Pdoyle, that is what I am going to be saying to you when your magnifica opens!
Doug
Magical Mystery Macgillivrayi or Happy Halloween Hoya
That is one fabulous bloom, Doug! I have had a big Mac for 7 years and nary even a sign of a bloom. Guess I need a Hello Kitty humidifier? Can't wait to see when the whole umbel opens. Congratulations!
So ... Big Mac is one that likes lots of humidity huh? ^_^
Thanks Mel! And yes, Hello Kitty is definitely the way to go:)
I'm wondering if there are strains of macgillivrayi that bloom easier than others? I really wish that I had some way of contacting the person on Ebay that I bought the plant from to find out where the heck she got it, and more of its History - like for instance how old is the plant? I have had another Big Mac for three years, and I can't even get it to grow, let alone bloom.
Doug
Wow, Doug, incredible flowers and photos.
I was going to ask you if you knew what H. big mac it was, but your last post answered my question. I think that David Liddle lists 5 or so big macs in his catalog.
I just purchased the plant Peter Tsang referred to as 'Superba' (IML 0220) from David Liddle, in August this year. I'm sure I have years and years to wait before I can even hope to have any buds or flowers.
Thanks again for posting the photos.
Mike
Well, most of the buds are open now - at least 12 out of the 14 that remain on the peduncle. The photos, while ok, don't really do the plant justice. It really is an object of remarkable beauty, and I wish people had the chance to see it in real life.
Doug
Another one.
A couple more.
Entire plant.
The last one. I took over 3 dozen photos, and most of them look pretty much the same. I'm going to try to enjoy this plant while in flower as much as I can, because you never know what the future holds.
Doug
Ohmigosh!! So beautiful it almost doesn't look real....congratulations again...just breathtaking...
Shelley
Oh my, Doug - Wow,Wow,Wow, that is one Giant, Beautiful Big Mac! I love the foliage on that plant but gee, that bloom is really awesome!
I hope to see a Big Mac in real life someday, in my house! ... that Hoya is going at the top of my must have list! Of course there are already many at the top of my list already, but I think this one will have to boot a couple of others down a bit.
Thanks for sharing pic's of your wonderful plant!
Thanks Shelley and Lin! It is funny I showed my sister a Hoya flower over the Summer when she was visiting; it was H. coriacea. She said that does not look real; it looks like it is made of wax. She knew nothing about the plant, or that its common name is wax plant. These macgillivrayi blooms look sort of like someone created these incredible flowers out of some kind of molten wax.
Doug
WOW, WOW, WOW! I love this one!
LOL, I keep coming back to this thread and looking at the close up of that beautiful flower, it looks like someone sculpted it from wax, sure shows why they get the name of wax flower!
Amazing Doug.......just a few more days and mine should be doing the same.
Nice Perfume?
Dominic
Dominic, don't forget to come back and post photo's when your blooms open! I could look at this one all day, every day, and never get tired of seeing it.
Oh, is it fragrant? LOL, that's usually one of my first questions I ask about a Hoya photo I see and really like! I was so enamored with that gorgeous bloom I didn't even remember to ask if there was any fragrance detected. I think you said earlier that it was a tropical aroma, now that the bloom is fully opened is the fragrance stronger than before?
I really wish that I could describe the scent better. It is not really that pleasant, but it is not offensive either. It doesn't smell like anything that I can describe, also part of my problem right now is that the entire house is has an over powering perfume smell from H. nummularioides, which makes it difficult to smell anything else.
Doug
LOL, the combination of two or more different fragrances, even slightly different can be a bit hard to deal with sometimes. I remember last winter when we had some extremely cold nights and a couple of freezes so I had moved orchids and hoyas inside. Our house is small and I had plants in every room, including both small bathrooms ... ended up having to take all the blooming plants out of our bedroom and close the door at night because the fragrances were so overpowering!
OMG, that is one beautiful plant!. I have a looonngg way to go before mine gets that big. Mine has 2 big leaves on it, oops I just noticed a new baby leaf, but hey that is a start.
Dee
Dee,
They all had to start somewhere!
Doug
Holly Molly!! beautiful!! I can't wait to see the flowers in person. Hopefully next year.
Doug, what size pot? I think mine is in a 6" clay pot.
