I have an open bloom!! Can't believe it, a first for me besides multiflora so I'm really really pleased. I've been watching it like a hawk taking pictures every few days so thought I'd share.
This is from a cutting I received on the 8th of June from Carol and potted up on the 10th of hoya aff finlaysonii...
~Brenda
July 17th this is what I saw...
Then July 19th....
July 23rd....
And the 25th of July...
Now today, this evening to be exact as I checked this morning and it was still closed...
Another from this evening with my hand in it to give an idea of size for those who may be new to hoyas as I am. The bloom is so beautiful, thanks again Carol!!
~Brenda
This message was edited Jul 27, 2007 9:51 PM
Very well done Brenda! I received cuttings of vitellina from Carol, and it has a peduncle that formed buds, but they fell off. You must have the absolute right conditions for that cutting.
Sara
Why thank you for thinking so green971, after seeing all your awesome hoya photos this morning I appreciate your thinking I might have a bit of a hoya thumb in me :))) Pure dumb luck up to this point but I sure do like them and now I'll be wanting more and more for sure!!
Here's a picture of the funky little hoya green house I made for my cuttings in an east facing window when I first potted them up, this only shows a few of them that I crammed in there...
~Brenda
This message was edited Jul 27, 2007 10:12 PM
Brenda, all of those pots look awesome. Are they all cuttings that you received from the hoya co-op purchases from Carol? They must have been huge cuttings. It is really easy to want more and more isn't it?
I always think it is amazing that in 2000 I didn't even know what a hoya was, I bought that now huge carnosa, thinking it was just a cool plant, and once it bloomed, I had to find out what it was. Like all the other addicts in this world, I was "hooked". HA! Like Julia posted, at least we aren't addicted to crack.
Cheers,
Sara
They were definitely huge cuttings!! Here is a picture of them laid out when I first received them. I had ordered 3 cuttings each of H aff Finlaysonii, H australis and H sp IML and just look at the batch I received.The australis in front wasn't yellow like it looks in the picture but it had a faded bloom on it plus a seed pod!!! I have about 40 australis seedlings doing well as we speak!
~Brenda
This message was edited Jul 27, 2007 10:50 PM
When I first potted them up I put them all up on my fridge so that they would be warm while I put together my makeshift green house....The hoya obavata up there is a plant I ordered from Carol at the same time, I love it.
~Brenda
Congratulations Brenda! I also appreciated you're photo and video diary - it allows us to get an idea of how long the buds take in order to come to a full bloom, depending on what kind of plant, conditions, etc. - I wish more folks would do that!
Ann
Me too Ann, I really enjoy looking at pictures, as well as reading what all of my Hoya friends have to say....I don't know nearly enough people in person who are interested in plants. So nice to be able to come to a place "where everybody knows your name" Sorry, my dad watched 'Cheers' every night after dinner...... HA - do you think this is the Hoya version of Cheers.
Must be getting late again. Sleep over last night, 5:30 alarm this morning, and now it is almost 11:00. I think I am getting rummy.
Brenda, your greenhouse set up is a great solution for our dry environment. I need to take a closer look at that when my eyes aren't so gritty.
S
Brenda, I have that plant too and it does seem to be eager to bloom. What did you think of the fragrance?
It's funny you should ask about the fragrance as the first thing I did when I realized it was open was grab it up to smell it!! You hear so much about the wonderful fragrances with most hoyas. I must admit it knocked me back a step or two right at first, I could tell there was something good there but the whole thing was just...overwhelming... I guess the word would be. It must have just been the immediate opening of it (I did catch it within it's first hour or two of opening as I had been watching it so closely) because this morning it has a light, delicate, very enjoyable scent. I have to get very close to smell it though so it's not one that will perfume my house.
So now that I wrote a paragraph on what I thought of it's scent :))) what has been your experience with it markroy??
~Brenda
Sara ....here's another shot of my "greenhouse" set up, you'll laugh hen you look close as all it is is clear plastic garbage bags that I taped around the bottom of a sofa table that my husband had added an extra shelf too. I have slowly opened it up more and more to get the rooting hoyas used to my much dryer conditions than where they came from. Everything is looking good and I noticed just this morning new growth starting on my australis so another exciting day for me!
~Brenda
A shot of my bloom from this morning, the 28th. I'm almost as excited about the two sections of new growth I see as the bloom! It means their rooted and happy, right??
There's a little leave just behind the bloom and then in the right hand corner there are two new little leaves starting!!!
~Brenda
Brenda - it was really cool to follow the diary - good idea!
Karen
Glad you enjoyed it Karen! I NEED to do something with all these pictures I'm taking :)))))
Here are the new guys I'm watching now. Another of the cuttings from Carol that came loaded with peduncles! If they bloom as fast as my first one did I'm going to miss the show as I'm leaving for a vacation, bummer!!
~Brenda
This message was edited Jul 28, 2007 6:47 PM
Fun time-lapse diary, Brenda. You've convinced me to add that hoya to my want list. Gorgeous plant. Congrats.
Julia
Just checking in while on vacation...What a beautiful bloom MatildeJune. Here's another one you can add to your list Julia! :))))
Some one (drawing a blank here) mentioned that the blooms would only last a couple of days with the finlaysonii and they were sure right! I took some more pictures while it folded itself back up and I'll have to add them here when I get time, it was interesting to see the bloom go in reverse for a couple of days but I won't know exactly how it ended as I'm not home now. Maybe next time I'll catch it all...
~Brenda
Indeed - yellow and pink flowers - what a pretty combination! I have the related cv. Joy, so perhaps the flowers will be similar - if it ever does flower, anyway. For now I'm enjoying the leaves.
