hoya buds and blooms

[David Elliott]

This time of year will usually find many of us with hoya plants that
have either gone completely dormant or at least slowed down a bit,this
includes myself. Well not this year. So far my hoyas are all still very
actively growing. Not only are they still growing but they are also
still producing new peduncles and some are even still blooming at a time
of year when not much else is in bloom!!!

Here's a few that are still doing their thing!!!
Picture #1 is H. diversifolia which is a first time bloomer for me. This
one is a B@#CH to bring into bloom and my plant now has 8 clusters of
flowers on it!! Nothing really to write home about but just getting it
to bloom has taken almost 5 years!!!

#2--H. myrmecopa
#3--H. mymecopa
#4--H. vitiensis buds--the peduncle formed normally as they do at a leaf
node but if you look closely you'll notice that it has fused together
with the stem. This hoya has only bloomed once for me,earlier this
year!! It's loaded with peduncles and all seem to be forming buds now.
#5--H. vitiensis buds again
#6--H. cinnimomifolia about to pop any time!!!! This one is growing like
wildfire right now and is loaded with buds!!!

Here's a list of what I currently have in various stages of bud or bloom
as of 12/28/08::::::::::::::

first time bloomers

siariae
cv. ruthie
kunming kina
parviflora
forbesii
cv. pinkie
marginata
diversifolia
giant lacunosa
GPS 1073
aff. cardiophylla
buotii

these have bloomed before

vitiensis
cinnimomifolia
myrmecopa
DS-70
heuschkeliana yellow
heuschkeliana pink
pusillla
incrassata
multiflora
cv. sunrise
comminsii
subcalva
mindorensis
clemesiourum
lambii

[Anne]

Wow, congrats to them! It's really nice to see hoya flowers now. I
start to think its boring with my hoyas now, they just stand there..
Nothing fun at all, you made me hope again!

>  diversifolia2.jpg
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>  myrmecopa.jpg
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>  vitiensis buds.jpg
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>  vitiensis buds 2.jpg
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>  cinnimomifolia.jpg
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[dmichael]

Anne, I grow all of my hoyas in a gh and even though,normally this
time of year they would be at least semi-dormant. The weather has been
so crazy here this winter. Yesterday was almost 80F,today it is about
65F and raining and tonight is supposed to be in the 40's. The night
time temps for this week are also supposed to get down to below
freezing again. It's been like this since October. It's cold then it's
hot then it's cold again. We have had days where it would be 75-80F
and then get down tot he high 20's or low 30's at night. That's too
drastic of a change for one day!!!!

Normally my hoyas would begin to go dormant or semi dormant in
November and then start growing again in late Feb. or early March.
This year was not the case. They have been actively growing and
flowering since early Feb and are still going strong!! I am really
surprised to see the number of new ones that will bloom for the first
time soon!!!! If they keep growing and producing new peduncles at the
current rate,I may just get to see every hoya in my collection bloom
by the end of 2009!!!

David

[sara]

Awesome David!! I agree with Ann - I am bored. I am actually sooooo
bored that in a brief moment of insanity, I agreed to go in on an
order of African Violets with a friend. WTF!!! I don't really even
LIKE African Violets, and it must show, because I now have a little
African Violet graveyard on my dining room table.

David, I have to say, I really like those Hoya myrmecopa blooms. I
had a bit of sad luck with mine, and it is down to one piece right now
in the rooting jar - it does have roots, but I am hesitating to plant
it because the temps are pretty tricky right now, and the indoor
heating is on - hot and dry, yet cold and miserable.

Ann, are you still growing your plants outside, or have you had to do
the migration scene, and move them all indoors?

Well, I am halfway through the watering - I guess I will go and
finish, or else I end up with plants on different watering schedules.
Yup, I am a schedule waterer - usually every Saturday, but got lazy
this week, and postponed it a couple of days.

