Spring Swap Signup

Here is the sign up for the Spring Hoya Swap. I'll put the names of the participants in the next post, and update the list as more people join.
I hate making rules, and am not so good at following them, either, but I guess some are in order, as we figured in the previous thread.
So:

#1- Participants should have at least three varieties of Hoya or Dischida to trade, ANY species or cultivar. Those who want to participate but have no Hoya or only one or two can substitute these plants, which have similar cultivation needs- Orchids, Bromeliads, Epiphytic cacti or Aroids.

#2- US members only, sorry. We figured that by consensus last time around. There is a separate Canadian swap here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/835715/

#3- Sign up will end May 3rd. Swapees will receive the address to send their package to on May 5th. Packages should be sent out within seven days.

#4- cuttings should be from second or third years growth- not too green and tender nor too old and woody.

#5- Each participant will get a randomly chosen address to send their package to- this won't be the same person they are receiving cuttings from.

#6 No Rotten Robins allowed.

All of these rules are open to change, of course. If anyone has suggestions for changes of rules or dates, speak up!

This message was edited Apr 19, 2008 1:41 AM

Participants:

meltn
becalynns
lotsalillys
kabob
pdoyle23323
bjf826
Gabro14
gaiadisciple
Dimmer
Juliasf
markroy68
villaluna
blue_eyes
AlohaHoya
dtm1966
imadigger
cicada
weeding
paulahawaii
ricfl
Horsewoman
ksgirl
boojum
sunshinesw
kellyknits
sharonbanister




This message was edited Apr 30, 2008 5:54 PM

You are the man, Mark! Do we send addresses to you?

There are a few Daves members I do not recall seeing before. Would you guys care to offer an introduction and tell us a little about yourselves? Part of the fun of a swap is to develop new frienships and renew some old friendships. I enjoy hearing the excitement of new collectors and want all of you to feel welcome on this forum. Please do feel free to ask questions or tell us about yourselves.

Mel

Good question, Mel. i would second that emotion!

Ok, I'll jump in. My name is Cathy; 30 years ago I had a small plant store in San Francisco and fell in love with plants, and especially hoyas. I didn't have a large collection, but I loved them and I especially loved them blooming! When I left SF, I had to leave behind several hundred plants (not all hoyas). Fast forward, 28 years (and counting) of marriage, 3 daughters, not much time for gardening or hobbies, but we became empty nesters last fall. I thought it was time to do something for myself and started my gardening and indoor plants again. I stumbled onto a hoya plant at a yard sale, smiled, and took it home. I have bought several more since then and I am back to enjoying my time with them (in fact I am spending more and more time with them, lol). I found DG, and the hoya forum, found Stemma and Carol's website (along with many others); I read everything I could. I joined the hoya forum during the recent "unpleasantness" and was pretty intimidated, so I just lurked. Now I'm sprung, and I'm happy to be part of this group. I don't know a lot, but I learn quickly! I appreciate everyone's willingness to help those of us who are new or returning to hoyas. I have my list of "wants" and plan to start attacking that soon! That's it in a nutshell! Villaluna (cathy)

I'm next. I'm Paula and I live on the Big Island of Hawaii. The opposite side of the island as Carol.
I've been married for 6 years and have a 4 1/2 year old son.
My sister turned me onto Hoyas, and as most, I am hooked. I did the same as Cathy and
devoured everything I could find about hoyas. I went to the library and book store and read
everything there was. And I've probably checked every nursery in my area for different hoyas !
I have 12 different ones now and have a long want list. Half the fun for me is finding them!!
I have yet to see a bloom myself and have several hoyas budding up or pushing peduncles now.
I love this forum and have learned a ton from it and can't wait to keep it up !

Aloha,
Paula

Nice to meet you Paula and Cathy! I think the Hoya bug bit all of us in the same way as it did you!
Cathy, I relate to the empty nest syndrome. Many parents told me that life was so great after their kids moved out. My Son ventured out on his own a year and a half ago and I had an empty feeling for quite some time. I found I had a lot of my identity invested in being a Mom and really enjoyed being around Brad. I also suddenly missed all his friends who hung out here so often that I often wondered it they really had another home. I'll look forward to hearing about your growing collection! I'm glad you stuck around despite the recent manic episode.
Paula, not only do you live in a beautiful place, you are only a few hours from Carols where you can find many new treasures. I agree that the hunting and gathering is alot of the joy of Hoyas. Although a rare occurance, I still get excited when I discover a Hoya at a Nursery. Welcome to the forum and the wacky world of Hoyas!
Mel

Paula and her son, mother and father, visited here a couple of months ago. A total novice, her Dad spotted seedpods in the tops of trees I had never seen!!!! I wish everyone else lived closer and could just drop by to play!!!!

^_^

Mark, please add my name to the list, I have a few hoya's that need a hair cut.

