Usually someone has started the monthly bloom report by now. I will start it with a very common Hoya, but with six peduncles either in or near bloom. I just had to show it somewhere.
February Blooms
One more photo. One bloom is not visable; it is one the other side of the plant.
AWESOME!!! My multiflora finally has two peduncles. One is ok, but the other looks like half of it is not going to bloom. It's turning yellow. Maybe I over-watered it. I have two leaves turning yellow also. I rescued this plant from one that was dying (don't know why). I took a cutting last year and now it's ready to bloom. I hope, I hope!!
My multiflora is also going nuts with three loaded pedicels. I too have had the same problem as imadigger though. The buds on the peduncle farthest along turned yellow yesterday and half of the bud fell of today. I don't seem to be having any problems with the leaves though, so I'm not sure if it is a watering issue or just one of those things.
I used to have the yellowing peduncle thing going on as well. The plant pictured above use to lose roughly half of its peduncles until I learned to never let this plant dry out. After I figured that out, it trippled in size and never lost another one. The only issue this plant has now is it drips nectar on everything and it draw ants in the summer like you would not believe!
Doug
Ditto to everything Doug just said.
Gabi
Beautiful plant Doug! I have a multiflora that I got in trade from another DG'er a few months ago and it blasted buds twice. It had two peduncles a few days ago, one turned yellow and fell off, the remaining one looks good. I can"t wait for this thing to grow and bloom!
Lin,
I'm sure it will grow and bloom very soon for you. It is a very easy grower and bloomer as long as it has moisture, regular fertilization and bright light with very little sun.
Doug
Thanks Doug! I took someone's advice and put it inside one of my self watering African Violet pots! Was it you talking about doing that on another thread? I can't remember who gave me that idea but I sure Thank whoever it was! The plant is sitting in an East window where it gets a lot of bright light all day ... no direct sun. I need to start feeding all of my plants again!
Here is H. lobbi, which is just opening up. This flower is another testament to using artificial light, without it, I just don't see this plant flowering in February in VT.
Doug
Wow, that one has huge leaves! Gorgeous Bloom!
Gorgeous! Isn't it exciting when you get blooms in the winter?? I am really happy that I started using artificial lighting - it really makes a difference. I've had more growth this winter than any other winter, and my obscura is now in bud (it has never bloomed for me, so I'm really excited about it!).
I love lobbii blooms - my favorite. My lobbii has put on tons of growth and I can't wait for it to bloom again! It has 2 peduncles and seems to form a new on at every new node (kind of like multiflora/javanica) - I have a bunch of growth so I expect more peduncles very soon. I see that you have the salmon colored blooms, Doug. Mine are salmon in the beginning (before reflexing), and they turn a dark burgundy once reflexed. Just gorgeous.
Again, congrats! And thanks for sharing all your amazing pics!
Gabi
Thanks for the compliments Gabi. Congratulations on your obscura buds. Mine looks like it is almost ready for the garbage can. I can't seem to figure out what I'm doing wrong with that one.
Doug
I've had tons of trouble with it. It's healthy, but it oddly hasn't bloomed since I got it (about a year or 2 ago) - and it had peduncles on it! I got 5 cuttings from ebay at a really good price (I think it was $1 per cutting), and each cutting has at least 2 peduncles. Well, I thought those peduncles were for show! The plant rooted really well and grew a lot, but no buds. So finally I *may* get to see (and smell) those blooms - IF they don't blast.
Sorry about your obscura. Like you said in another post, some plants just don't do well for us. I have a few "problem hoyas" too, like bella (ughhhh). I hope your obscura pulls through.
A small contribution from me... H. polyneura has its last flowers at the moment. It has been blooming all January until now.
Christina
Beautiful photo Christina.
Here is a new one for me....H. subglabra...really beautiful flowers. Can't detect a fragrance in the late afternoon.
And H. subcalva...nice and dark, isn't it?
And perky H. sp. Tanna island....
And this is H. walliniana...very fragrant.
DH failed to photograph this at the height of blooming...so you will see only half of the blooms....H. curtisii
Here is a closeup of the H. curtisii flower....
And H. vitiensis. Actually, the flower color is a subtle mauve...
Wow Carol - those are the most beautiful set of pictures I've seen on here in a row. Absolutely gorgeous shapes and colors, and your pics are amazing too.
Gabi
Wow, wow, wow---what gorgeous blooms!!! I've always wondered though, do the h. curtisii blooms have any fragrance?
Shelley
Welcome back from your adventures abroad Carol. Your beautiful photos help to break the winter doldrums here in the cold Northeast.
Doug
AMAZING!! I especially love the vitiensis. That beauty is a different color every time I see one. Quite the little chameleon.
*sigh* Love each and every one of those beautiful blooms!!
Karen
Carol, what kind of conditions does the sp. Tanna Island like? I remember reading on your website that it preferred wet conditions. Is the wet like a multiflora kind of wet where you can leave it sitting in a tray of water (I put broken clay pot pieces in the bottom 2 inches of my pots so the moisture is evenly dispersed). Or does it need wet like water and the moment it dries out needs to be watered again. I love that one, but would not want to deal with a hoya that fussy. I LOVE multiflora for the fact that I can simply keep a tray of water filled underneath it at all times.
sp. Tanna comes from an extremely humid area....with lots of rain. We have had about 6' of rain since last Sept. and she is happy as a clam!!! With clay shards in the bottom on the pot, you might try a tray of water...but make sure the soil on the top doesn't dry out. Let me know how it works.
Carol
I will!!!!! ....just as soon as I get an sp. Tanna Island lol. I'll have to get one from you come spring if you're going to do orders. :D
Here is H. macgillivrayi in full bloom. The scent is very strange. The entire house smells of it, and I really can't compare it to anything else, because it is like nothing I have ever smelled before. The best description that I can give is that it is pleasant, yet vaguely disconcerting.
Here I am in the mirror, taking way too many pictures!
Last photo; I promise! I guess I proved to myself that anyone can bloom a plant like this, even when it is zero degrees and there is four feet of snow outside, and I'm not exaggerating. All it took was giving it its own grow-light and $6 a month on my utility bill.
Beautiful!!
You give us Northerners hope.
That is Outstanding! I can't get over how large some of these hoyas are ... had no idea! Love the color of that bloom!
Absolutely gorgeous, Doug!!!!
Karen
Thanks, Christine, Lin, and Karen! I wish everyone could see it in person, because as hard as I tried, the photos don't really capture it.
Doug