I just found a big basket of EA hoya curtisii at the local WalMart this weekend...my question is, has anyone succeeded in blooming this plant outside of Florida??? Thanks...
Shelley
hoya curtisii
I saw those too but I already had one so I skipped it. Looked nice though
They are nice....but unfortunately mine weighed approximately #14,000 from retained water...I immediately removed the saucer from the bottom, like someone on the forum suggested for EA plants, and I hope it will dry out sometime within the next 6 months :)
I was also irritated to see they STILL have it labeled "Hoya Stripes"....not only is there no plant by that name, there's nothing striped about it...grrrrrr....
I would just hope to someday see flowers on it...but it kind of looked like only the Swedes and the Floridians were seeing blooms...
SR
H. curtisii is one I was not able to keep alive. I can't remember for sure but I think someone said it liked to be kept on the dry side and I was watering it too much ... or maybe it was just the opposite, LOL. I just know it didn't live long ... kinda the same situation as H. linearis which went downhill by the hour!
I saw that the EA website sells the large basket of curtisii and yeah, they call it hoya stripes. On the tag underneath where it says hoya stripes does it say curtisii ... or carnosa, like a lot of their hoya labels?
I've tried growing it dry, I've tried growing it wet, I've babied it, ignored it, and basically given up on it.....I got a cutting during the swap and I'm praying for it,,,Curtsii is THE HARDEST HOYA to GROW...for me at least....I can't imagine ever getting it to bloom!
I shouldn't have googled for pictures of it! Now, it's making me want to try again! Even without blooms it sure is a pretty plant: http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=images+of+hoya+curtisii&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=OglJSsWTA4yy9ATq5eSTDQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title but the blooms are so cute!
I got a Hoya "stripes" (yes, EA has even invaded Canada) from our Walmart last summer and it slowly died no matter what I did. Yet the one I started from cuttings which had the correct care from day one, is still going strong (curtisi: keep damp, never dry out - linearis: keep dry, never keep wet).
Christine
Oops ... looks like I did just the opposite for each of those!
^_^
I got carried away and sold most of my hoyas on ebay a couple of months ago, but the fun is in the hunt anyway. I get to look at every nursery I find to replace them.
I had a curtisii (or however it is spelled) and it grew like a weed so I sold it (LOL)
We have high humidity where I live and I still kept it slightly moist all the time. Picked this one up at Lowe's and just grew it for about 3 months.
EA has curtisii for sale at their website but they call it Hoya stripes: http://www.exoticangel.com/shop/results.asp?Style=bsk
Thanks, Lin..........
I grow both curtsii and linnearis mounted, it works well they really like it, no way to overwater that way
I have posted many photos of H. curtisii...look in the month's blooms.
Never let it dry out. The problem is when it gets big it forms a ball around the pot and it takes a while to dry out.
If I bought it from EA I would water it from the bottom about 4 times a year.
Thanks for all the suggestions guys...I see I'll have to amend my statement to "Swedes, Floridians, and Hawaiians have successfully flowered it" :-)
What amazes me is that those EA plants are not only living, but apparently thriving in big pots of what is, basically, mud....How can that be? My H. curtisii has tons of new growth and has obviously been in that basket for a long time....and I know someone on this forum (was it Denise?) said that every time she re-pots an EA plant into what should be a more suitable mix, it dies....very odd....
SR
I have a few EA plants and have always repotted them, no matter what type of plant, immediately into my own mix. The only one two that have died on me are curtisii and linearis. I know now, the demise of the hoyas was because I was giving one too much water and the other not enough.
I think EA may have changed their potting medium to a lighter mix. Seems to me I bought an ivy or something a few weeks ago and noticed right away the mix was different from what I've found in their plants in the past.
I don't ever replace EA mix.......check this one out in the original EA mix. She is only 7 months old ordered from EA.
I have plants from EA that are over 5 years old that are still in the original EA soil they came in and are absolutely huge, so I can't figure out why everyone is always complaining about them either, gessiegail. I never replace the soil they are in, the only time there are any changes to EA plants are if they get planted into the ground.
