up close and personal

This thread has been very interesting. I am fascinated with your Archboldiana, Milan. I have never seen one before. I hope you will post when it blooms. I'd sure appreciate it. I owned a Hoya years ago, a Carnosa I believe. Had it in an east bedroom window over our bed. Don't remember doing anything special for it, but it bloomed like crazy. Had to get rid of it as my then husband hated the smell of it. I didn't mind the scent that much, but I didn't like the sticky spent blossoms that would fall. Does the Archboldiana have similar characteristics, Milan? Same scent and sticky blossoms? I may just have to try another Hoya again if I can find a Archboldiana. Afterall, I don't have the same husband as back then. Maybe this one will like the scent! :D

LOL Donna, my DH hates the smell too, and all of my hoyas are in the bedroom. When there's more than a couple of blooms I get a better night's sleep, as he goes into the spare room...heehee

Donna, here's the picture when it bloomed a few weeks ago: http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/66126/

To me the fragrance of archboldiana is strong but much more pleasant than carnosa and the like. Also the flowers somewhat fold closed before dropping off thus the sticky sap is "covered" up.

Christine, you may be on to something! Just think, a cure for snoring--keep a Hoya handy; instant evacuation.

But, a trellis? Before I cut it back this time it trailed across the window in the picture plus the window to the right of it. Those ceilings are 8' high. If I used a trellis, I'd get no light at all! Hmmm, maybe one sideways...that might work. But I surely will stop cutting it; I love the flowers. Perhaps now I know it's okay to move it, I'll try it in the g.h. for the summer.

Rosemary

OK, I'm sold Milan. Sounds and looks wonderful. I will have to watch out for one. Thanks for the info. :D

Alas, that wouldn't work for me Christine. I'm a snuggler! ;-)

(edited to reflect a blonde moment...)

This message was edited Apr 7, 2005 11:29 AM

Wow, that's incredible Milan!! I've never heard of that one much less seen the blooms. Is each one of the individual flowers 2" across or is it the whole clump of flowers? I don't suppose they'd sell that anywhere around here.

Sandy

These are the hoyas I have, some are very slow growing.
Hoya lacunosa, H. shepardi, H. coronaria, H. carnosa, H. carnosa 'Krinkle 8', H. compacta Hindu rope, H. variegata.

This one I got from Holland as a cutting less than 2 Years ago.
You most likely will be hard pressed to find the archboldiana here in Canada and even in the trade it is not one often offered (but very thought after :)

Sandy, each flower is 5 cm in diameter. Other large flowering Hoyas are H. lauterbachii, macgillivrayi, onychoides and imperialis. I do have the last two but am still looking for the first two (though onychoides is often wrongly sold as macgillivrayi in the US). I don't have any space left anymore but these two Hoya species are the ones I still will squeeze in even if the TV has to go :)


BTW echoes, my sincere apologies for high jacking your thread. Didn't mean to, it just happened that way ;)

From seeing a pic Milan posted last year of his H. compacta, its huge and beautiful and he has many more Hoya pics posted on the Plantfiles site...and Echoes, the flower on your carnosa is very pretty!

Sandy

Milan, you've opened up a whole new world of Hoyas. Incredible.

Rosemary

Thanks Milan. I guess I won't hold out much hope of getting the archboldiana but at least I can look for some of the other larger flowered ones. I imagine they're rather scarce as well. I agree with Rosemary, you've opened up a whole new world when it comes to Hoyas. I had never looked them up and didn't realize there were so many different ones.

Here's a picture of the one my mom has. The foliage is very nice. Is it possible to id it without a picture of the flowers, by any chance?

Sandy

I agree with Sandy and Rosemary, Milan. Thanks for showing us what's out there in the world of Hoyas. Who knew? I didn't... Is rather disappointing to hear we can't get our little hands on an archboldiana, but C'est la vie.

