Hoya engleriana

[hoyagal Growing]

Does anyone else grow Hoya engleriana?  My hoya collecting friend who lives here in my town ordered this cutting from David Liddel twice, and it was one of the pricier ones.  She has given me two cuttings, which I cut in half thinking that I would have a fuller pot this way.
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The initial cuttings have done very well, but are still a bit flimsy - they are seeming leggy, and not real stiff and succulent they way my friend's plant is growing.  I know that I have watering issues with this hoya, as I have watered and promptly had the bottom leaves fall off.
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I just moved it today to a much sunnier, hotter location, right in front of a west window.  Here goes my theory that hoyas don't necessarily need as much light as we think they do.  My friend has hers in HOT, HOT western exposure, and it is thriving.  All of my windows have awnings on them, but we bought the house that way, and it is nice as my hoyas don't sunburn nearly the way hers do.
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I guess what I am having problems with is this:  If the cuttings get to dry, they drop leaves and then rot when they get water.  If I give them too much (please keep in mind I am watering with a turkey baster, and it holds on 1.5 ounces of water - isn't that like the amount in a shot glass) they do the same, drop leaves, and rot.  I seriously need an instant root system on this thing, and it has been in my possession since August!!! I just pulled a rotten piece out this morning.
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Anyone with any advice, it would be HUGELY appreciated.
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Cheers,
Sara

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[dandeeduo]

Being the novice here I am unable to help you.
Dee

On Jul 25, 7:49 am, hoyagal Growing <got2g...@live.com> wrote:
> Does anyone else grow Hoya engleriana?  My hoya collecting friend who lives here in my town ordered this cutting from David Liddel twice, and it was one of the pricier ones.  She has given me two cuttings, which I cut in half thinking that I would have a fuller pot this way...The initial cuttings have done very well, but are still a bit flimsy - they are seeming leggy, and not real stiff and succulent they way my friend's plant is growing.  I know that I have watering issues with this hoya, as I have watered and promptly had the bottom leaves fall off...I just moved it today to a much sunnier, hotter location, right in front of a west window.  Here goes my theory that hoyas don't necessarily need as much light as we think they do.  My friend has hers in HOT, HOT western exposure, and it is thriving.  All of my windows have awnings on them, but we bought the house that way, and it is nice as my hoyas don't sunburn nearly the way hers do...I guess what I am having problems with is this:  If the cuttings get to dry, they drop leaves and then rot when they get water.  If I give them too much (please keep in mind I am watering with a turkey baster, and it holds on 1.5 ounces of water - isn't that like the amount in a shot glass) they do the same, drop leaves, and rot.  I seriously need an instant root system on this thing, and it has been in my possession since August!!! I just pulled a rotten piece out this morning...Anyone with any advice, it would be HUGELY appreciated..Cheers, Sara
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[jen]

I don't have this one either, looks kind of fussy to me...you know, I
may be wrong, but I think they have this one at Meadowbrook in Pa, and
sell cuttings.....But I probably would not get it, it is like bella,
no? The little leaves are pretty but I prefer the viney and more
succulent hoyas.

[got2...@live.com]

Jen, you are right, it is like bella. I also think that it IS
fussy. If the cuttings are cheap, I would get it, but I am really
working my tail off with this one. Grrrrrrr. I didn't have to pay
for mine, it was a trade. My friend and I always make a point of
coordinating our lists from David Liddle so that we can share what we
order, therefore we get twice as many cuttings. Sometimes that
requires a bit of a wait until they are big enough to share, but
others they come so super long that we just snip a bit right then.

Needless to say, this hoya was NOT one that came in a super long
piece. That doesn't mean that the cuttings weren't generous though,
since a finger long cutting can actually be 12-15 nodes. Ha.

S

[Hills]

Hi Folks, nice to see some friendly faces here!