Sara

[dmichael]

I watered yesterday. That's almost 400 plants watered individually by
hand!!!!

[Anne]

Sara, I grow all my hoyas indoor... and I would really like to have a
mixed watering schedule, because it takes an hour to water everyone,
as I have too many... I usually water on weekends too, I would like to
try water half of them on saturday and half on sunday. This year I
bought lots of selfwatering pots, to have a little easier time, and
people are so recommending them. I hope to be able to water a little
less often and hope they will enjoy it and flower a lot next year. Of
course the hanging ones do not have selfwatering pots, so they must be
watered more often.

David, I envy you to have such a gh. I would really like to be able to
buy at least a 15 m2 gh some day. But it is both costs and work with
building it, and also a lot of moving in and out in spring and autumn.
Perhaps only to have a few hoyas in, but to be able to grow other
plants in, and to sit and read a windy day perhaps? I have little
difficulty to understand your temperature measuremnents as we count in
Celsius, and I have not googled for translation between F and C. Must
do that some day... The weather here has also been warmer than
usually, both last winter and now. We have had a few days with minus,
but often it is a couple of degrees plus.

[sara]

Hi Anne. I have heard really good things about self- watering pots.
I would love to hear how your hoyas do in them. I water all of my
plants on the same day or else I forget which ones need it. Sometimes
I water the kitchen hoyas only a day earlier as they seem to dry out a
bit faster for some reason. That does make it a bit easier. I hear
ya on the hour plus on watering.

I suppose it could be worse - we could have the 400+ monster hoyas the
David is dealing with. Ha.

S

[Anne]

Sara, I have lost counting, but I keep record, only that I have not
updated it for a while, and lost some, bought some... they are 500+
but fortunately not monsterhoyas yet. Have to find out what to do when
they all grow up. I have benches in front of the windows filled with
hoyas, and in one room there are duble rows of benches. This hoya
collecting gets into your mind, you certainly cannot say no to another
kind... For the selfwatering, I have only had it for some months, but
have also heard much good things about them. But some people don't
fill them up with water to the mark, and lets them get dry before
watering again, I do not follow that, I do as they are supposed to,
fill up to mark, and wait until empty, then fill up again and so on. I
guess its about watering too, not only the pots. However, not all
hoyas like those, they can be too wet. Have to find out...

[David Elliott]

The cinnimomifolia buds have now opened!!!!! Anyone looking for an easy
to grow hoya that is easy to bring into bloom this is the one for you!!!

[Jo Old]

Whow David that's a lot of blooming hoya!
I only have one blooming now, my Multiflora and it does have a lot of clumps.   
This one has had blooms 10 months out of this past year.
 
As for watering my plants, I probally have around the amount David and Anne has (that's counting all my plants, not just hoya) so I water them a room at a time by hand.
If I tried doing it all at once it would take me all day. 
Jo
 

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[Jo Old]

I'm having trouble posting my picture, this is what happens when I try and change my email site.
I hope this works!
Jo

[Anne]

Congrats to those lovely flowers both David and Jo. And Jo, that is a
lovely plant you have. David, I have the cinnamomifolia from DL, but
it is a slow grower (for me), guess I'll have to wait a couple of
years before starting to expect flowers. And Jo, that method of
watering is exactly what I would like to have, but I only want it to
be on weekends, because after a working day I am too tired... So it
ends up with half of them being watered on saturday and half on
sunday, and sometimes inbetween when I notice some hoya being very
dry, I water just that one and perhaps look around to see if there is
any more in urgent need of water... I have mainly two big rooms with
large long windows, where most of my hoyas are. Then of course there
are some in the other rooms too, but they all have ordinary windows,
so there are not so many.

[sara]

Jo, that is an absolutely stunning Hoya. I was never really a huge
fan of the javanica / multifloras because of the thin, papery leaves,
and the bushy growth pattern, but saw a picture of an amazing
variegated multiflora and did end up getting a cutting of that one.
It is still very small, but it is healthy and looking good. I might
have to reconsider the javanica too - yours is really very lovely.

