Oversized Hoya planter

One of the latest of my many mad schemes is coming into fruition. I'd been wondering what to do with the two larger Hoya australis ssp rupicola I have. Then I got an extra 15 cuttings (some of those have been promised to others). Anyway, not satisfied with that, I planted some seeds as well. Late November this year was the start of my grandiose plan to house all these plants.

The place I'd selected was where a few years ago I'd planned to set up a small rockery under a large African Mahogany. There were two plants there already from that previous plan but they'd just have to be built around.

It took a lot of rocks to build up the rockery. The bigger rocks went into the wall, the smaller ones filled the inner part.

It was starting to take shape. The only question was: 'How high should/could I go'?

Gravel helped to give the rocks more stability and made the structure more solid.

Charcoal was added as well. Earlier on I'd found a wild plant that had roots tightly bound around a piece of charcoal. So the assumption is that this Hoya likes charcoal (weathered at least).

Then last week I put the two larger plants, still in their pots, into the rockery. Rather than disturb their roots I thought the remaining rocks could be built up around them.

A week out in the rain and the plant with the withered leaves began to respond. Very pleasing as it hadn't done anything while under shelter for the past few months. Still not as good as the first plant but at least the leaves are filling out and not looking so wrinkled. A little less yellow and they'll look great. That's the plant with the double peduncle, which is still hanging on as good as new.

Some time later I'll put the the smaller cuttings in, as well as the seedlings. It'll be a real mass planting, and hopefully produce a mass flowering.

There won't be any need to set up a watering system. If we get an unusually hot and dry spell again I can give it a bit of water fortnightly, or even monthly, which should keep it in top condition. A bit of diluted fertiliser as well. I'm feeling very positive about it all.

That is SO cool... The different forms and textures of the Philo and the (dracaena?) cactusy looking plant... Won't it be a lovely hideaway for snakes!!! And smell wonderful!

Carol, the Philo was there when I bought the place. I already had the Pandanus basedowi ("cactusy looking plant") in a pot, they're endemic here (in the sandstone country same as H. australis ssp rupicola). There's also a stone country vine there. Never did get to finish off the rockery for them. So it seemed like a good place for the Hoya, all mates from the same 'neighbourhood'. Just that the height wasn't enough. If it wasn't for the hard work involved and the volume of stone needed I'd have made it a lot higher. Hopefully it won't be long before it's a tangled mass of Hoya vines. Snakes already have more than enough hidey-holes on my place, and put them to good use. Funnily enough I found the shed skin from one earlier today.

Love it! I LOVE rocks and yet all we have here in Florida is sand and crushed shell! You really did a great job with that "rockery" and I can't wait to see the future photo when all of the plants have spread out and are in full bloom, I know it will be beautiful!

I like that Philo growing up the tree, that was the first thing I noticed in the photo, and the Pandanus looks good in there as well. My first thought about the Pandanus was it was either Dracaena or a young Yucca!

Eeek .... Snakes! I've come across a couple while gardening each summer and they scare me ... whether poisonous or not, I am not too fond of the slithery things, LOL.

Lin, I think most of Florida is old coral reef covered over by sand. That's where I think charcoal (discussed on another thread) would be good for you. The Philo is P. erubescens 'Red Emerald' (I think). As far as snakes go, "All God's creatures ......" I've never really been bothered by them.

Added more to the rockery, got the height a little more even right around. Filled in with gravel. Have to put some sand in and let it wash down amongst the rocks, gravel and charcoal. Then the top will just have rock placed on it.

Planted out some of the cuttings. Strange thing about them is that I accidentally broke the roots off a few of them. Seems as though the roots are extremely fragile. Had to wash the cuttings out of their pots. But still hoping they'll come good in their new home.

My original larger plants are staying in their pots (200mm - 8 inches). Don't want to risk breaking their roots which can just grow through the bottom of the pots anyway. They're secured in gravel and will shortly get large rocks placed around them. Then just sit back and watch them grow. (As if I have time to sit back and watch, LOL!)

Tropic: Yes, I think most of Florida is coquina, shell and sand probably from former coral reefs. Although some things seem to do real well in the sandy soil, we do have to amend the soil for a lot of plants. Years ago I used to add charcoal to my potting mix but for the past few years I've just used the bagged orchid bark mix which has charcoal, perlite and wood bark all mixed together. I get lazier as I get older so "easy" is my style, LOL.

That rockery is looking good! Since you are leaving the plants in their containers, will the pots break down and disintegrate over time? I don't bury pots but have a bad habit of buying a plant and sitting the pot somewhere (usually in the backyard under a tree or behind the shed) while I try to decide on a place to plant it. Then I end up getting sidetracked and forget about planting and they just sit where they are and take root through the bottom of the pot. The plastic pots eventually split and crack and just fall apart.

I look forward to seeing the future progress of your rockery, it's going to be a nice view when it's all filled in and the plants are thriving and blooming.

Boy...is that going to smell good when they bloom!!!

Charcoal (not the stuff for the BBQ) is wonderful for sandy and clay soils... charcoal lacks Nitrogen, so I soak my charcoal in fishfertilizer and then add it to my soil-especially the vegetables. Charcoal has more surface area than anything else you can use, so the fert stays in there longer and it acts as a slowrelease...the nutrients will not leach out.

