This should probably go under December blooms, but I don't have a photo and I always think that's kind of a gyp when you're expecting some gorgeous picture...so I thought I'd just talk about my hoya abuse here :)
I have a Hoya Bella that's been driving me nuts for over a year---I've kept it very carefully evenly moist, fed it regularly with just the right amount of dilute fertilizer every watering, misted it daily, kept in bright filtered light with just a bit of morning sun, kept temps slightly cool, but not cold, and it's proceeded to produce endless peduncles, and just as endlessly blast them....sometimes they'd blast almost immediately, sometimes they'd hang on until nearly full bloom and I'd get to see those fat buds yellow and drop off...I put it out on my east facing deck over the summer and the heat and humidity of a Pittsburgh summer seemed to make it even MORE unhappy...
Come Fall, the plant had somehow fallen on its side behind my shelving and when I moved my other hoyas inside for the winter, I forgot the Bella....it lay, wedged between the shelving and the deck railing, through icy rain, sleet, and snow showers with temps in the 30's and 40's for a good month....when I finally found it, it was bone dry, withered, still green, but near death....I brought it in, gave it a big drink, jammed it up against the glass of the window where a cold draft played over it, and forgot about it....you, of course, have figured out what happened next....the plant is now covered with 5 or 6 peduncles in full bloom, with more on the way...it looks gorgeous...I have been giving it only an occasional trickle of water, and both the pot and the leaves are cold to the touch because of the cold breeze next to the window...sigh...
I know that plants that are shocked, or have a near-death experience, will often bloom out of desperation....and I'm sure that's part of what happened here, but I also think that, once again, the best thing for a lot of hoyas that are just not doing well is a healthy dose of neglect...Anyhow, I wouldn't recommend abuse quite as severe as I gave Bella, but if you have a plant that just seems too fussy to deal with, try shoving it nearly out of sight somewhere, and proceed to totally neglect it....you may be surprised :)
hoya abuse
Oh, my Gosh! Can you get a photo?!? That's pretty amazing! I've not had any difficulties with bella, but that truly is miraculous! I wouldn't have thought for a moment that it would survive that kind of abuse!
Way to go!
Kelly
GREAT story! I agree...the difficult plants we seem to coddle often resent it...and perhaps it's because we coddle them the wrong way! Hoyas, in their natural state, are basically weeds...advanticious weeds that grab a place to hang on and go from there. Bella and her family enjoy cool and being dry (I have found this out the hard way!!!) ... We can't help but treat them 'well'...we are nurturing souls...
Interesting - I have found bella to be so shallowly rooted that it needs more water than most of my other hoyas. I keep both of mine moist and they're doing well!
Grrrrr Kelly---that's exactly why this particular plant is so frustrating....for some people one type of care works, for someone else the complete opposite works...it seems like it's totally impossible to actually give cultural instructions for hoya Bella...I guess you pick one method, and if that fails, go in the exact opposite direction ...and if that fails, give the stupid plant away or toss it :)
By the way, I would never actually buy a Bella for that very reason---this one was a freebie rooted cutting tucked in with another order, so I figured as long as I had it, I'd give it a try....
SR
that is just too funny. Maybe there is hope after all for those Hoyas ofmine that seem to be just barely hanging on!