hoya fungii

While walking through the hoya house a few minutes ago I noticed something interesting. The new leaves on my hoya fungii which i've been growing now for almost 2 years are huge.

I've been using the MSU fertilizer for a couple of months now and am pretty sure that it has contributed to them being this size.

The leaf in the front of the photo is of old growth it is 4" L x 2 1/2"W
the leaf to the back is from newly formed vines and is 5 1/2" L x 3 1/2" W an entire inch and a half longer and an inch wider


dmichael

DM, I posted a thread a while ago on the same subject only I was using only the home brew beer fertilizer at the time. I still use it on all the plants that grew and bloomed well like H. shepherdii and MANY more but have switched to the MSU on any that didn't go crazy with the home brew. Here is a photo of my krimson queen. One older leaf and one new big one :~)

-joanne

Here are the cuttings you sent me of H. mathilda. I also noticed on this one that the new bigger leaves have a 'turtle shell' type of look. Kinda' like H. verticillata... Have yours done the same? -joanne

Just wondering (DM and Joanne)....are ALL your new leaves bigger than older growth? I ask this only because I thought hoyas in general just differ in leaf size.....even on one plant the leaves can be very different in size. Just wondering if it's easily attributed to the type of fertilizer or if it's just normal leaf variation. However, if all the new leaves are much bigger than the old ones, then I can see how one can come to that conclusion. Here is old growth on my carnosa (both on same node area) that grew at the same time, and you can see the considerable difference in size:

Here are 2 older leaves on Hoya limoniaca that grew at the same time

I have Mathilde and fungi from dmichael (his plants really get around) and they've grown beautifully, you can tell they come from healthy plants. The fungi leaves on mine are between 4 and 5 inches but the ones on Mathilde, though it has grown like a weed, are all small. I am sure it has alot to do with enviroment, and I am, unfortunately, dealing with lower light and more artificial light than anyone here, probably. Healthy cuttings are a great start, but the lighting and enviroment and fertilizer etc must have alot to do with it.

Can someone tell me where is the best place to get this MSU fertilizer.

Thanks,
Ric

http://firstrays.com/


Ric this is where you can order the MSU fertilzer. Once you have the page open click on the link that says "the store" then you should see on the left hand side of the page where it says chemicals. Click on that and you're good to go from there!!!


dmichael

This message was edited May 19, 2007 5:58 PM

David,
My fungii has thrown 3 leaves that are huge. The biggest being 73/4 X 61/2, the other two are very close in size. I was shocked when I turned the plant and seen them. I started using the MSU a little bit befor you started, I can't see any difference in the leaves on my other hoya's. I can't really say if it is the MSU or the planting mix I have been using since last June ??

Tami, I've been usig the same planting mix all along and never had leaves like this on my hoyas.

Something else that i've noticed since i've been using the MSU is that my H. latifolia IML 88 is now making leaves at every node instead of making just a lot of bald vines. Before I started usign this fetilizer latifolia had a lot of leaves up towrds the base of the plant close to the basket but only made one or two laong the vines. Now it makes leaves all over the place.

The amount of new growth on my hoyas is unbeleivable as well. I know it's spring time and things should be growing anyway but some of these hoyas seem to be in overdrive. The latifolia that I mentioned above has 14 new vines on it ranging in length from a few feet to over 4ft.

I've also noticed since i've been using this stuff that all of my plants look healthier and the new growth on all of them is very shiny. You can almost see your reflection in the leaves on my pubicalyx "splash" !!!

dmichael