I don't have nearly as many plants as any of you - Anne, David or Jo.
I am at about 200 I think, but will have to go and count them now, as
I am curious as to an exact number.

I would really appreciate pictures of where you indoor growers are
keeping your plants, as mine are wall to wall throughout my living
room and dining room, and I am absolutely convinced that I have
reached the end of my collecting due to space constraints alone. Yet,
there are hoyas on my list that I would love to purchase from David
Lidde come spring ordering time.

S

[Anne]

Sara, I do not dare to put a photo in here or anywhere on the net,
because it just looks ugly. You would just see an awful lot of bamboo
hops (if it is the right word for it) and a lot of green on benches
that are maybe together 1 m wide and double rows on the window sills.
It is not as much yet as I've seen on other forums photos, but it will
be when they will be big enough, and that photos I use to show my kids
to tell them that there are others and that they are worse... ;-
( Some windows you cannot see out from. But my windows are high ones,
so there is much view outside. Otherwise I would not stand it. To
enjoy my hoyas, I have to go close and look at each one. Maybe move
some of the benches (they are all on wheels) to get to the window
sill, or look at those near the window from outside...

[sara]

LOL Anne, that makes me feel much better. I don't really have much of
a view out my nice, large, picture windows either, and am beginning to
think that mine is looking bad. Ha. I guess I was hoping that there
was a way, somehow, to make all of these hoyas look better. Not like
so much clutter. I suppose not.

I know what you mean about enjoying the hoyas one at a time too. I
have to walk around and look at each one, because collectively they
all just look like walls of green.

Sara

[dmichael]

That's a very nice multiflora plant Jo.I've got a few clones of it
myself but I find them to be huge magnets for mealy bugs!!!!

My plant collection consists of around 370 hoyas,the other odd plants
are made up of about 25+/- one or two shclums,a 6-7ft tall Norfolk
island pine,2 rather large ponytail palms and a couple of other
things.

Anne,we don't judge anyone here,fell free to post pics of your plants.
I'm sure everyone would enjoy seeing them!!

Sara!!!!! It's past time for a lean to gh. Have it attached so you can
walk right out of your back door into it. That's exactly what I would
have done if space had allowed me to do so.

[Anne]

David, I am off to work now, but perhaps later I'll throw in some pics
then...

I have been thinking of a gh too, but not attached to the house,
because then it will be even darker inside my house, and that I do not
want. It sure looks nice with those garden rooms, but I guess they
steel much light. I would like to have an ordinary gh, with full high,
that is so that you can stand up everywhere. But it is 2 things,
money, and all the work with the ground and so, preparing a space...
Then it is not so warm here, so I could use it between end of april
until september only.

[ks-girl]

Well I took some pictures today but they didn't turn out very well.
Like Anne and Sara said it just looks like a big clump of plants. I
have floor to ceiling windows on one wall of the living room and a
large picture window in the dining room that is packed with plants but
I either get a glare from the outside light or it just looks like a
big mess of plants.
In a guest room I have double windows and a wire rack with lights and
a wire mini greenhouse where I start my cuttings. In the breakfast
room I have a wire shelf by the patio doors My office has double
wide windows so plants are packed in there as well.
Down stairs I have two plant tables with floresant lights which is
where I grow my orchids and winter my epi's and succulants.
In the summer months my house isn't so cluttered since I move a lot
of my plants to the patio and shade house but the winter it's very
crowded. And it seems that during the summer I tend to forget they
all have to be moved inside and get a bit carried away with new plants
not to mention they do grow during the summer months.

I'll keep trying to get some decant pictures and maybe post some.

David you are very lucky to have a greenhouse where you can keep your
plants year round.

I live way out in the country and we're at the end of the line for
restoring power outages and we do have several each winter, some
lasting 4 or 5 day at a time during ice storms and it would be very
expensive to heat a greenhouse.
So I'll just have to be content with my large rooms and big windows.