LOL, I spent years trying to get my son out of the house and now I do every thing I can to get him over just to visit. The best news is I will be a Gramma in June, and I can't wait to get my hands on him. Never could understand why my sisters were so excited when they became Grandparents, but now, I'm in love already and I haven't even met the little guy. Congrats to Brad on his marriage, I bet your excited.

Mel, that's a good idea about the addresses. Why wait 'til the last minute?
Everyone who has signed up can send me their (actual) name and address via d-mail, so I can start compiling the exchange list.
Don't post your actual address here!

I'm not new to the forum, but I changed my username from CynthiaWilliams to weeding. I live in Peachtree City Georgia. I have grown hoyas for about 25 years now. Had a really nice collection and lost them all, along with about 30 orchids and 100 other house plants. in a house fire about 5 years ago. I am slowly collecting them back. I'm afraid I am a plant nut. It was my grannys fault that I am addicted. I need a serious 12 step plant program. LOL! I am very addicted to
Hoya
brugmansia
citrus
odd and rare plants

My Name Is Kim I am 5'7 105 pound and work Road Construction as a laborer
I live in Waukegan IL I was born In Skokie IL got married and Moved to Michigamme MI I am now seperated from my Husband for 3 year. I have been on Dave scents 2003 Most of the time I am in African Violets, Begonia, and I am start in Plumiais, and a few hoyasI am also A very bad speller as you can see I have been growning plant for over 25 years. I really start groning AV after my Grandmother died in 96 I started with some leaves from her plant with all the different plants that I have and growen I have about 475 just in my bedroom that is the biggest room and where all the lites and window are that I grow them. They are small plant I have been trying to grow Hoyas and I do have a few but they are very small. I have been on the Hoya page and have asked alot of question as a newbie. This is who I am
Dimmer(AKA) Kim
I am up at my dads now using his computer hopefully this will be ok

I am just now able to kick my hoyas out to the screened porch (it kept dropping too low tempwise to keep them out there), so I'm hoping that we can wait a few weeks before doing the exchange......most of my plants are still kinda crabby from being inside for the winter. They are now out on their summer hooks after a good soak in some Eleanors.

Hi, My name is Dawn and I am a hoya grower living in the Houston TX Area. I am a chemical engineer who grew up in Connecticut but was displaced to the gulf coast for my work. I have been growing Hoyas now for about 2-3 years with a definite escalation going on. I also grow a few orchids and bromeliads. I like the lush tropical look. Married with 3 boys from 7 to 17. I also got my love of plants and gardening from my grandmother.

GREAT to hear from you all. Dawn...my dh is a Chemical Engineer/Farmer...doing both!!!!

Aloha

I've been on Dave's for a year or so and have been involved in lots of co-ops but am mainly more "spongelike" lol- I usually just read and absorb all the info I can on hoyas (and other plants). I started out with hoyas from HD and Lowes and then participated in several co-ops on here and got LOTS of great hoyas. ^_^
I am an architectural designer (I draft house plans) and have been married to my husband for 6 years. We just had our first baby on Halloween last year- babies are amazing! I hope you don't mind but here's a picture of her in her reindeer hat on Christmas Eve:

You have a lovely daughter, beccalynns. My first child barely missed being born on Halloween by a few minutes.

Welcome to all! We hoya collectors are a diverse bunch!
Post a picture of that little sweetheart anytime, Becca!
Mel

YES!!!! Babies are GREAT....little sponges! Just wait, Mel...I can tell you are dying to be a Grandmother!!!! Nothing like it!

Glad to meet all of you. Congrats on your little girl, Beccalynns - she's a cutie!! And Mel, congrats on your son's wedding...I'm with Carol, wait till grandkids start coming - it's the best!

Karen

Hello, I'm Jo and I'm new here, have been thinking about joining for a while now and finally got some extra time after we got settled into our new house.
I live on a cattle ranch in the flinthills of Kansas , I've been married for 34 years. I've been a stay at home Mom for most of the time and also had my own craft business. Our two girls are on their own now so I have some extra space and time to devote to my plants. I've grown plants all my adult life and my currant interest are Hoya, Epi's ,holiday cactus, Orchids and asst. others.
I just got two lovely Hoya from Carol and they're doing great. I also just got cuttings from DL.
I have around 55 differant Hoya plants, the oldest around 30 years old and I think 17 new cuttings.

I would love to get in on your spring Hoya Swap. Just tell me what I need to do.

Hey...welcome!!! The swaps are FUN!!! And we are a loony bunch (speaking for/of myself, of course). I think that all of us have many passions.... I also love epis and the holiday cactus...brugmansias, gardenias, Ti, you name it...I will collect it!!!

Hi ksgirl, and welcome!
Of course you can join the swap. Just send me a d-mail with your real name and address, and I will add you to the list.
Mark

Yea, welcome aboard Jo. We are glad to have you join us!