Love the variegated foliage on your Mom's Hoya, Sandy. :D

Sandy, that might be a Krimson Princess. I have one, and the flowers are a raspberry colour with a much darker centre - here's the link to mine in PlantFiles - http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/57596/

Oh, and there's a supplier in Saskatchewan who has a whole bunch of different and rare hoyas - Pike Lake Greenhouses - here's DG's Garden Watchdog link - http://davesgarden.com/gwd/c/2747/ very reputable. I lost the inventory list I got from them, but plan on ordering some plants from them next month so will be contacting them soon.

Christine.

Imma planning on ordering from them too! Ü

echoes where are you??????

Christine, do you have a webite address for Pike Lake?

Donna if you go to Garden Watchdog and type Pike Lake in the search box this is what will come up: http://davesgarden.com/gwd/c/2747/

This message was edited Apr 8, 2005 10:54 AM

I did that Pam, but this is what I found trying to seach for the website.

They don't have a web address.

Rats!

I just talked to Tom at Pike's, and learned that they aren't on-line because they're basically wholesalers; he's into Hoyas on the side because he enjoys them so much. He hadn't heard of archboldiana, although he at one time had FORTY different types of Hoya!!! Has now cut back to 15. Commented that some weren't suitable for indoors. He's sending me (by fax) an inventory.

Milan, could I possibly get a cutting? What would you like for it? My first-born? All my secret recipes? I'm truly lusting after it. How about loaning you my husband, he's great at cooking birthday dinners!

Seriously, put a price on it.

Thanks,
Rosemary

Hoya inventory at Pike Lake....Tom's fax and mine wouldn't hook up too well, so couldn't get a good copy. Not all of the hoyas came through and they were blurry, so I may have made a mistake or two. Or three.

australis porcelain flower
bella "Miniature Wax Plant"
bella "Variegata" (gold)
....some missing here....
carnosa "Variegata"
carnosa purpureo-fusca (?) "Silver-Pink"
compacta "Hindy Rope"
compacta variegata white
compacta gold
cinnamomi folia
darwini
imperialis "Honey Plant"
incana "Fuzzyleaf Hoya"
kerrii "Sweetheart Hoya"
...some more missing hrre...
longifolia shepherdii
minima "Button Leaf"
multiflora "Shooting Star"
New Guinea Red
New Guinea White
polyneura "Fishtail Hoya"

Hmmm, that's a lot more than 15, I think the man is in denial! From his descriptions to me over the phone, he is obviously in love and they all sound quite delicious.

Thanks for posting that list Rosemary. Now all I have to do is phone him and send him the money. Luckily my B'day's in May and I always buy myself a nice present ... or 5 or 10 ... lol. Fortunately I know that Hindy Rope is actually a Hindu Rope - but I already have 13 of them (a big momma and 12 babies). The rest of them are going to royally stress me out-having to choose which ones I can get now and which have to wait until later in the season...sigh.

Boy, you guys move fast. I go off to work all day and when I get home I find that not only have you found a place that sells hoyas (in Canada to boot), but you've phoned them, got an inventory list and some have probably already put an order in by now. LOL No moss on you guys. Good work Rosemary. Are you going to order any?

So where exactly in Saskatchewan is Pike Lake? Anywhere near you Pat?

The leaves on yours do look very similar Christine. That's a really pretty one so I wouldn't mind if that's what it is. I'm going to have to do some research and change a few of the growing conditions to see if I can get it to bloom.

Sandy

A few notes on Pikes list:

H. bella 'variegata' - this one can be difficult to grow and likes high humidity
Purpureo-Fusca (Silver Pink) - this one is actually H. pubicalyx 'Pink Silver', easy to grow and is a heavy bloomer once it gets started.
H. darwinii, imperialis & incana seem not to be those species, jury is still out on those ones
minima is H. serpens - also one that can be difficult to grow.

As for archboldiana, I don't want to trim my plant yet but I may be able to get another cutting from Holland during this summer.
The picture shows the flowers today as they have started to open.