> > have done if space had allowed me to do so.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[David Elliott]

The H. vitiensis buds began to pop open today and the H. clemensiorum
buds were almost all the way open when I found them!!! Hopefully the
vitiensis flowers will be open all the way tomorrow and i'll be able to
get a nice picture of them!!!

[Tami Caldwell]

David,
What great shots. Send another of the Vitiensis when its fully open
please.

Tami

[dmichael]

OMG!!!!! TAMI!!!! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING!!!!!


I haven't forgotten that I still owe you something!!!!!

[Tami Caldwell]

David,
I have been messed up since before Hurricane Ike. I finally got my
computer back and working from the Warranty Company. I have been lurking
because of not being able to send mail to the group from outlook. I got that
figured out as well. I'm slow. :-) I know you haven't forgotten me. Not that
it matters after all the help from You, Sara and Ann. Where has the past
year gone?

Tami

[dmichael]

I don't know where the past year went but where ever it was,damned if
it didn't go fast!!!

Tami,I hope the vitiensis is showing it's true color when it opens.
It's a beautiful flower but for the life of me I cant capture that
metalic mauve color in a picture!!!! Do you grow vitiensis?? If not
i'll send you some cuttings when I send the other stuff I already owe
you.

David

[Ann Strahm]

Oh that is fabulous!!  Someday mine will grow up to look just like yours.
:-)
Ann

[Ann Strahm]

First, I can't wait to see that vitiensis fully opened!
Second, I am thrilled to see you back online, Tami!  Welcome back!!
:-)
Ann

[Anne]

 Ok, now I attach some photos, not very good ones, they were taken last night. But you get an idea... And now I want to see pictures of your crowded windows ;-)

Perhaps it should be a new thread, but I post to this anyway...

[Tami Caldwell]

LOL Ok Now that is clearly Obsessive, Compulsive. LOL

 

 

Tami

 

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[Tami Caldwell]

David,
You know I would never turn down a cutting. :-) My collection is nothing
like Your's or even close to Ann or Sara's. Some day maybe.
The year buzzed right by. It seemed to be one storm after another last
year. We had power out for a week after Ike. It was good that it happened
during a cool spell. So many other people had it real bad. We had a
generator so we had lights and fans at night. A bonding time for me and my
oldest sons wife. It was really a great time considering. Not that I care to
do it often. LOL

Tami
David wrote>>

[Emilio Begine]

Here are some of my collection to. Comments & questions welcome.
Emilio

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[Anne]

Emilio, that looks great! What a good idea to use the ropes to let the
hoyas climb around and up, and not have to use hoops. I really like
it! How have you fastened the ropes? And do the hoyas climb themselves
or do you have to help them?

[dmichael]

Emilio, that yellow clivia is awesome as are your hoyas!!!!

Anne, I really like your setup. If I could grow my hoyas inside my
house i'd bring all of them in but my cats just wont leave any living
plants alone inside the house.

Anne I thought I was obsessed with growing hoyas but clearly by the
looks of those plants you are one step ahead of me!!!!

David

[David Elliott]

I've posted these same pictures before but since we're all showing how
and where we grow our hoyas,i'll post them again as there may have been
some members who did not see them the first time around. This is inside
my gh.

[sara]

(((((((((Tami!!!))))))))) Hugs! I have missed you too. I know that
I was one of the people asking where you went to also. Sorry to hear
about your troubles with hurricane Ike. It is amazing how if you
aren't directly affected by something, it just isn't a primary
worry.

Glad to have you back with us!!!

Sara

[Janhoyanut]

David, great flowers! you have so many in bloom.
Jo, multiflora is a flowering machine for sure.

[Jo Old]

OK my turn!   I still havn't gotten any good pictures of my winter arrangements but here are some pistures I took during the summer and fall, my house is much more crowded now that the plants are all inside.
 
