I forced this bud to pop open and will post again with a photo when the rest open naturally...I hope they will be prettier than this!!!
Now that I see this enlarged...hey...it looks interesting.
This message was edited Jan 20, 2010 7:39 PM
H. macgillivrayi ?
Patience, Carol, forcing the poor thing open.....:))
Dom
I think it's beautiful!
Thanks...I don't have a location of this one's collection, but Ted has one from Pandanus Creek that does the same thing.
That is a really cool color - very nice!
Doug
Does this one never open fully then Carol without a little help?
I would imagine it will darken considerabley as it matures?
No, I was just being pushy, Dom...it is open now but no darker. The other buds are closed....
Ditto!
I think I need to add this one too. sigh, is it ever going to stop. LOL
Dee
This is all I can manage with H. macgillivrayi at the moment (IML15). Coming in on the right (bottom) is H. sussuela "McIlwraith Range", and on the left is H. ciliata. The paler leaves are all macgillivrayi. Is this one of the ones that likes a bit of a sprinkling of lime?
I have heard some say a bit of lime on the Eriostemmas...but I never do and they grow fantastically....Chicken Poop? YES!!
In all the reading that I have done, adding lime to the eriostemmas works wonders for them, so I do. I have 1 that I have not added lime to and it seems to be a little lighter in color than the ones that I have added lime to. I think I will be adding lime to it when it gets a little warmer here. It happens to be a sussuela (don't remember which one).
Just my .02 worth.
AH, Dee...that is good to know!
Dee,
Are you using powdered lime or granular lime? I purchased some lime at Home Depot and I think it's granular lime (granules of lime). I would think that maybe the powdered lime would be better to use in pots, but I'm not sure.
How much lime do you add to your mix? A couple of tablespoons per quart? More? Less?
Thanks for the help!
Mike
When I asked David Liddle about adding Lime to Eriostemmas, he said that he had never found a hoya growing in any pH outside of the 5.5-6.5 range... Which means that IF your medium is very low (acid), adding lime will bring it up....but if your medium is in the range or alkaline, it might make it too alkaline. Personally I would test your soil before making big additions....
Just a little, Mike....you could also get a piece of coral and add it to the soil, or crumble egg shells....
Thanks, Carol!
Coral is in short supply this far inland and I use eggbeaters, so I'll have to stick with the purchased lime, but thanks for the other items that could be used! (:o)
Mike
Mike I use the granular form and only add about 1 tablespoon to the pot. I put some in last summer and will do so again this summer. It isn't something that I add all the time, just to give it a little boost. I keep an eye on the granules and they are starting to break down, so I guess you can say it is time to add some more. Maybe but then maybe not. Seems to work for me though.
Dee
Dee, the calcium in the lime is very slow to absorb, especially when dressed topically, so I wouldn't worry about keeping the granules there all the time...
Here are all the buds open. It must not have been fully formed when I opened it.
Beautiful Carol....I thought that first photo looked a bit premature. They have indeed coloured up. Nice fragrance on those I bet
Dom
Just a note on Carol's earlier suggestion, "Chicken Poop? YES!!", I did that and the macgillivrayi rapidy greened up. I was surprised at how fast the reaction was.
I mixed up chicken poop in water to make a feed, leaving it a month or so to mature.............Boy, was that stuff noxious. I tried it on my Oleanders first..then I was gonna try run my car on it as it smelt so strong....:))
Didnt kill the Oleanders, but Ive yet to pick up the courage to try it on the hoyas..:)) I know it should be quite matured or it just burns the roots ??
I only used the the matured stuff and sprinkle it dry. Mine are outside so the rain washes it in. I have made 'tea' of the stuff but left it for a long time. It was diluted a lot for use generally around the garden.
and it worked well? I still have 10 litres of the stuff i havent used for over a year sitting there festering in bottles. I have a mountain of mature dry chick poop ( from the previous owner ) in one area of my land which I havent touched nor decided what to do with....would it be safe to sprinkle it around plants, or better to dissolve and use sparingly diluted?
All the Goat poop that was here has been dispersed around palm trees and shrubs....difficult to gauge its benefits as everything was given a dose, so one will never know if the plants benefit or not as there arent any comparables without it
Dom...send me your email addy.
I put dried chicken poop on my hoyas in the greenhouse about once every 3-4 months. I water regularly and fertilize with MSU about every 2-3 weeks. It is super regime. My hoyas never stop growing....they are blooming now like NEVER before!!! Old poop is the only thing....I put about a heaping tablespoon on my 5" pots...up and down from there.