Hey Awanda.......

Well Awanda, I am now in possession of this beautiful compacta in full bloom and loaded with unopened buds. How did this come to be? Well I have read all your post and learned a few tricks ;~) I have a friend who's mother gave her this plant 2 days ago. The poor gal just has no place to keep it right now so I said, "hey, I'd be happy to "plant sit" for you." thinking all the time that Awanda really does have it all figured out!

Just wanted to point out how much I learn on this forum. Thanks Awanda! You ROCK!


(Yes I know I have to give it back :~) God bless, -joanne

I've got one of those I bought from my local lowes store about 6 years ago. It is an EA plant and was in a 6" basket when I bought it and hung just below the bottom of the basket.

It is now 10ft,yes I said 10ft long and has had as many as 40 clusters of flowers open at one time this year. It is currently in bloom in the gh.

I had to custom make something for it to grow in because it got so big I couldnt find anything in a store to plant it in. It is now in a 16" bowl with heavy duty chain braces to support the weight of it.

It's a nice beginers plant for anyone wishing to start growing hoyas,the flowers are nice,I find it very easy to bring into bloom ,my only fault with it is that I dont like the way the flowers smell.

This plant started out in my bedroom and when it bloomed I would always move it to another room because of the smell. It's not harsh or anything I just dont like the smell.

I seem to have a problem growing the variegated form of this particular hoya though. I've purchased 2 seperate baskets of it from 2 different locations and have a hard time getting both of them to grow. Of all the hoyas that I grow this variegated one is the only one that has been a challenge to grow!

dmichael

Well gosh at least it's working for someone! Good going joanne!!

Blessings,
Awanda

It's a beauty Epiaddict. I just started growing one this year. I can't wait for mine to grow up and looks as pretty as yours.
Patti

Joanne....that is such a cute story! Congratulations on your Foster Hoya, it's beautiful!
She couldn't have picked a sweeter babysitter!
You know, as time goes on....she just may forget you have it or decide she likes having the extra space more *lol*

Thank you AGAIN!

Kim

Kim, I can always hope! I can take NO credit for this one. I am just the 'sitter'. LOL

Awanda, I thought of you first thing when the words came out, "I'll keep it for you until you have a place". :~) -joanne

LOL Joanne your funny, thats what I am going to say to my neighbor when she gives up on that beauty from the garage sale. Well Awanda it worked for somebody, keep trying girl....


Wow David your hoya must be beautiful. Do you have a picture?

This message was edited Oct 19, 2006 5:59 PM

For those who are successful with this hoya, how do you keep the mealies off it? I know Awanda doesn't have mealy in Arizona. But it seems like the mealies like this one in particular.

S

NEVER let it dry out. Dont keep it dripping wet but make sure the soil is evenly moist all the time. A worker at a local nursery told me that and i've never had a problem with mealy bugs on this hoya. And trust me i've had more that my fair share of mealy bugs!!

If yo have them on this plant check some of your local stores for di-cyston. It'a a granular that your work into the soil and it should take care of the bugs. If you have a local tack or feed store that's the place you'll most likely find it.

Box stores like lowes and home depot dont stock di-cyston.

dmichael

I agree with the systemic! I would go bonkers trying to get into all those nooks and crannies!

my varigated rope kicked the bucket because I let it get too dry before it got watered. it hung in there for a bit, and then gave up the ghost. my big momma rope grows like a maniac, but I have yet to get any penducles. I just water when the soil is dry and mist only when I see puckering happening on any particular rope. I do have one lone rope in an orchid pot, and it is happier than a pig in poop. I water this one a bit more because the orchid pot allows the soil to dry out faster. I have plans on taking a picture of this particular plant because so many people just love how it looks. it has even popped out new leaves by the base!

Beautiful, Joanne.....(Psst...I hope your friend 'forgets' about it too, for your sake!)

dmichael....I second Tami's idea.....we'd *love* to see a photo of yours, please!

Tami and Nan, I'll get someone to take a picture of me holding the plant over my head. I'm 5'9" and it'll give you an idea of how big this monster really is.

gaiadisciple, neither of my variegated ropes has died but they just dont seem to growl ike the green ones does.

I also find that with the variegated ones I get a lot of yellowing and dying leaves in the upper part of the plant that is actually in the pot .

I never allow my ropes to dry out completely,that's an open invitation to mealy bugs. So I keep it moist and about once every couple of months or so I reapply a fresh dressing of the systemic.

As far as peduncles go I ws very surprised when mine bloomed for the first time,only about 6 moths after I bought it. My grandmother had one of these when I was growing up and I remember her having it for 10 years or more before she ever saw a flower on it and then after it did bloom she picked off the spur!!

Mine has bloomed faithfully ever since those original spurs developed and as I mentioned above it has been in constant bloom since early spring and has had as many as 40 or more clusters of blooms open at once.

I havent had flowers on the variegated ones yet but one of them does have some little spurs on it.

dmichael