Jan,
I would say that it is in an 8 inch clay pot that is glazed to within 2 inches of the top. I had this thing out of its pot a couple of years ago, and don't relish the thought of repotting it. Another worry is that at some point the four foot bamboo hoops could need replacing because of rot. I think it was Christine that had a bamboo support rot off and the plant fell over. I would hate to have that happen to me. When I had it out of its pot, it did not have a very extensive root system so I think it could stay in the same pot for quite a long time. I probably will not touch it unless the plant starts to go downhill.
Doug
I started putting canes sandwiched between 2 pots, the pot with the plant inside, and an empty larger pot outside and filling the void with sand to stabilize the canes about a year ago, and so far, as the sand dosent get wet, the canes seem to be holding up well. I think Carol uses a similar system?
Dominic
This message was edited Oct 21, 2009 6:32 PM
Dominic,
That is a good idea. It has a couple of advantages in that it doesn't disturb the roots of the plant by pushing the canes through the root system, and it stops them from being constantly wet and rotting. I did a similar thing with these plants using heavy wire. I don't know how well it shows up as the photo is not very good.
Doug
One other advantage to the pot within the pot is that it allows you to keep a large plant in a small pot without the constant fear that it will tip over. Transplanting the plant into a large pot, before the root system has completely filled the smaller pot, can quickly lead to root rot.
Doug
This message was edited Oct 21, 2009 7:54 PM
Dominic: Good idea about using sand in the outer pot! I have tried pebbles but the wooden trellises still aren't very secure. I will have to try a heavy sand.
Doug, where do you find that heavy wire? For plants that I want the trellis down in the soil, I really prefer metal over the wood (which rots quickly in our humid climate!) I have a few smaller hoyas using the pot within a pot method. They are planted in small pots and then those pots are sitting inside hanging baskets. I put hydroton in the bottom of the hanging basket to raise the small pot to be even with the rim of the hanging basket.
WAY TO GROW, Doug. Both the plant and the bloom are absolutely fabulous. The backlighting gives it a nice effect. I am blown away! ENJOY!
Thanks Mel, that really means a lot coming from you, and believe me I am enjoying it. You never know what is going to come down the pike. It may never bloom again - who knows?
Lin, I'll tell you where to get all of that wire that you want for free. The day after an election run outside and pull up all of the campaign signs that are stuck in everyone's lawn. That is where I got all of that wire. It is really thick stuff, and you need some small bolt cutters to cut it, but it is great stuff for Hoya trellises. Also, could use it for a television antenna in a pinch:)
Doug
And fingers crossed, this little one looks like it just might make it all the way. Ive never flowered a H macgillivrayii before. This one is 'Coen River' and its only a very small plant, 10 leaves if that and about 12 inches long, so it goes to show they can flowr when young
Dominic
That is really something Dominic! I have no doubt that those buds will open for you. I would guess in a week to 10 days at most. I guess it really must be the conditions that trigger blooming in this plant, and the size of your plant pretty much proves it. My plant was in a greenhouse for 3 1/2 months over the summer where it got plenty of filtered sunshine, humidity and a pretty large temperature differential - getting as high as 90 degrees on a sunny day and dropping to a low of 53 degrees at night. After bringing it inside for a month, it received 12 hours of constant artificial light and 12 hours of dark. High temps inside were around 73 degrees, dropping to 68 degrees at night.
Doug
I swear these are the last pictures of this plant, but the second peduncle opened, and I had to share for the last time.
Doug
Last picture of the entire plant with 22 open flowers.
WOW!!
you can post as many pictures of this beauty as you want as far as I'm concerned, I never tire of seeing it!
Thanks Lee Anne!
I love that plant. I hope mine floers sooooon.
Mine is only growing slowly, but still growing. Gave it some dilute fish emulsion fertilizer last weekend. Hope it appreciates it. Just hope it doesn't adopt that odour for its own.
So beautiful! Post away! Love seeing such a nice looking thang...
I dont know whats going to pop first.....Me waiting or the still swelling buds on my H mac. They are so big and every day growing, and yet still not open........every couple of hours I go check....Im like an expectant father......well, it is my first bunch of mac blooms...Im sure by the time the other clones blooms Ill be very laid back.....been there, seen that.............but at the moment..........Ugh.
Ill post a pic too of the whole 'plant' just to show you how a small plant can bloom too as thats always a boost ...............
Dark now, will go outside and check again first thing......:))
Was the same with the H magnifica..........no one could touch it, nor breath near it in case they blasted..........have my 4th umbrel opening now, and Ive brought it inside my studio to enjoy the fragrance, dosent matter so much now if the odd bud drops....it delivered so i know it will again.!
Dominic