Ya know...I really like crassicaulis... common, NO. elegant, NO. Easy to grow, YES. Good bloomer, YES.
HELLO?
August Flowers
I really like H crassicaulis too...Its a handsome plant in my opinion. Big heavy leaves and a constant bloomer for me. The smell too is a little different.......It like smelling sweet fresh air...thats the only way I can describe it. Not really strong, but very fresh
This hoya has bloomed most of the month. I believe that I may have even posted a picture of it but not this clear. Just had to share.
Found this delicate delight growing in the GH.
Oh, who is that delicate delight?
I think that is H. Camphorifolia. They are so intertwined it's hard to tell.
Thanks, Jeri!
Doug-
Yours is huge and pretty in comparison with mine! Still love it anyway!
Thanks for posting a picture - always amazed at the size of your hoyas!
Kelly
Y'know....in Sweden/Norway/Denmark the most gorgeous hoyas are grown in houses built to keep out the cold, short summers, etc.etc.etc. and they are VERY successful getting their plants to bloom. It defies logic. I think Doug's conditions could be very similar. Just the right combinations of carbons/oxygen/you-name-it. Same for our friends in Canada!!!!
It would be interesting to know the difference in the cooling and heating mechanisms in US homes as compared to Sweden/Norway/Denmark....thinking it could possibly play a big factor.
Kelly
Again, I think the "secret" of the Swedes et. al. is that, although summers are short and cool, the actual daylength throughout the summer is 19-20 hours of sunlight...huge numbers of birds migrate to almost within the arctic circle every summer to nest because of the enormous rush of plant growth, and insects, that the long summer days bring...not to say that there aren't other factors as well, but I believe this is a large part of their success...
Shelley
I would imagine that their humidity would be very low in the houses with the heating?
Dominic
I bet plants do like those long hours of daylight during summer months in Sweden, Denmark, etc. Maybe they are like bears and store up energy for the long winters of lower light and hibernation, LOL. Or, maybe they are like most people and just prefer longer hours of light.
Aaah, the last day of August ... sure wish it meant cooler temperatures were around the corner but unfortunately that isn't the case for us, we still have a couple of months of heat before any fall like weather arrives. We are still having mid 90º days and upper 70's at night. A couple of nights it's been 80º at midnight and 1:00 a.m.
I was out on the deck with my coffee this morning ... walking around looking at plants, and found this wasp on Hoya wayettii. I guess it must be loving the nectar because almost 2 hours later he is still there! At first I thought it might have somehow gotten caught on the bloom and might be dead, but nope he's very much alive and just enjoying his breakfast. I'm keeping my distance ... don't want to disturb him and get stung! ^_^
Once again, I'm so jealous I could bite someone!! Last day of August in Pgh. and we're having several nights dropping into the upper 40's....I've had to haul a few of the hoyas inside, at least for this week...they just said on the radio that this summer is one of the coolest on record and has averaged 2-3 degrees below normal...grrrr...
Your wasp is very lovely...I'm glad he found some breakfast...
Shelley
I can't imagine that Thailand is very cool. Maybe this hoya is like the Eriostemmas that need really warm conditions in order to bloom? I would think if cool was needed, Doug's conditions would be almost perfect since he blooms every other hoya on earth! (:o)
My .02
Mike
Shelley,
Same here, but I have not brought any plants inside yet. I don't have many hoyas outside so I should just bring them in for the winter. I've heard that it's best to bring plants in fairly early so they get used to the conditions inside before the heat goes on for the winter.
Mike
Mike, I've heard the same thing and had the same thoughts...but I hate to give in and admit the growing season is over, plus, with leaves on the trees I don't get that much sunlight in my windows this time of year...I'll keep the tender ones inside this week and see what it looks like next week...we SHOULD have good warm weather until the end of September here, but this year has just been freaky...
SR
Many commercial growers (I have been told, in Holland) have devised loads of carbon dioxide/oxygen and other 'gases' to increase growth and blooming. That could have a large impact on the plants growing inside all of the time.... Actually, everyone is trying to figure out the Swedes secret!!!
There are, actually, some cool areas in thailand - up in the mountains in the north.
My money's on day lengths...Im sure it made a difference in the UK to here. Much shorter there in winter and much longer in the summer ( UK that is) to here...even more extreme in Sweden
Dominic
Would be a good article for STEMMA, eh?
yes it would, as long as those of us further south dont end up with the curtains drawn half the year, then have to leave the lights on all night in the summer....:))
H. lobbii:
And with nectar:
Gabbie that is beautiful!!! Is that as red as it looks?
That is stunning, Gabi!
Carol-
Great idea for an article! I'd love to know!
Dominic,
You know we'll all do what we have to do when it comes to our hoyas!
Gabi - beautiful lobbii!