My attitude is 'if it isn't broken, don't fix it'.
To each his own. I just prefer my own mix for my growing conditions. EA soil has always been a very heavy soil and I prefer a lighter, well draining mix because I tend to over water.
I only tried repotting my EA plants once, and the plant immediately died (it was a H lacunosa). I have at least 6 other EA hoyas that I have had for years and never repotted...so I'm with the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" group.
I hope I didn't sound negative with my response in my post yesterday ... I just re-read it and it didn't sound right.
I think the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" attitude makes good sense for many. If a plant is happy in a particular soil medium for a long time at the nursery/greenhouse, it will continue to be okay for it's new owner if you can match those same conditions at home. I admit, over the years I have thrown more than a few plants into stress by taking them out of the pots/mix they have been growing in for a long time and changing to something entirely different. Most adjust, whereas a few don't ever recover, but I still do it because I have a heavy hand with watering and in the past have killed plants with too much water.
YOu have never been negative in your life, Lin!!
I have wanted to make up that soil recipe (remember when there was a big discussion about what goes into the mix). I still would like to try that recipe for quick draining and repot just to see how it works.
I even went so far as to buy all the ingredients and still haven't made it up in a batch.
Gail, I try to stay positive but I do have my days ... can't be happy and upbeat all the time. When I have my moments I just try to keep them to myself so as not making anyone else miserable too ... well, except for my hubby ... I think I do make him miserable sometimes! ^_^
Regarding that soil mixture, if it's from the thread where the gentleman was discussing water and soil and all the scientific stuff? Someone here on the hoya forum (I think it was Hoya24) tried it and had a disaster. You are a great grower with your Gesneriad's and every other plant you have! I would advise you to keep on doing what you've been doing. I too thought seriously about using that mix when I first saw that guy post on another forum about it, but changed my mind and I'm very glad I did. You know, as we were just discussing earlier ... "If it ain't broke!"
I use a combination of lots of bark, perlite and potting soil for almost everything except gessie's. It's a light and very fast draining mix. I guess I could experiment with potting an AfricanViolet or Chirita in that mix. I don't think it would hurt in any way except they'd probably wilt and die quickly because they are inside and I am bad about remembering to water inside plants.
Oh! I am not changing anything with my gessies.......to afraid......smiling......
I am another one who never changes EA soil. I used to repot the plants into my own soil mix when I first started buying EA hoyas, but they all died. As soon as I left the original muddy soil in my new EA purchases, they all started to thrive. The only thing I do is take the bottom saucer off so that the soil doesn't stay wet for ages!
Gabi
I'm with Lin in re-potting EA plants.
I re-pot all plants I purchase from anywhere and put the plant into my mix. I know how fast my mix dries out and it causes less stress as far as watering is concerned.
Depending on how busy I am, I can have a heavy hand with the watering can or the plants can experience periods of Sahara Desert-like conditions. I have lost more plants due to the soil being too wet than being too dry. Since all of my plants are in the same mix, I know how often I need to water.
I have not had a problem in transplanting EA plants into my mix. I usually split the plants up to get most of that horrible, heavy soil off of their roots and then keep a few plants out so they are not packed into the pot so closely together. I pot the extras and give them to friends. After re-potting I water the plant to settle the soil around the roots, but then I don't water again until the soil is almost dry. I have not ever had a problem when treating EA plants like this.
In the latest issue of Stemma, there is an article on the nursery that produces EA plants and they have started to use a new soil mix that is not as heavy as it was previously. I'm sure there are still plants out there in the old mix, but as retailers get new plants that should change.
Mike
Well, I think I'm going to leave the curtisii in the EA soil for the time being...mostly because it's hard to find EA plants around here so it would be hard to replace if it didn't make it through the re-potting procedure....although that would be an interesting experiment for someone who had the time---get two identical EA plants, give them the same conditions, but re-pot one into a "normal" hoya mix and leave the other in the EA mix...then note any differences in how the plants grow and develop...
SR
Yes, that would be a great experiment....I hope someone tries that!
Gabi