I was in wal-mart last night and they have a nice display of foliage plants and balloon boquets for valentines day. The foliage plants icluded anthuriums,orchids and sweet heart hoyas. The hoyas are actually two large leaves per pot of H. Kerrii,they have both the all green as well as the variegated varieties.
I didn't have either so I bought one of each for myself,cost was somewhere around $4 and some change. I tried to take a pic to post here but since my computer came back from the shop it stores my pics someplace other than where it used to and I can't find them once they are downloaded.
The little display package that the hoyas come in has a nice story on the back of it that goes like this:
Legend Of Nature's Heart
Throughout history,the heart has been a symbol of love and friendship. Nature has given us a very special hoya plant with heart-shaped leaves,along with a legend for all who own the plant. For generations the heart plant has been given as a gift to express one's love and friendship. As the two heart plants grow,they send out tendrils of new heart foliage. The legend avows if one heart vine entwines another,the owner will be blessed with eternal love and everlasting friendship.
I'm still kinda new to hoyas and didn't realize that just the leaves could be rooted. All that is in these little pots is two leaves but they are rooted because the roots are growing out the bottoms of the pots. Or I guess it could be that the leaves are cut at a node and the entire node is in the pot but you can't see it. I also had no idea that the leaves are so big and thick on H. kerrii
hoyas at wal-mart
Congratulations on your SCORE, David! H. kerrii is one of my favorites! I have got to warn you though, it takes the patience of a saint to get a vine to grow from a leaf cutting. In theory, you are supposed to get a chunk of the node in order to produce a vine. I have always gotten impatient and composted rooted leaves though others have had better luck with them! Also keep in mind that once your kerrii blooms, they ooze a dark sap that will stain anything it touches.
Mel,
I was excited when I first bought them but then once I did some reading from the Society homepage and saw that it is near impossible to get a vine from a leaf i kinda got over being excited anymore. The leaves are quite large and very well rooted. They are in 3inch pots and roots are hanging out of the bottoms. Who knows maybe i'll get lucky and get at least one vine from them. If not it's no big loss. In the meantime though they will be sitting in a corner of the gh to be left alone and do whatever it is they're gonna do.
That's how I managed to get my pinapple to make a fruit. I babied it for 2 years and nothing so I tossed it out behind the carport and didn't even look at it,then one day I happened to walk by and it had a pineapple on it. That's the kind of attention i'm going to givev these kerrii plants and then maybe they'll surprise me.
I didn't know that about rooting from a leaf.....interesting!
Boy, this thread got me so excited, I visited two Walmarts in my region. Seems Canadian Walmarts never carry hoyas of any kind, and the selection of tropical houseplants they do have is disappointing and not well cared for. I was very surprised, because in the summer, Walmart's garden centre is far superior to any other box store. Yay American Walmart Stores!! Your Canadian counterparts need to be brought up to standard. I'm gonna write a letter.
Happy Tuesday, and thanks for listening.
Christine.
The Thais are growing millions of H. kerrii that way...I wonder if they ever get vines. First one that vines let us know.
Aloha
So do the leaves just sit there, and stay the same forever? Ok, now I'm going to do a kerrii leaf science experiment. Inquiring minds and all.......
#1......will be one leaf with powdered rooting hormone in soil.
#2......will be rooted in water, then placed in soil when rooted.
Both pots will be numbered, will receive the same light & temps and will be watered equally with Hydrogen peroxide water to encourage...anything!
I will start them today....clock is ticking!
:~D Karen
Great Karen, did you get a chunk of the node?
Nope, just snapped off the leaf. I want to see if I can get a vine from just the leaf. (Everyone pray ok?) LOL
Mel,
After reading what you said about part of a leaf node needing to be present I went out and dug around in the soill of those pots but can't really tell if there is a piece of node there or not.
It would be interesting to know what's gonna happen,if the leaves are just going to sit or make a vine. Only time will tell I guess.
I did this experiment ! I don't think I used any rooting hormone though. I knocked a leaf off my Kerrii on accident and decided to stick it in the dirt, it's been sitting there for about 8 months with no signs of growing, it has a great big root mass but that's it. I decided to cut another one off with a tiny bit of node and it's about 8" tall now and growing another 'branch' at the bottom and one about half way up . They are both in the same pot so received the same conditions. I cannot remember how long the one with the node took to start growing, it was just an experiment for my own amusement so I didn't keep notes but I don't think it took too long, maybe a few weeks. I think it would be hard to tell if they got a bit of node or not, time will tell.
This message was edited Feb 10, 2005 9:40 PM
.....very interesting....
I was too curious to just let mine sit and not know if there was a piece of node there or not. I did dig around in the soil a little but didn't want to disturb them a lot so I couldn't really tell if they had a bit of node on them or not but the root mass is just a tangle of roots.
I got a few hoyas in from Kartuz Greenhouse today and the plants are nice. I got H. Limoniaca (spelling ?) and H. Darwinii . I am starting to notice that all of my hoyas in the gh are now coming to life.
I began my collection with plants from Kartuz. I always enjoyed talking with him when placing my order as he is a really nice man!
Keep in mind that his growing conditions are much different than ours! When I buy a plant through mail order, I always take a cutting or 2 as a back up in case the plant has problems adjusting to my growing conditions. Many times the cutting quickly outgrew the mother plant! I also found that it helps to let the plant acclimate despite the temptation to re-pot immediately.
Mel,
Each of the 2 plants is at least a foot long with 2 points of growth or nodes. I'd be scared to cut on them. I am going to leave them in the pots he sent them in though,at least for a while and in my home not the gh.
Kartuz's does have some nice hoyas and they and he are even nicer in person. When I visited his nursery about two years ago, my hubby had to make me leave:-). It was hoya heaven. I should be receving my order next week; I also order H Darwanii, plus several more.
Blessings,
Awanda