I am very excited, Milan. I have managed to secure a couple of cuttings from a friend in the US. A archboldiana, as well as a dischidia (tiny deep red blooms). My friend is sending by Global Priority Post next week. Woo Hoo! Now I would like to be ready when they come. Do I need to get rooting hormone for them to root successfully, Milan? I don't what to mess up, 'cause I don't know if I'll ever get another chance. Any advice would sure be appreciated.

Mist the cutting with water then place it into a ziploc bag, spray some more water into the bag, inflate and close the bag. Place it in a warm and bright location (no direct sunlight otherwise you'll get a steam cooked cutting). Inflate the bag occasionally. Within a week or two you should see roots growing on the stem, once those roots are about 0.5" (12mm) long take the cutting out of the bag and plant it into soil. Place a clear plastic bag over the plant for about 2 weeks if you cannot provide high humidity.
Avoid too much direct sunlight and cold drafts, keep well watered and all should be good from there.

Thanks so much, Milan. I sure appreciate the advice. I'll follow your directions to a "T". I'll keep you posted on my progress. :Donna

It's looking good Milan. Those really are large individual flowers. I love it. I must say, you certainly know a lot about hoyas. I thought I'd come on here and see a nice little map showing us all where Pike Lake is though. *Ü*

Lucky you Donna. This is great....someday we'll all have two sources for cuttings. LOL

You bet, Sandy!

I'm really enjoying this thread, learning so much about Hoyas and the pictures are great. Now I've moved mine to the East window, will water it, fertilize and stop cutting it back, as it hasn't bloomed for about 10 years. DH doesn't mind, he's not a fan of the smell, but I love the flowers so much I want it to bloom again. I got it about 25 years ago, and didn't even know that they bloomed, then one day DH said he could smell something. After a few days,I discovered these beautiful flowers. I guess I lucked out back then and had it in the right location. Then we moved to our own place, and it bloomed just that once since.

Sandy, the map I looked at didn't have Pike Lake on it, but the phone # is "Saskatoon City", however, the RR3 in the address makes me think it must be on the outskirts.
Pat

With the postal Code I plotted Pike Lake Greenhouses South of Saskatoon just above Pike Lake Provincial Park.

Thanks for the map Milan Ü......I really can't believe I didn't track down this greenhouse when Saskatoon used to be our old stompin' area. Next trip north it's going to be one of the first places we visit. Ü

Cool Milan, thanks. I just love that you can do that and couldn't resist getting you to post another map for us.

Do you want me to start a piece of mom's hoya for you Pat? I gave one to Jeanne a while ago. It took several months to get roots and then start growing once it was potted up but hopefully once it gets going it'll grow fairly fast.

Sandy

Milan which of the above listed Hoyas (Tom's) have the most colorful flowers? (ie reds or pinks)

Which of the above listed ones are exceptional to you?
(edited to say I'm begging for the info from you since you are one the resident experts and Dave's isn't working too well lately).

This message was edited Apr 11, 2005 11:24 AM

Milan,

Your maps are JUST FAB. What site do you use to make them? I think we need a map-making session with you as teacher.

Not hijacking this Brenda, just so we can find more hoyas - of course.

Inanda

Pam,
I would day that both the pubicalyx 'Pink Silver' and polyneura are very attractive in both foliage and flowers. Others on the list I'll not comment on until they've bloomed for me or somebody else and I can verify what species they are.

Inanda,
the maps are done with a software that I use for my GPS and it is called Mapsource by Garmin (Metroguide Canada V4).

Soon I'll be posting the DG Canadian subscriber map (still wish I'd have correct locations for all of them)

Milan

Thanks Milan! Ü

Thank you Milan. Now I know what kind of GPS to buy - when that happy day comes -
Inanda

Ginny, Your home? safe and sound.

Not to be worried, Ginny, I gave this thread away long ago. All I expect are wee Hoya cuttings to be arriving in the mail, in due time.



This message was edited Jul 3, 2005 9:01 AM