Will I ever get a bloom? They are pretty plants but never have bloomed.
Wahhhhhhh No blooms yet.
Maybe you are being too nice!!! Try to kill one and watch it bloom!!!
How old are your plants? Are you cutting off the new balding vines they put out? Have you checked the links to make sure they are getting enough light, airflow and water (or are they getting too much of something)? What about fertilizers...do you use a high P (in the NPK formula)during the active months?
Others who grow their plants indoors may be able to help more than I...but I would check the above.
I find the carnosa and carnosa-related Hoyas take the longest to bloom, if that's what you have. I see you're in Indiana, which is pretty close to our zone/climate. If you put them outside in summer, in a shady spot, you'll probably get blooms quicker. I keep most of mine inside just because aphids can become such a pest mid-summer, and because I only have so much room outside and I put my sun-loving succulents out. I'm in the process of reducing my succulent collection significantly so that hopefully I can grow more of the Hoyas outside next year in hopes of getting more blooms myself.
Tell us some more of the conditions you grow yours in - light (exposure), soil, water... Maybe you can get some suggestions on altering any of these to encourage blooms.
Denise in Omaha
Makshi, Don't give up. Had have some of mine foe about 2 1/2 years and they still haven't bloomed. How far away is Nobesville from Mich City, In. I use to live there. and we are going back to see my kids that stayed there in about 10 days. I don't remember . We are flying into South Bend, IN. my oldest daughter is picking us up. :)))))
Binky,
Noblesville is about 25 miles north of Indianapolis. Does that help?
Well lets see:
They hang in a south window, I fertilize they about once a month with half strength 15-65-15 (or close number), water twice a month or there bouts. No I don't cut off the bald stems. There are two Rubra, one something 70, and one Hindu Rope. I have one on the front porch and it is grow great but still no blooms.
Makshi,
I dont know if this makes you feel any better but my green hindu rope has grown lots and has developed some peduncles but some have been sitting there for over a year, not getting any bigger!...I know one day they will reward me and bloom....i love the foliage and enjoy that and if blooms come, then its a bonus!....so as Binky said, dont give up on them...
Sandy
A south window sounds as if they would gt enough light (unless there is a tree or overhang preventing the sunshine from getting in).
You don't say how old they are, but some hoyas have to be mature and fairly large before they will bloom. Other bloom while rooting them. Ha,
Sandy is right about those variegated hindu ropes (Hoya compacta). I have one outside my kitchen window that has only bloomed one time in 4 years. The one out front that gets late afternoon sun has bloomed this summer one bloom. I have had that plant for 2 years, but it was a mature plant with long vines when I got it.
On the other hand, the solid green compacta (Hindu rope) I have blooms lots of blooms every year. It hangs in the shade of a tree outside. It did not bloom until it was several years old though.
The DS-70 should bloom easily with little red blooms that smell great. Is your plant a large one, or just a small newly rooted one?
The 2 Rubra are carnosas and will also need to be mature or several years old before they bloom. They are pretty without blooms so waiting is usually not so bad. Sounds like everything you are doing for them is the right things. Just be patient.
Marcy
Marcy,
That is good to know about the var. compacta...now i will be waiting until i am old and grey before mine blooms and mine was a mature plant when i bought it too!.....at least the green compacta, i have some hope for...the var. compacta is pretty enough to never see bloom with all the red, pink, white and green foliage on it...your pic you posted of your var. compacta awhile back is gorgeous...
Makshi, patience is a virtue when growing hoyas i think!...
Makshi...DS-70 really likes lots of water...I would suggest that you are growing your hoyas on the brink of dying of thirst. When the pot is dry down about 1" is a good time to water....hoyas aren't on a schedule...they just grow at different speeds. The carnosa family can take less water...but I think, especially in a S. window, that more water would be in order. I have a H. compacta growing up a palm tree...it gets rained on nearly every night and it blooms to beat the band...grows too. HTH
Carol
Yes, my compactas seem to require more water than the other fleshy leafed ones.
Carol...is your compacta that blooms well a regular green one, or a variegated one?
Marcy
Hey Marcy...it is a variegated one...
Thanks you all. More water for the DS 70. They ( I think) very large plants with lots of log out reaching arms. They are all very nice plants and at least 2 years old.
From the sounds of things...you might even give the carnosas and compacta a bit more water too.... especially if they are big.
Are the plants nicely potbound? They don't like a lot of room. and if they have it, they will spend their energy making roots instead of growing/blooming.
Hope this helps.
I agree with Carol - DS-70 takes a lot of water for me. Mine (I have 2, one large and one VERY large) hang in an east window and I find that they need watered at least once a week. East is not a hot exposure like south, so yours might need watering twice a week. I'd be checking for dryness every few days. Keep in mind that when the sun bares down on a pot, the pot heats up and that also adds to the drying affect.
If you aren't already using it, I would also suggest getting some Eleanor's VF-11.
Denise in Omaha
Denise, do you use Eleanor's as a spray or to water with?