First is my living room windows which are bearly visable now with all the plants inside.
 
Next is my Guest room with the mini greenhouse where I start my cuttings and grow the smaller hoya etc on the light shelf, this room is also packed now.
 
Third is my shade house which is on the patio, bearly room to get in there to water so this next spring we plan to double it's size so I can have room to walk through it.
 
Fourth is the outside of the shade house with a large Bella on the right side and Multiflora hanging on the left and Obovata on the table.
 
I'll keep trying to get some pictures of my plants now but so far they just look like a jungle and it's hard to tell whats what.

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[sara]

OMG!!!! I don't know what happened when I replied to Tami's post, but
I COMPLETELY missed all of the photos of where everyone grows their
hoyas. Whoa!!

First of all, Anne, I love how the inside of your house looks!! It is
NOT ugly at all, and everything is so clean, and so well organized, I
am completely jealous. By no means do your plants create an "ugly
green wall" or something to that as we discussed earlier (maybe I was
the one who said green wall, but I think you said it was ugly, and you
were wrong) ha.

Emilio, ditto what I said to Anne. I love how your hoyas are
displayed, and these glimpses into every one's growing spaces are so
voyeuristicly satisfying....... I LOVE it!! I too am curious about
the ropes that you have for your hoyas. I have something similar, but
I use two very tall bamboo stakes, though they run from the shelf they
are on just under my window to very near the ceiling. I will run up
and take photos after I finish posting.

Jo - Your house looks great. I think that you still have gobs of
room, especially seeing how Anne has her's in layers.....Makes me
think that I may not be as full up as I though. Ha.

David, Isn't it time to add on to your greenhouse? I think that you
are probably tied with Anne for sheer hoya volume, don't you? I have
the same limitations as others re: getting a greenhouse. Our growing
season in MT is only 3-4 months out of the year, and with temperatures
that frequently hit -40F not including wind-chills....we are lucky to
keep our house heated, a green house just isn't an option for me. As
it is, our gas bill for heat is about $298 a month for Dec., Jan. and
Feb.

Besides, I LOVE living with my plants, even if they are just a big
green wall of ugliness. Ha.

Thanks everyone, I love seeing where every one's hoyas live.

S

[David Elliott]

The H. vitiensis buds have opened and as promised here are some pics of
the flowers!!!! Their color is slightly off, I guess due to time of
year. I seem to recall the first flowers in spring of 08" being a bit
more rosy mauve in color.I've also got a yellow flowering clone of H.
vitiensis but it's no where near flowering size.

[David Elliott]

This little hoya along with it's yellow flowering sister has been going
nonstop since February of last year!!!! Both clones look identical in
all aspects with just one exception,that being the flower color.The
yellow is much more fragrant than the pink also. I don't detect much
scent at all in the pink but the yellow smells very highly of buttered
popcorn!!!

hoya heuschkeliana::::::

[David Elliott]

This is not a hoya but it's a vine that I will always keep in my
collection. It's called lapagerea rosea or Chilean bell flower and it's
the national flower of Chili.The flowers,having a very waxy texture will
last up to 3 weeks on the vine.This pic was taken today

[hoyagal Growing]

Here are my "walls o' green"
 
Like Emilio, any comments, questions, suggestions are welcome and most likely appreciated.  Ha. (unless you are a non-hoya collector, in which case, I know -  it looks bad.)
 
Sara

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[Jo Old]

Ok here is some pictures I took tonight.   And yes it is as packed as it looks but I can't think of a plant I would want to part with.
The only rooms that don't have plants is my DH's den and bathroom.
 
See Sara I really don't have gobs of room left do I?  
I love seeing all the pictures and I see I'm not the only one hanging plants from a curtain rods.
I also like seeing the containers everyone uses and getting new ideas of how to display them.
I may try that string idea that looks like a fun thing to try.

