and if the cuttings root well, it will earn itself a name.
This beautiful cultivar is just winding down from a mega-flush. I bet I had over 100 blooms on my cluster of plants. It was a challenge to capture a photo showing the giant flush because it was occurring at the same time we were finishing my shadehouse construction. All my large plants were bunched together closely to give us more working room.
Brugmansia 'Herbstzauber' is Monika Gottschalk hybrid and it grows extremely well here in Florida.
I must have pollinated at least 50 Hebstzauber blooms during this recent flush so now the waiting game begins to see how many crosses take. I already have about 10-15 seed pods hanging on the plants from crosses I made this fall. If I'm able to get another 10-15 to stick I'll be extremely pleased.
The color is actually darker than what is shown in these photos. So far all the blooms have been triples, starting out with separated skirts. As the blooms mature the corolla skirts re-curve back and the bloom becomes more compact.
When the bloom is fully mature, it has a strong resemblance to one of my Daydreams x Ludger's Windsong seedlings. I'm anxious to cross the two back and forth to each other the next time they are both in bloom.
Now that this plant is growing in a more controlled environment in my shadehouse, I hope to be able to get some better pictures the next time it blooms.
The blooms sort of have a flying nun look to me that is sort of cool when the plant is loaded with blooms. 
The creamy white blooms are very thick textured and average 3-4 inches across. During cool weather they pick-up a slight apricot color as they age.
The plant growth has been vigorous, but not quite as crazy as its mother, Brugmansia Naughty Nick. Right now the plant has topped off at just under 8 feet tall. It is also just as comfortable growing in a pot as it is in the ground. It is also a fairly frequent bloomer, even in the heat of summer.
I plan to use this one in my breeding program through spring and then after that start propagating it for a future release. Watch for this beauty to be officially named and registered later this year.
If you like your blooms more delicate, Hibiscus 'Cajun Princess' is a good choice.
It is easy to see how Hibiscus 'Flame Thrower' got its name.
Below is Hibiscus 'Improved Crimson Ray'.
Multicolor Hibiscus 'Gone Fishing' and its jumbo sized blooms make for one impressive plant.
And finally Hibiscus 'Sun-Charm' is a real charmer with its ruffled blooms.
I carried this Angel Trumpet over to my watch zone last year because I liked the looks of its separated skirts and the very thick textured blooms. Thicker textured blooms hold up better in the heat and I like to use those crosses in my hybridizing program to cross back to cultivars whose blooms need some additional substance.
I grew this seedling out from a cross made by Brenda Delph involving Brugmansia Adeline x Miss Caylie.It is from an older group of seedlings carried over from 2007, the year I first started growing Angel Trumpets from seeds.
This seedling has been blooming for several years and thrives here in Florida. At first I was on the fence about registering it, but the more it bloomed, the more I fell in love with it.
I named it Pink Cadillac because just like a vintage pink Cadillac car, it's big and gaudy, and it really grabs your attention.
Watch for Pink Cadillac plants to be available in my online store in late Spring.
Above is hibiscus 'Caprice' and below is one I grew from seed, hibiscus 5th Dimension x (Jason Blue x Wallflower).
I still have some cleaning up to do around the structure, but for the most part it is 100% completed.
This new shade structure offers just under 9,000 square feet of protection for my brugmansia. Because it was built on a slight slope, the inside height varies from 9ft tall to 12.5ft.
As you can see with this inside view, it did not take long to fill the place up.
The structure is completely covered with 30% shade cloth and wrapped with an added layer of poly film for the winter. The poly will be removed in March. Because the structure has a flat roof, the top layer of poly has small holes every 10-12 inches to facilitate drainage when it rains.
The hibiscus below is one I grew from seed. The cross is Hibiscus (Mystic x Cajun Swamp Music) x (Nightfire x Sunshower)
Hibiscus 'Nitro Express' 