Nice surprise, Rose!
OT: February Blooms
The orchids are all so beautiful, the ones I see in Costco are sure tempting when they have them in.
My first bloom on a hoya curtsii, and it came in February! I was surprised at the size of the bloom compared to the small leaves.
~Brenda
Brenda, that is the most awesome flower. I have 4 hoya but they are not blooming yet. Haven't killed them either. :-)
Brenda, I saw a curtsi at Walmart and didn't buy it last week. Bummer as I had no idea her blooms were as beautiful as yours in the picture. Might pick one up when I see them again......outstanding blooms.
Mortswife, we got to get you a camera or a picture of flowers (LOL) I am beginning to see birds in my sleep (just teasing but they are bright).
okie dokie
How pretty, mortswife! Love those flowers!
Thanks BUT I save a photo to use on my plant page in my plant file in my plant binder with the photo of a plant on the front :-) Then if the sucker dies, I know what I missed :-(
That passed over my head........I must not be the sharpest knife in the kitchen (LOL)
Gail I have to admit the close ups of the flowers make most all hoya flowers even more beautiful as it's hard to pick out the detail with just the naked eye. They sure are pretty in close ups though, all the fuzz etc! ^-^
Mortswife I am assuming these are your want to have Streps? Or ones you have growing from leaf but no blooms of yet? Good choices, I love the Purple Panda that I have blooming now from a leaf Gail sent me last summer.
I have another Hoya giving me it's first bloom ever here in Feb. This one is DS 70. What a name huh?
~Brenda
Brenda, excuse, I'm eating oatmeal while I type [got good cholesterol tho]. YES I want the hoya in the photo AND a ton of streps. But I better start with a couple. I've had 3 and I've KILLED 3!
I'm no expert but I can tell you they like a very loose soil and you can not over water the streps! ... same with the hoyas actually. ^-^
The streps I've killed have been from letting them get too dry and then giving them too much water to revive them. As Gail will tell you that'll kill them every time!!
Gail I'm sad cause I just killed the Thumbelina you gave me that way. Forgot her on the back of a shelf and let her get too dry then over watered her. I could kick myself but that's what I get for still hand watering my streps! I hope to salvage a leaf at least to start her over but the plant itself is history!
In January my good old basic hoya carnosa that was started from my grandmothers plant had at least a dozen large umbels of flowers!!! Hard to get a good picture with it climbing so high up in the window but you get the idea.....
Karen: I love that Crocus, it is so pretty! I love Crocus but they don't grow in my part of the country! :( Seems like I'm always wishing things would grow here that won't!
Brenda: I love the Hoya's! Your curtisii is gorgeous, I can't keep that one alive for very long ... I think it might be one that prefers to be kept on the cooler and drier side? I have a large ds-70 and it blooms almost all year long. I really hated the fragrance at first but it has grown on me! Love the carnosa blooms ... so dainty and pretty!
I just went outside and took a picture. This is either brevialata or incurvula on the left (can't remember for sure) and ds-70 on the right. Both got a little cold damage a few weeks back but I think they will be okay. A lot of my hoyas have peduncles but none are blooming right now. I can't wait for spring, to begin feeding them again in hopes of some of the fragrant blooms before long!
Brenda-it looks like you have it wrapping around a string you've tied. Close?
oops, forgot the photo
I do have a non-gessie in bloom right now. A little Bougainvillea:
Brenda, I remember one time I got a shipment from LLG where the plants had overheated and looked pathetic......dry and worn out. Paul Sorano told me to take an eye dropper and slowly revive them. I ended up loosing not one plant!
I have gone beserko on streps. When your spring gets here............a long time off.........I really want to trade leaves with you. Susan has some also that I don't have........I have also gotten real involved with hoyas. Yours are really growing , Lin, and I bet you get some blooms like brenda once the summer comes.
I won't show the whole trade but look what I got in a box this morning in a good trade. I hope she likes hers as much I like mine! Remember the bloom was in a box since Saturday. She is ICed Wine.......I had lost mine i thought forever.
Totally off topic, but last night was exciting. Perhaps Hillbilly Gran can appreciate this. Shortly after supper, the dogs started barking. There were coyotes on our ridge! Will opened the door to call in the dogs, & all the cats flew in!