Been enjoying all of the flowers! I'm a little behind on posting pictures!
Kelly
Thank you! Yes, they are as red as they look. Lobbii comes in 2 different colors...salmon and red. I guess I have the red. It really is my favorite flower (so far!).
Gabi
LOL!!! I have the same problem!!! The next one is always my favorite!!!!
Great photos!!!
Gabi...do you remember which lobii you sent me in the swap?
It's growing fast and now I am wondering what the blooms have in store for me!?
Thanks again!
Joni
I was away from the computer for a few days. Here is my thought, for what it is worth, on getting my Hoyas to bloom and do well. The only reason I have as much success as I have had is that I put almost all of my Hoyas into a small greenhouse for the summer (June through August). They absolutely thrive there. In the winter with very little sunshine or day length (I live in the cloudiest county, in one of the cloudiest states in the US), it is much more of a challenge. I fool around with grow lights quite a lot, but that has challenges as well. Last year when I brought my Hoyas in from the greenhouse, the sudden dryness of all the grow lights fried them, and it took months for them to begin to recover. This year I hope to alleviate that with a humidifier. I'm also going to play around with a new type of plant light, which is LED, and will be the future for all lighting, because of the low power consumption.
I would have to say that I still feel that humidity is as important as any other factor in growing Hoyas. With my indoor grow room, I can provide 12 to 16 hours of daylight, but until I found a way to bring up the humidity levels nothing grew. It was almost like magic; when the Relative Humidity increased from 30% to 60-70% growth really started. All Hoyas may not need high humidity to do well, but I feel the majority of them do.
Hoya are fun for me, but I have had easily as many setbacks as successes. I just had another set back. I made the mistake of watering all of the Hoyas in the greenhouse just before we had two days of really cold weather. The temps in the greenhouse were around 52 with the heater at night. I already see some signs of a little root rot. The one that makes me the maddest is H. lambii, which was just starting to look half way decent. Now the active growing tip wilted and died. It will probably be another year, before I get some recovery on that one. It seems like Hoyas for me are always just one small mistake away from death. I guess that is part of the challenge of growing these fascinating plants.
Doug
I will try to raise my humidity level some how and will let you know!!
Kelly,
I just looked through your Flickr photo stream and your hoya photos are amazing. What kind of camera do you use? Simply stunning photography!
Doug,
I feel the same way; my plants grow in spite of me, sometimes! I don't generally put my plants outside for the summer due to not wanting to bring any bugs inside when the plants come in just before the colder weather hits. I know my plants are not growing as much as they could if I put them outside, but I guess that's part of the trade off for not having bugs.
Carol,
It's pretty common here in MN to use CO2 in greenhouses in the winter to help boost plant growth. One local orchid grower also has many high pressure sodium lights suspended in his greenhouse to extend day length during the short days of winter and bring plants into bloom.
Mike
Jeri, I would think that in Louisana you would always have plenty of humidity!
Mike, I know what you mean about bugs! They were always my greatest fear. The only thing that has helped take that fear away is BATTS. The only thing that systemic won't kill is spider mites, and they seem to only like a few of the thinner leaved Hoyas, and a couple of baths with a neem oil spray seems to make short work of those. Still if I had a house with a lot of big windows with sunshine like Christine, I would not bring them outside and take a chance on an infestation.
Doug
Doug---LOL, I like your phrase "one mistake away from death"....I think that is, unfortunately, pretty much the case for most of us northerners...on the other hand, every bud that opens, every burst of new growth, is such a HUGE victory that I think I may enjoy them more than some of the people for whom that kind of thing is just routine (of course I'd love to be able to experience routine blooming and growth to see how I felt about it)...Pittsburgh, down in the river valley, is also one of the cloudiest areas in the country and it's not unusual, in the winter, to go days and even weeks without seeing the sun...I may try grow lights this year...and yes humidity is, I believe, just crucial to success...and being in an old house with forced air heating it pretty much guarantees die back of any soft new growth...mostly winter is a time to just get the plants to survive through until they can go back outside...it IS a hard fight, but then you get opening buds or an 8" long new shoot and it all seems worth it...
SR
Shelley,
I could not have said why the struggle is all worth the effort better myself!
Doug
Did y'all notice that the bloom of the day for yesterday was H. multiflora? http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/bloomcom/all/ A beautiful photo!
I also agree with the humidity factor. I'm lucky enough to have hot water heat instead of forced air and that makes a huge difference. I find my Hoyas do best in the winter with a twice daily misting. Being in Canada I can also put them directly in full sun without harming them one bit...there are also quite a few that do great in my north windows too. The key factor is the misting. Much easier than trying to raise the humidity in the entire house.
Wow Lin! That is an incredible photo. Best I have ever seen of an H. multiflora flower.
Doug
Isn't it just beautiful! He sure took a great photo of that bloom!