Sara, your engleriana looks OK. When it starts growing, it does tend
to look a bit flimsy, then eventually (takes a while, maybe up to a
year) the leaves fill out and look nice and succulent like the way
that you think they should look.
I have never had any problems with this plant, but then again I have
no problems with bella either. I have heard it likes the UK weather,
so this would explain why every year these plants grow well and flower
for me. The ones that haven''t flowered for me in this group is the
dickinsonia and the variegated bella, possibly because they're not as
established or not so quick to flower.
Anyway, back to your question - I don't know what you're doing wrong
with the watering. I water mine on a regular basis here, in fact most
people think bella and engleriana prefer to stay a bit moist. Perhaps
you need to water a bit less, but more frequently? I always check the
soil before I water to make sure it's dry - with my finger!
Every week I check my Engleriana for buds - this is the time of year
it should start flowering - but this year it's not showing any signs.
Sigh. I blame my change in location from last year - it no longer
sits next to the window.
I hope that helps, I'm off to go enjoy our small slice of summer -
even the Galileo thermometer in here is reading 28 C - it's a
heatwave!!!
Hills

[got2...@live.com]

Hi Hills, it is great to see you too!! Thank you so much for your
help. I won't worry too much about it then, as it is just a new
little plant. Some of the pieces in that pot are only 4-6 nodes, and
you know that is about the size of a finger joint.

I would love to see yours, especially with blooms!! This is one of my
absolute favorites because of how incredibly tiny the leaves are. I
really thought that "rice-sized" was an exaggeration, but it wasn't at
all. Ha.

Bella wise, I have the regular green one, the paxtonii form, and two
weeks ago I found a centrally variegated hoya bell in my mom's town
when we were there visiting her. It looked a bit rough, but I am
getting some nice new growth points, and they are coming on FAST!! It
seemed like it had a pretty hard trip, even though it was in a box,
and went by car.

I don't have the dickinsonia, is it a bit like the other bellas?

Sara

[Hills]

Hi Sara,

Try <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tallscientist/
203653789/">this link</a> to have a look at the photo. It's not a
very good one, and I could swear I have a comparison bella/engleriana
picture somewhere, but I probably didn't upload it to my Flickr site.
I'll have a root around if I have time this week. I am happy because
my Bella blooms are plumping up nicely - think it helps it's no longer
just a ball of roots! Just goes to show that you CAN pot these plants
up and they will bloom soon again!

Sorry, I forgot to say, Hoya dickinsonia is better known as Hoya
weebella - just another one of those which has had its name changed!
I don't know why this one isn't flowering for me, since the others
seem to be quick flowerers, maybe if I'm lucky this year I might get
blooms by the end of the year. I went out yesterday to look for some
bloom booster and came home with some Cactus and Succulent fertilizer,
8:34:32. I'm going to test it out, at probably 1/4 of the
concentration they reccomend, on my hoyas....

Hills

[Ann Strahm]

Hills, those are some lovely (LOVELY) plants you've got showing on your flickr site!
Ann

[got2...@live.com]

Hills - I spent a half hour looking at all of your photos this
morning!!! Your plants are lovely. I found the picture that you were
telling me about with the engleriana/dickonsoniae comparison. wow.
Talk about little plants. I might have to add the wee bella /
dickonsoniae to my next David Liddle order list. I really like those
tiny little leaves. I enjoyed all of the vacation photos too - it is
great to have a face to put with a name, now I feel like I know you,
and you are another one of my many hoya friends!!

Cheers,
Sara

[Hills]

Right, I have just spent a good hour looking through all my photos to
find this picture of engleriana and bella together - as always, it was
in the last place I looked!!!
I have now uploaded it to...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tallscientist/2713776209/
Sorry for the links, but I can't figure out how to attach photos to
the discussion - I'm guessing if I replied using my mail system it
might work then.
You can see from the photo that engleriana and bella have very similar
flowers, but are different, and now I think about it, the flowers are
very similar to the leaves. The engleriana, with the rice-shaped
leaves, has very defined and "plumped up" petals, whereas bella, with
the lanceolate leaves, has almost diamond-shaped petals that seem to
melt into each other.

Anyway, I'm going to stop waffling - I was supposed to be hoovering,
not rootling round my old photos!
Hills

[got2...@live.com]

Hills, it is always more fun to look at, dust, replant, etc. with
hoyas, than it is to clean!!!! Ha. The vacuuming can always wait
till another day. Just think, all of the dust that you leave on your
carpet is counterbalanced with the clean air effect of all of your
plants.

You are right about sending the photo from your email. If you don't
want to get all of the messages via email, you can copy the thread
title and paste it into the subject line of your email. Write your
message, attach the photo as an attachment, and send it to the stemma
groups address that shows up in your contacts or addresses or
whatever. I think I saved it to mine to make it a bit easier.

Let me know if that is as clear as mud...Ha.

S