[sara]

Holy cow Jo - I love it!! Your cabinet full of flow blue china is to
die for too! Have you been collecting it very long? All of your
plants look so healthy and happy, and really it tempts me to mix it up
a bit - but I know that I can't.

I am down to only 5 tropicals, two orchids and a succulent ( I got
cuttings of them from Disney World when we were there in December, and
it was soooo cool to see them growing in the park - YES - no one in my
family believes me, but I did ask for permission first. Ha. My free
plants cuttings were way more thrilling than any of the souvenirs that
I purchased), and two African violets. The rest are all hoyas. I do
have some trailing violets that I really LOVE - the cascading growth
habit is pretty coo. I have to be careful, that kind of violet I
could really enjoy.

David, your Chilean bell flower is horribly tempting too. Good thing
that they run $100 - $200 per plant. Ha.

S

[Linda Sinkovic]

Hi all,

Hope I'm not too late to get in on this. :)

I've attached photos of my hoyas' winter quarters. The first two are of
the shadehouse; these are the ones that live outside all year (eg
carnosa, pubicalyx cv, etc). There are two pipes and a shelf for the
hoyas (the rest of the shadehouse is taken up by epiphyllums and
rhipsalis, with a few orchids, tillandsias and other hanging plants
around the entrance of the house).

The third photo is of part of my kitchen window. These hoyas live here
all year round, because they are still small or they are too tropical to
put outside (eg they need warmer than about 60F / 16 C all year
round). Actually the whole windowsill is full, but I couldn't get a
good photo because of the sun's angle.

The fourth picture is of the 'Ikea Hacks' cabinet. I only have a few
plants in there right now; most of them are smallish ones that come in
for the winter. Same with the plants on the top of the cabinet.

The fifth picture is the rack in front of the dining room window (well,
part of it anyway). These are the hoyas that live in the shadehouse
most of the year but come inside for the time that the temps get below
50F / 10C around here (I usually bring them in Nov/Dec and put them back
outside Feb/Mar).

Happy New Year to everyone!

cheers

linda

[Tami Caldwell]

David,
So Cool. I love watching them uncurl. Very Pretty.

Tami

[Tami Caldwell]

I would love to smell the Buttered Popcorn as long as you can't gain weight
from smelling it.

Tami
David wrote>>

[Tami Caldwell]

David,
That's real cool too. I have never seen one.

Tami
David Wrote>>

[Tami Caldwell]

Sara,

   You display yours real nice too. I should get pictures of mine.

 

Tami

[Tami Caldwell]

Linda,
Yours look great too. Maybe I shouldn't share mine. LOL Just don't
compare.

Tami

[Anne]

Wow, everybody! I love to see your photos! And how big your hoyas are.
It took a while to reply to your posts, because I was working
yesterday, and was too tired...

David, do you have the hoyas in the gh all year round? And if so, how
many months do you have to have the heat on? Your hoyas are so big and
good looking. How long have you collected?

Jo, I like your place too, and you also have some monster hoyas.

Hoyagal, it sure looks nice! And some of them are huge. Which one is
it on the first photo to the left? And I must ask how you make them
happy when they live in the room, with no window near,
that is how you give them light enough? (hoyaroom 3, 10, 13 and 15 at
both sides of the window)
I want to place some inside the room, but are afraid that they will
die... And hoyaroom six, is it glabra to the left with the very big
leaves?

Jo, your second post, how lovely it looks, a little full in some
rooms, but it's like a jungle. Think of sitting in that chair
reading... maybe hoya magazines or books...
Maybe you can get in a couple more in the window of the first
photo ;-) But you need the light, so best don't... I love the leaves
of your palm at the last photo too.

And Linda, nice to see that not only I use that cabinet for hoyas. I
use mine (I have 3 of them) for cuttings and small plants. Have spots
hanging under each glass shelf for light and warmth.