Hoyas really don't need a lot of richness in their soil, so I haven't used it...but I am going to try it in the pots I plant out.

Carol

As you can see the structure is quite large and needed a lot of fill inside. There were some lateritic rocks so they went in on the bottom. Then it was mainly sandstone with gravel poured around to fill in the gaps. Lumpy charcoal went in as well but not up near the top surface. It's already weathered (one and a half wet seasons) but the Hoya roots will need to go down a bit to reach it.

Only the two large plants are still in their pots. Hoya roots are fine enough to go through the drain holes. But the roots will also be able to go up over the top (pots will be covered with gravel/rock), as well as sprouting from along the stems of the plant as it sprawls. There's still a good 3 months of the wet season to go for it all to get established. After that I can give it a little bit of water every month or so until the rains start again. No need for it to get as dessicated as some of the plants in the wild. And a little touch of fertiliser now and again will have it jumping out of itself with flowers. (Always the optimist!)

Then the next Hoya project is for something similar in a more sheltered spot for the Hoya australis ssp tenuipes that I brought back from Queensland. A bit more soil/sand and Drynaria quercifolia ferns growing with them. They'll need a bit more water and shelter.

My great lesson planting hoyas out is that they love to climb trees all the way to the top to get sun (most of them)....and we have tall trees...tall and skinny...and up to 60' tall...and that's where the hoyas bloom and bloom and bloom. None of my H. australis are at eye level!!!! I love that hoya!!!

Haven't seen H. australis ssp rupicola get up onto trees, although they do often climb through nearby shrubs. Same with the ssp tenuipes, but I haven't seen as many of those. If any of the runners do start to work their way up the African Mahogany (about 25+ metres) I'll just coil them back around the rockery. I'll have no errant Hoyas, they can consider themselves grounded. ;O)

Way to GO!!!

This it the latest photo of the seedlings that will also end up in the rockery.

Love your planter and your hoya's are going to love it too!

They're so sweet!!

The seedlings are coming along quite strongly now.

And the new home they're going into has now been completed.

Another view of the completed Hoya rockery.

And the new home must be good because one of the plants is developing a peduncle already.

Although the old double peduncle still doesn't seem to be doing anything. But at least it's not deteriorating.

The new buds are getting closer to opening. Like most of the others of this ssp the flowering is going to be staggered. It's on the same stem as the old double peduncle. The other stems haven't, so far,. shown any signs of initiating flowering.

The double peduncle is a sad tale now. Noticed something had been eating into the double part of the peduncle. It's all soft now. The section closer to the plant stem still seems to be okay. It's just a wait and see situation, as it has been all along.

Three of the cuttings have put out peduncles. Probably still about a month before flowering yet.

The other cuttings are growing well now.

Some more.

A seedling, also doing well.

One problem with this set up, with the rocks it's difficult sprinkling poultry manure around for the plants.

The peduncle that flowered earlier this month is lining up new buds for another flowering soon.

Are your plants in full sun? I cant figure out wether they get part shade all day, or what. I know you collected from full sun plants. I know we are in different seasons here, but compared to yours, mine have done absolutely nothing in this same time.....Im thinking of trying my rupicola in the ground outside rather than under shade cloth

I have H oramicola and have moved it to a south-facing sunny windowsill about a month ago based on this thread, as it wasn't happy with the dappled sunilght it was getting. It hasn't started growing yet, but it stopped dying off, so that's a good sign.

Propmaker, what ever you do don't put it in the ground. Someone at work put one in the ground and it's really struggling. And that's in its natural climate. This is a summary of records from my weather station, 1st to 24th March 2010:

Rain so far 132.5 mm, about one of third March average.

Average daily max RH 100%
Average daily min RH 57%
Average daily (10 min intervals) RH 86%

Average daily max temp 34.3C
Average daily min temp 23.5C
Average daily temp (10 min intervals) 27.6C

Average daily max Heat Index 43.6C
Average daily min Heat Index 25.5C
Average daily (10 min intervals) Heat Index 32.2C

The Hoyas get strong light all day and for a lot of the day get direct sun. Despite the lower than normal rainfall and direct sun, there's still high humidity. Dry season (winter) the humidity is much lower during the day but still up in the 80's or 90's at night. And winter day temps are generally 32C to 33C, and sometimes 35C to 36C. Late winter it's not unusual to get 38C to 39C.

Ceedub, H. australis ssp oramicola is different to ssp rupicola. Rupicola grows on sandstone cliffs and boulders in shallow almost non-existant soils often out in the sun for a large part of the day. Oramicola grows around the margins of monsoon forests with more shade, more humidity throughout the year, and richer soil.

Hmm...well its doing okay so perhaps it was getting too much shade where it was. Spring's nearly here and the window its in will start getting shade once the tree in front gets leaves. I'll keep an eye on it; for now I'll leave it because its doing way better than it was. Thanks for the tip; it is in good soil - and you completely explained how I slowly killed the rupicola that I had a year ago.

Both need to grow dry all year?

Plants growing within monsoon forests usually prefer lower light levels and shade. Those growing on the margins usually like more light, filtered sun, and periods of direct sun when it's lower in the sky. They still gain from the higher humidity levels in that environment. Plants growing in the open woodlands get more light and longer periods of direct sun. And humidity is less consistently high.