Sorry I don't have a pic, the leaves of this one are pretty similar to kentiana leaves though they are a bit shorter and wider and have some white speckling. I got this one from a friend of mine who had gotten it at Smolley's last year, labelled griffithii. I can't seem to find any pictures of leaves of griffithii anywhere on the 'net, all flowers. Here is the question/problem; This is a very small start, just two leaves and a little bit of vine, growing in a tiny 2" pot. It now has a colony of ants that have moved in and brought along all their little ones, how a whole colony can live in a 2" pot with roots I have no clue. At any rate, they are there and any time I water out come 50 or so ants and everyone starts carrying around their little eggs and they run back and forth for a while and then settle back into the pot. The thing is, they don't go into any other pots and all of the hoyas are very close sitting on the shelf with H. lambii just two plants over in the 'hood but no ants near that one, and I have never heard that griffithii is an ant hotel. I'm wondering if the labelling was wrong and this is actually H. darwinii, but of course I can't find any pics of leaves for that one either. Does anyone grow these two, or can someone direct me to a site that will show leaves and growth habit? I know you can't ID from leaves alone, flowers are needed, (though with flowers you can sometimes have more questions than answers too) but leaves and growth habit DO help to narrow it down!
H. griffithii or.....?
I found these photos but I can't say they are accurate themselves. Its really hard to judge just by looking at leaves. Even some hoyas look alike in their blooms and can be told apart by looking at them in a microscope. I'm no expert, just passing some info I have learned.
http://w1.422.telia.com/~u42205557/hoyasidor/hoya_griffithii.htm
http://medlem.spray.se/blommor/enghoya3.htm
BTW, it is possible for your hoya to be mislabeled accidentally or on purpose... I don't know. I applaud you for keeping an open mind to the possibility that the label is incorrect. So many times I've seen people get so upset when told their plant is labeled incorrectly even when faced by the facts just because their "friend" who they got it from is a nice person and their friend, so I guess that makes it right no matter what in their minds. I purchased several hoyas from B. Smoley and the one that was labeled H. mitriformis is actually H. mitrata and the one labeled H. cinamomifolia (unsure of spelling right now) bloomed two weeks later so I it was definately incorrect. Just this week I got word back from an expert that its Hoya pottsii. HTH's
Gemila
Thanks much Gemila, I took a look at both the sites, I had found the one for the griffithii earlier in the day, but it was hard to tell exactly what the leaves looked like on that one, but my leaves really do look like the leaves on the second site, (at least what I could see of them) kinda quilted for lack of a better word.
Have you found that the ants are attracted to your mitrata? I'm thinking I will put this darwinii(?) into an old fish tank set up with mesh on the top so the ants won't get out, and see what happens from there, kind of an ant farm/hoya tank! I guess I'll look into getting a mitrata and lambii now since I already have the ants!
Thanks
I forgot, I wanted to ask you who the expert is?
Ack, I need to proofread better! I just re-read what I had written the first time, where I said H. lambii was sitting on the same shelf, I meant H. lacunosa! I kept thinking that I wanted to get lambii since it's other name is "ant funnel", it's funny how the mind works sometimes!!! Anyway, I've heard that lacunosa attracts ants too, but I've never seen them anywhere near that one.
Raven...though that band of gypsy ants are cute...they can wreak havoc with your hoyas: aphids, mealies etc....so I would dis them, pronto! Sprinkling a bit of Sevin on the soil, at the base of the hoya will destroy them...and not hurt the plant.
Sorry...without photos it is impossible to tell what you have...and even with a photo of just the leaves, it is difficult at best. Just think...more mystery in your life...how exciting!
Aloha,
I didn't think having them in an ant farm/tank kind of situation that they would be able to get aphids or mealies. Didn't you ever have an ant farm when you were a kid? They can't get in or out and are totally dependent on you to feed them.
OH...then they must be really happy....the ants, that is!
I thought that ants hAD to have aphids/mealies to farm the nectar from them (like their cows) to feed to the baby ants. Not true?
Thanks for the information on the ants Carol. I moved my hoya's into the greenhouse 4 weeks ago and am already finding alot of ant's. I guess it is time to do a house cleaning already.
Patricia
Aloha,
No, I don't think they HAVE to have aphids/mealies just as long as they are getting food from somewhere, at least that's how we did our ant farms when we were kids. They were totally enclosed in the tank and we threw in leftovers and whatnot to feed them.
Is it actually true that these hoyas, lambii, mitrata, and darwinii HAVE to have ants to thrive or is it just a notion someone had because they found ants on the plants?
I can't tell you "truth" or "fiction"...but I reckon that there is a symbiotic relationship in the wild and that the plants developed in that symbiosis. All I DO know is that I have a large H. mitrata and no ants and it grows like a weed.
Patricia... I now swear by Imidocloprid drenches! As the Imidocloprid doesn't go to the flowers, I do have problems with ants/aphids on the rachis and new flowers....but NOT one mealie and NO aphids and NO scale. I get the Tree and Shrub mix (in the blue bottle by Beyer, Advanced Formula), 1 oz per gallon and I water my hoyas...young and old. I have had 100% clean inspections for a year!!! And I only have to do it every 6 months!
Hoya sp. tid griffithii http://hem.passagen.se/clubhoya/beskrivning/Hoya%20griffithii.htm
none English site. good photo.
plant description http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=210000709
hth
How cool!!! Thank you so much, and what a great description! That was very helpful!!!
This year so far I haven't found an ant, mealy, scale in my greenhouse. I have both fingers Xd and praying. I haven't used any pesticides in about a year. When I do see a mealy I will use an alcohol swab so they don't get started, I am taking an inventory today just to see what I do have. I curious. I have noticed some duplicates, and a lot of tags missing due to a flat of them falling off the end of the bench.
I managed to put most of them outside for the summer, I think they like the air circulation, which was limited in the tiny greenhouse, even with both ends opened. I hope to see more flowers showing next month, only six presently.