OMG, you ladies are trying to make me a grand ma? Brad says he and Sara are too imature for kids right now. I had to bite my tounge not to say "and you think you are mature enough for marriage?"

Seriously, I have heard that Grandkids are as good as it gets. I think Tami is the next in line and she can hardly contain her excitement. I wonder if we should now call her "Tamigrammy."

Mel

- snort -

Well, I have some hoyas that are big enough to share so put me on the list. The rest are cuttings from DL last fall and this spring and I got a package from Carol yesterday!! I live in western MA near VT on 3.3 acres with my DBF of many years and have wonderful gardens that are filled with exciting plants, but in the fall 3 years ago I was in need of fulltime plants-so I have collected 250 orchids, 30 amaryllis, 30 epis, and recently 20 hoyas, etc. to keep me in flowers! I have 2 grown kids and two grandsons (one is snoring on the couch as we "speak"). I work in several settings as a speech-language pathologist with adolescents with communication problems and I'm an artist/musician/birder. I have been on DG for a few years now. Changed my life to find so many addicts in one place. I feel more normal!!

Hi I'm Jan. I've been lurking and thinking I should join this forum so I did today. I live in SW Florida with my DH, 4 parrots and bunch of tropical plants. My interest are Hoyas, Epiphyllums, Orchids and Bromiliads. I got bitten by Hoya bugs really bad and when I see new hoyas off course I want more but I have to refrain myself. Looking forward to the spring swap.

Well Hello Jan, Do we possably know each other?
We seem to be following the same path.
Jo

Hi Jo, yes we do know each other. Nice seeing you here.
Jan

Not sure if my first email made it through but I'd love to participate. Do we send the address to you or do you track it from our DG name?

Yes, yes, please add me to the list.

Hello! I'm Kelly and new to this forum. I live in the Eastern Panhandle of WV with 2 senior dogs and a couple of crazy cats. I discovered hoyas late last fall and growing them became an instant hobby! Still new enough to this that I get excited whenever any of them flower or even bud (have had lots of bud blasts!). Currently I have speckle lacunosa and bella blooming and praetori, polyneura, anulata, nummeruliodes, and fungi budding...although praetori and polyneura bud and blast repeatedly....

Jan - glad to see you've joined as well!

Looking forward to the swap!

Wow...all these new addicts (heh heh heh...rubbing her hands together as her nose become more and more crooked)...following my footsteps. GREAT! This hobby is tons of fun and I look forward SOON of it just being a hobby again....

Carol

Thanks for the Welcome! I see a few names here I reconize. A big Hello to everyone and I hope to get to know more of you as we share our love for these wonderful Hoya.
The swap sounds like a lot of fun, I love shareing my plants.

Carol, Lead me on, I love my addiction. Jo

Hi and welcome everyone! I recognize many of you from other forums - nice to see you here :)
This is a great hoya family!

Gabi

Thanks for the warm welcome, hope to get to know lot of you here. I recognize many of you too. Mark, Carol, Jo, Kelly, Gabi, Dtm1966.......maybe more?
Looking forward to the swap.

Jan

Mark, could you please remove my name from the swap. I am not going to be able to participate.

Becca, what a little cutie pie you have there.

Nice to see some new faces on the forum.

And it is really good to see YOU back, Tami!!! You are so good at growing hoyas in a very dry climate...you have a lot to share!!!

Carol

Mark,

I hate to do it, but could you take my name off the swap as well? I suffered a massive loss of about 40 plants a week ago, and won't be able to participate during the time frame of the current swap.

Thanks,

Doug

Oh no Doug. I am so sorry to hear that. If there is anything I can help you replace, please D-mail me.

Take care,
Gabi

Thanks for the offer Gabi, but I will be alright. I should have said that I completely destroyed the roots on 40 Hoyas rather than killing all of the plants completely. I don't want to hijack this thread, but the short story of how I rotted the roots totally off 40 plants is this. I was an idiot, and used a new potting mix that I was completely unfamiliar with to re-pot 40 plants over the course of 12 hours. 10 days later the roots were gone.

I used the potting mix extolled by Tapla on two other forums and because of my unfamiliarity with it destroyed my plants. This stuff looked dry after 12 hours and felt dry at a one inch depth after a couple of days. Little did I know that the stuff was like soup underneath. It was a death trap waiting to happen. It weighed 2-3 times what my regular mix weighed even when dry so it was impossible to judge when to water. So I thought I was doing good, because of his arguments about this stuff allowing the plants roots to breathe and outlasting regular potting mix 10-1. There is a moral to this story somewhere; anyhow, although I destroyed six month's work, I still ended up with a lot of plant material to take cuttings from. I have attached a photo of the hospital ward. I'm sure that 95% of the plants that I lost will re-root, and when all is said and done I won't be any worse off, and will have learned a valuable lesson - don't believe everything you read.

Doug