[dmichael]

Anne, As I was growing up my grandmother had a house FULL of plants,in
every room. And when I say every room I mean every room including the
bathroom!!! My love of plants and animals was passed down directly
from her. She had a single hoya in her plant collection and in my mind
I can still see it. It was a hindu rope and to me with those leathery
curly leaves it was the most amazing plant I had ever seen!!!

I personally have been growing plants of my own since I was able to
fill a pot with dirt!!! I built my first gh about 8 years ago and
that's when I acquired my very first hoya plant and it was of course a
hindu rope. It was in an 6" hanging basket and hung just below the
bottom of the pot when I first bought it. At the time I kept it
inside my house and within 6 months that plant had flowers on it. It's
now over 10ft long and has had as many as 130 clusters of open flowers
on it at one time.

After purchasing that plant it took me about a year to find out that
all of these other varieties of hoyas even existed and I found that
out by accident while searching for another type of plant online!!! So
i've been collecting hoya now for not quite 8 years. I got seriously
into about 6 years ago when I found out about David Liddle !!!!!
Things have been kinda out of control since then!!!!

Since purchasing my large gh a little over 3 years ago, I do grow them
all inside year round. As far as heating goes,we do not have harsh
winters her. The ground never freezes and it doesn't snow here. It
does get cold here but only for short periods of time. Average temps
are usually in the mid 30's to the upper 40's. Though it can and does
occasionally drop into the 20 and sometimes even into the teens for
brief periods.

This past spring I made a makeshift shade house to hang some of the
hoyas under and it was amazing how much new growth they put on. They
grow very well for me just staying in the gh but after seeing how they
grew just by hanging them outside,I think come spring they will all be
going outdoors. The sides on my gh roll up to about 5 1/2 ft from the
ground so it is never completely closed except when temps fall below
freezing.

Normally I would not have to turn the heat on until sometime in
December when we get our first frost but the past few years have
brought freezing temps earlier and earlier. In 2006 we got our first
frost in November in 07" and 08" we got frost in October both years.
So I usually have to heat for the last part of Nov., all of Dec.,Jan,
and Feb and then it's kind of off and on in March as temps are all
over the place. By April 15th we're pretty much done with winter here
and it's beginning to get hot again!!

[Nancy]

WOW!!! I'm not sure how I missed this post, but I just want to say
"Thanks So Much" to everyone for posting all your Gorgeous pictures
of all your hoyas...What an eye candy!! I am drooling and absoluley
envious of all your hoyas!

Thanks again, what a treat!!

Nancy

> > hanging under each glass shelf for light and warmth.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[o7sugar]

Sara, Jo and Anne I was looking at your photos and thought two
things....one WOW I thought I had a lot of plants and two...how long
does it take you to water everything!!!!??? It probably takes me
about 20 minutes to look over everything make sure all is good and
water!!! :) Whew!! I better not let my hubby see these pics,
because it may end up this way for me as well some day :):):)
-Nicole-

[ks-girl]

Thanks everyone for all the nice complimants, my house is like a
jungle and I love it that way. Maybe not so full would be OK but I
can't think of a single plant I'd want to get rid of. I do
realize that non plant people would think I was nuts but that's OK, we
all need something to make life a bit more injoyable and considering
some of the addiction out there, this one isn't bad at all.
My hubby has his den and as long as it isn't a jungle also he's happy.

Sara, thanks for noticeing my china, I've had that for maybe 12-15
years now. When we moved last year I redone my bedroom around it and
a bed quilt that matched them.

Nicole, I water by room, a differant one each day, that's the only way
I can keep up with it. It would take way to long if I did it all at
once. Actually it goes fairly smoothly that way.

Actually I didn't show them all, I have plant lights in the basement
where I winter my orchids and most of my succulants.
Jo

[dmichael]

Jo you've got us all outnumbered by a long shot when it comes to
number of plants!!!! I really like your setup though. If it weren't
for having 2 cats and 2 dogs inside my house,i'd have every single one
of my plants inside the house as well!!!