Then in the early morning, my Jack Russell, Tinka began to bark. I shushed her because she woke me, then heard the cougar screaming on the ridge!
Whenever I post a single strep picture, I put it on the rail of our deck. The background is the ridge-about 150 feet from my door!
kivit,sounds like my house.I have all the animals too but no dogs to warn me.the cougar has a path right though my place and I see him often right before dark.
Sounds like home!! This past fall my basset hounds would bark like crazy for hours at the end of the drive. I wasn't sure what ti was until the folks who have a hunting cabing below us told me that bears had been pilfering their stuff. Haven't seen any cougars-Ar game and fish maintain they are extirpated here--however-- part of my graduate assistanceship was maintaining the database of sightings....
Ok I have a plant that is starting to bloom I think that is called Lipstick Plant not sure
I will send a couple of pictures of this plant
Dimmer
Here is another
One more
Yes, my hoya is climbing up a length of thin rope, it wanted to climb and I wanted it under control!
Lin so nice to see you! My brevialata is close to the size of yours and it too has been blooming this winter, two more blooms are forming right now. That one smells yummy, just like buttery caramel to me! My DS 70 is just two little vines that I started from a bigger plant that died. I agree the smell is not the best but tolerable.
Gail that Iced Wine is a beauty, I am always envious of traders this time of year! ^_^ I haven't gotten a smiley face right since popping back into DG. Maybe this time. LOL
We too have the wild critters close, bears are around the yard each year but so far I've had to drive further up the mountain to see the cougars. I like it that way! LOL
Now this Hoya smells fabulous, it is on it's second round of blooms this winter. My picture is a bit over exposed but you get the idea.
H Verticillata
~Brenda
It looks like to me since you have changed over to wick watering, Dimmer, you're plants look so much better. I know you mentioned having trouble with the wick cord and I hope that issue has resolved. Very nice!
Lin, your outdoor room with the beautiful hoyas is so inviting. I could sit right down in that chair and take it all in. Oh, I see the kitty has already taken the back of the chair! Looking so contented...
Bemedel, it's so special to have a hoya from your grandmother. I have never seen a carnosa so happy and loaded with bloom. How is the vine supported up the window? This what you have to look forward to when your Darth Vader blooms.
Yikes, To Die For!!!!!!! I knew I'd ordered Darth Vader for a reason Gold Leaf! Oh my, I sure hope I don't jinx those blooms by wanting them so bad! LOL
The hoya is on a length of laundry cord my husband strung up, it wanted to go up so I'm letting it! ^_^ I sure hope I never have to move from this house as that hoya would be really mad!
Can't leave without a picture, this funky looking hoya is called CV Christine (and I love it!) and it has a bad habit of blasting blooms for me so I'm hoping on this one!
~Brenda
Brenda, I too LOVE that Hoya carnosa climbing like that! What a great idea of using clothes line/laundry cord! What direction is that window facing? I moved my carnosa Rubra (Krimson Princess) plants to a darker location after seeing the foliage getting bleached out from too much sunlight, and have since read that the carnosa clan like a lower light level than other hoyas. I have a carnosa I got from my very first trade on DG (from Nan) and I think she told me it's carnosa motoskei. It has yet to bloom for me but I just love the dark green, speckled foliage and hopefully someday I will see blooms on it.
Wow, I love that H. verticillata! I almost ordered that one in the co-op last year and didn't. There are sooo many I would love to have but with budget as well as space constraints I try to be good! I did recently order H. patella through the order SRQHoyas is placing with David Liddle. I can't wait to get that one ... fell in love the minute I saw Carol post a photo on the Hoya forum!
Ok ... back to Gessies! GoldLeaf - Wow! Wow! Wow! Darth Vader is AMAZING! Ok, now tell me, is that a Strep or Sinningia? I know I've seen that name on the AV forum in the past but I can't remember which it is! That bloom and color is absolutely gorgeous! I keep saying after I get organized some time this spring I might add a few gessies back to the mix around here! LOL. Only thing I have left alive in the Gesneriad family are Chirita's and a couple of Micro Mini Sinningia's. I really need to think long and hard as to whether I want to spend the time on so many plants! Seems I lose interest or get sidetracked at times and the indoor plants suffer. I love the things I can leave out on the deck almost all year round ... so much easier to care for that way since there's a garden hose right there to water with. I think that's why I've taken a liking to Hoyas ... most seem pretty easy.
