I really hate to jinx it, but if I play my cards right, and don't make any mistakes, I may get my Hoya macgillivrayi to bloom for me just before Halloween. It last bloomed in February of 2008.
Here is a peduncle with buds from one week ago.
Doug
Here is the peduncle with 18 buds in a picture taken last night.
Doug
I called this thread the magical mystery macgillivrayi, because there is little reason why it decided to flower now. I think that this hoya is traditionally a spring/summer bloomer, but for some reason it has decided to bloom now. I'm not going to argue with it. The peduncle and buds are growing so fast that you can almost see them enlarging in size right in front of your eyes. I will periodically post pictures of the plant's progress.
Doug
Congrats Doug, I'll cross my fingers for ya. I have a large mac but no blooms yet.
How exciting!
Please, keep us updated!
My plant that I got from DL earlier this year just sat not doing anything for ages. But just lately it's burst into new growth, although no peduncle formation yet. Be interested to see the flowers on yours.
Thank you everyone for the interest! I am hoping for a spectacular display, and it is nice to be able to share. If it were not for this forum, no one other than my wife and I would get to experience it. The plant sits in a closed bathroom, in a small house, that few ever visit, in a town of 500 people, in a state where I rarely encounter anyone who has ever heard of a Hoya. I am thankful for the Internet.
Doug
I second that Doug. My neighbours (while they like me...I think...) call me the crazy plant lady. When I have company who want to see my hoyas I'm like a kid in my own candy shop: I give the "Royal Hoya Tour". I too am thankful for the internet as It has enabled me to make some good friends through the love of hoyas - even face to face!
Christine
I have a macgillivrayi budding up at the moment too Doug
Ooh Dough--How exciting!! Is this an older plant? I see you said it last bloomed in '08, but how old/big is the plant?? I've heard this is a difficult one to bloom, so congratulations to you...and I agree with you about the internet...you wouldn't believe the number of people who have absolutely NO interest in hoyas, or house plants of any kind...can't figure it out :-)
Shelley
Dominic, approximately how many hours of day light is your macgillivrayi getting right now? I am wondering if it is the photo period that is the determining factor in getting this plant to decide to bloom. Mine is getting around 12 1/2 hours of light - almost totally artificial. Last fall when I brought it inside, I was giving it around 15 hours of light and no signs of wanting to bloom.
Shelley, It is also amazing to me how few people have any interest at all in house plants. When I do find anyone that has even a remote interest, I think I scare them away, because I could talk for hours on the subject. I am very obsessive about hobbies; I just can't help it.
I've told this story before, but this H. macgillivrayi was bought in 2007 on ebay from a vendor from Oklahoma who said she was getting rid of all of her larger Hoyas. She was not a regular plant vendor. I wish I knew her name, because I would love to thank her for selling that plant. It was not very large at the time, but had already flowered for this woman. It arrived in perfect shape with the vine all twisted into a heavy heart-shaped trellis that I had to cut apart with bolt cutters in order to repot. It seems to only grow large leaves and puts on much growth in the summer. Here is a picture of the entire plant taken this morning.
Doug
Here are the buds from this morning. Each one is about as big as a quarter. I would guess they should open within the week. It is drinking up a lot of water right now.
Doug
Daylight at 8am, dark at 8pm at the mo........so about 12 hours too.............I have a lot budding up right now...Ive noticed after 4 years here this is my bumper crop time. Temperatures drop a couple of degrees and days start to shorten a little
My plant is tiny compared to that Doug..maybe they'll blast, but so far they look healthy....and I can generally tell in the first few days if they are going to blast.....................( hmm, prob spoke too soon now.)
Dom
Doug: That is a Gorgeous plant! Love the huge buds and can't wait to see what the flowers look like, I bet they are going to be huge as well. Great growing!
The climate macgillivrayi comes from is very much like ours. It's single monsoonal although they sometimes get a light sprinkle of rain during the dry season. There is very little variation in day length between the longest and shortest day, perhaps about an hour. During the wet season (growing season) there's lots of heavy downpours with constant very high humidity.
ooh, I can't wait to see it open. Good growing!
I really appreciate everyone's interest. Thanks for that information Dominic. I really have a strong feeling that the hours of day light play a strong role in getting this one to bloom. I also think that if the photo period is the trigger, the plant does not have to be really large in order to bloom, as evidenced by your plant, and the size of my plant when I first received it. Tropic, thanks for your info about macgillivrayi's natural habitat - It is hard to imagine a place with little change in the day length, because I have never experienced it. We have peak day light hours in the summer of around 16 hours and a low in December of around 8 hours. Couple that with the fact that where I live it is cloudy 75% of the time, and you can see there is not a lot of light to work with.
Doug
I think someone said that H. macgillivrayi needed to stay quite dry during the winter, also, if you wanted the plant to bloom.
Doug--A couple of sources mention temperature fluctuation between day and night as a trigger to bloom as well....so hoyas next to the glass in a window may be triggered either by higher light, shorter day lenght, or by temp variations.....anyhow, I'm a big believer in environmental cues to bloom, and do try to expose my plants to both varying day length and varying temperatures...of course those that come from really near the equator don't experience those shifts, and at that point I think the stable environment of a light garden, with steady 12 hour days and steady temps, would work best...anyhow, sounds like you're doing the right thing with your macgillivrayi....can't wait to see the blooms...
SR
Doug,
I didn't think it was possible for your big mac to get even better looking! I remember pics of it blooming in 2008. It's stunning - can't wait to see it in bloom again. Looks like you have two peduncles forming buds..or are my eyes playing tricks on me? I must say, for someone in Vermont to grow hoyas like you do takes real skill and determination.
Thanks for sharing,
Gabi
Thank you so much Gabi! There is another peduncle on the back side with 6-8 buds so you do have very good eyes. I have not wanted to even touch the plant to spin it around to fully check for other buds for fear of upsetting it. My wife is kind of upset that I have completely taken over her bathroom with this plant. I insist that the door stays closed to keep it warmer in there, and I put a Hello Kitty humidifier, that I found in a college dorm room, in there as well. I am determined that nothing will stop this plant from blooming.
Doug
You make me laugh...:-D....what we do for our plants is amazing...you go! We're all waiting for the pictures...
Shelley
Photo of the very embarrassing Hello Kitty humidifier.
This morning's bud picture - getting closer!
Doug
Thanks for the update, and I MUST have that humidifier!!!
"Hello Kitty" works for me, it's so cute! My DH and I are cat lovers ... we are down to one kitty in the family now but had five at one time. Hope to maybe adopt another dog at some point.
Great shot of that cluster of buds! Looks like it might open at any time ... can't wait to see the beautiful flowers!
I forgot how long it takes to get these buds to open. They keep getting bigger and bigger. Here is a picture next to my hand for perspective.
Doug
Finally starting to open.
Three buds fully open. I will post more pictures in a few days when they have all opened.
Doug
Single flower.
Just gorgeous Doug!!! Congratulations!!! Thanks so much for the photos...does it smell good?
SR
Congrats!! beautiful!!!
Wow ... that is beautiful! Those buds and blooms are so huge!
The smell is kind of like nothing that I can describe. I'll just have to say that is smells kind of tropical, and it kind of grows on you.
Doug
Beautiful!
You are an inspiration to all of us in the North ^_^
It can be done!!
Thanks Lee Anne and Christine! The flowers measure around 2 1/2 inches from point to point, and yes there is hope for all of us "Northern Gardeners."
Doug
It certainly gives me something to look forward to with mine. Great photos.
WOW, WOW, WOW!!!