As a child growing up we lived 20+ miles from my grandma ,who is the
one I obtained my love for plants and animals from. We only got to
visit her on the weekends and it always seemed like a lifetime in
between visits!!! Here house during that time reminds me of how yours
is right now,every room in the house,including the bathroom had plants
in it!!! To me it was amazing,like being in a rain forest or a jungle
and the only things that were missing were the wild animals and the
sound of running water. Back then you couldn't just go into wal-mart
and pick up a tabletop fountain like you can now days!!!!

Every Friday after school I couldn't wait for 5pm to arrive because I
knew then my dad would be getting off from work and it wouldn't be
long now before we hit the road to grandmas house!!! I always looked
forward to those weekend visits because I knew she would let me help
her water the plants and rotate the hanging baskets which got done
weekly like clockwork, I do the same with every hanging plant that I
have now,once a week they get turned!!

Grandmas house was were I had my very first encounter with a hoya
plant,a hindu rope and of all the plants she had that was one of my
favorites and to this day if I close my eyes and think back to that
time I can still see that plant hanging in front of that huge picture
window in the family room. So naturally the first hoya I ever bought
when I became interested in them was a hindu rope. My plant is now
just over 8 years old and is nearly 10ft long and growing in a 14"
wire basket!!! Of all the hoyas that I grow I have never once cut this
one, I just can't bring my self to do it as it's the pride and joy of
my collection even though it's one of the most common hoyas on the
market!!!!

Sadly over the years grandmas health has declined to a point that she
was no longer able to take care of plants and many of them were given
away or either died years ago. Now things are just the exact opposite
of how they used to be,it's grandma now coming to my house to enjoy
the plants when she's able to and she always leaves totally amazed at
the number of and size of some of these hoya plants!!!

OOPS!!!! I didn't mean to get carried away and write a book here but I
miss those good old days and often wish I could just go back in time
if only for a day!!!

[o7sugar]

David, I have to say that, that was a wonderful story!!! Your
grandmother gets to see the gift she instilled in you with the love of
animals, plants and especially the hoya. You enable her to in a way
carry on a tradition, and she will always get to enjoy the plants,
this time from you :)
My son is only 1 1/2 but I know that my love of animals and plants are
rubbing off on him, which is so genuinely heartfelt :)
I've always thought it was funny that generally the love of animals
and plants go hand in hand, I guess you just have to be that kind of
person, which in this world nowadays we need all the love we can get!
Ok enough of my chattering!
Love to all!
-Nicole0

On Feb 6, 12:39 pm, dmichael <dmichael...@SC.RR.com> wrote:

> As  a child growing up we lived  20+ miles from my grandma ,who is the

one I obtained my love for plants and animals from.Here house during

that time reminds me of how yours is right now,every room in the
house,including the bathroom had plants in it!!!

[ks-girl]

David, I love your story. I'm glad I remind you of such great
times. It's great that you now share your plants with your grandma.
I also got my love for plants from my grandmother, passed down through
my mom to me. My grandma didn't have as many plants as yours but I
can remember her having them setting on her old sewing machine cabinet
in the window. She has been gone for a really long time now but my
mom is still with us and one of her greatest loves is her plants and
every time we talk it always includes a long conversation about plants
and how hers are doing.

I think my grandaughter will be carrying on my love for plants, she
loves to help me when she's down here. I grow moonflowers in a
barrel planter and they always reseed themselves every year and I
always pick a few good plants to grow on each year, well two years ago
she was here when I was repotting them and she insisted we pot up
every one of those little babies, well we hade over a hundred little
pots and she took some home to all her school classmates and teachers
and I was giving them away all summer long to anyone I could find who
would take them.
She loves going to the garden centers with me to look at plants and
work in my gardens .
So I'm hopefull that some day she will look back and tell how her
grandma passed on her love for plants to her.
-Jo-