LOL, my outdoor room is a mess right now! I had hopes to get out there today to do some cleaning but haven't gotten around to it yet. I have leaves, leaves, leaves .... Everywhere! My beautiful "rasta" croton has lost every single leaf from the cold temp's we had last month. I am hoping it will survive. This weather is so crazy ... constantly fluctuation. We've had the past two weeks with high 70's, low 80's during the day and high 50's to mid 60's at night. Now another cold front is heading this way and tomorrow night it's supposed to get down to 30 here again! All the up and down temp's aren't making my plants too happy! We had three nights of 26-28 degrees last month and the yard looks terrible, lots of cold damage. I may end up losing my large Snow Queen Hibiscus and another large red flowering one. I'm not sure about the Banana tree .... whether it got too damaged from the cold. The Schefflera and the tree Philo's always come back as soon as the weather gets and stays warm.
Well, I am outta here - must get some errands done! Oh .. MrsBonnie is in Florida visiting family and we are meeting for lunch tomorrow! I look forward to meeting another DG'er!
A few nights ago, I acquired my very first orchid...
It was a gift given to me by the VERY sweet guys at Silva Orchids www.silvaorchids.com
I'd never seen an orchid I wanted before (I mean they're VERY pretty, just never called to me), but this one really just drew me in! I love the flat face, reminds me of a pansy..
It's a Miltonia and was labeled as Milt. Breathless "Brilliant" but when we looked up that one it was slightly different, so I dunno the true name and may be hard (or impossible) to find out... But it's so pretty I will try not care too much! LOL
Crappy pic 'cos I took this with my phone while I was still just "admiring" it at their nursery... Will try and get a "real" pic with my camera sometime tonight..
WOW!!!! M3R- I have never seen an orchid like that. It just amazes me the intricasy of flowers. Thank you for showing it. Cheryl
Thanks!!
I never saw one like this either--Which is crazy 'cos 2 weeks ago I was even at an orchid show and while it was all beautiful, nothing stood out to me like THIS :-D
I knew I had to have it when I saw it... But I swear I will NOT get addicted to these things I am sticking to ONLY being addicted to miniature AVs LOL
Wowsers! That is an Amazing Orchid! I have never had a Milltonia orchid and had to look at that site but they only show two and it's not the one you got!
I googled and found some beauties here: http://www.floricultura.nl/products.asp?tid=145915&sid=150799 click on the little numbers to the left of the screen for white, pink, red etc. - Gorgeous Orchids! Uh Oh ... now I WANT one!
NEVER say NEVER!!!!
LOL I've been looking at a ton of the Miltonias since I got this, 'cos I wanted to try & track down the real name... So far none of them appeal to me as much as this one I got--THANK GAWD... Maybe I oughtta quit looking while I'm ahead :-D
Post your milt on the orchids forum--they are amazing with ID's!
Ok when I get a better pic of it with my real camera as opposed to my phone-cam I will do that :-)
(I assume you mean the orchid forum here on DG right? I haven't been there... But will post a pic when I take one)
This message was edited Feb 21, 2009 7:16 PM
Yep ... Orchid Forum right here in the Garden: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/orchids/all/ I lurk there sometimes!
... I think I MUST get a Miltonia!
Yes----they're a nice bunch over there.
This message was edited Feb 21, 2009 7:26 PM
Your miltonia is a beauty. It doesn't take much to become addicted. Years ago when I first moved to FL. I saw a pretty dendrobium orchid in bloom in Publix. It was $5.00, so I bought it. That started an addiction that lasts until today. I don't buy too many now, as I also have an addiction to hoya. After lurking on this site, I am now a Gessie 'junkie'. I NEED HELP ^_^ ^_^ ^_^
I love my orchids as much as I love gessies, hoyas , etc...............don't know much about them but really don't care as long as they keep blooming throughout the year. The only really nice ones I have are from a friend whose kids give her an orchid a month and, once they quit blooming, she gives them to me.
Now, why can't I find a friend like that? A new orchid every month? I could handle that!
The amazing part is she only wants to keep them until they quit blooming!! I am handling this job great, Lin. Of course, she gives me the cards wtih all the proper information and I promptly lose them.