It has been a little while since I've posted pictures of some of my Hoya spaces in my house. So since it is a quiet Sunday morning, I'll post a few pictures. I recently put a lot of work into my indoor grow room. Here is a quick tour.
Mid-March Madness or Miscellaneous March Hoya Photos
Some of my semi-hydro experiments.
I just covered every single speck of the room with foil insulation - taping all the joints to prevent humidity damage to the house. I hope it is working.
There is no longer any window in the room, because the water would condense and run down the wall. This lacunosa really appreciates the humidity.
Here are a few hanging baskets with artficial wall light.
I upgraded the controls in the room. Now I can pretty much control both humidity and heat with this one control. I also added an additional exhaust fan so that the pressure has been equalized. In other words: air in = air out.
Not enough room in my plant room for everything so it has expanded to a portion of my wife's craft room much to her dismay.
Now it has encroached into our mud room.
More Hoyas against the snow.
Living room 1.
Living room 2.
Living room 3.
Big Mac Bathroom.
March carnosa buds.
Final photo - March carnosa flower. Hope that I didn't bore everyone, but I put a lot of work into keeping this jungle looking good, and the only people who appreciate it are fellow plant enthusiasts.
Doug
Beautiful!! Great job, everything looks so very healthy and happy!
I love seeing how everybody keeps their plants. That plant room is a work of art. I might have to try the foil insulation wall covering in mine, the walls are hundred year old stucco and are starting to "run" a bit with the humidity. Have you peeked behind it in a spot to see if it is working like you hoped it would?
WOW, they all look beautiful Doug, I love how you are utilizing the space.
Congratulations and thank you for sharing them with us.
Honestly I'm a little afraid to look. I also covered the floor completely with a sheet of plastic, and then put an indoor/outdoor carpet that just fit in the room on top of that. My theory is that if you can stop all the water vapor from reaching a cold surface, you can stop condensation. This summer I'm also going to nicely board up that window and insulate it better from the outside. I just have my fingers crossed that will stop any water damage.
Thanks Lourdes. I should also say that I used the foil insulation, because I happened to have it, but sheet plastic probably would have worked just as well. I now spray the heck out of all the plants with a mister and don't have to worry about the walls or floor.
A very creative use of space Doug, and you obviously have a handyman's heart to boot. All of your hoyas are so healthy and lush, and there's obviously no difference in the health of the hoyas grown in natural light to that of those grown in your indoor grow room. You certainly have a lovely, successful set up there. Tell me though, do you have to wear sunglasses in that room?
Christine
No Christine, I don't have to wear sunglasses yet:). I do however have room for more lights in that room. The problem though is the heat that builds up. It now heats up to around 86 degrees (I couldn't use my degree short cut on my laptop) by the middle of the day. I can exhaust the heat, but then it takes out the humidity. I've been toying with the idea of running half the lights at night, and half the lights in the day to cut down on the heat, but I'm wondering if the plants would suffer without having a true dark period. I guess that will be my next experiment.
Doug
Doug, you are right, better safe than sorry, you want to protect those walls and floors. Is the paint like the one used for bathrooms and kitchen? It's supposed to help prevent humidity to get on them. But then again I guess it's only for "normal" humidity levels.
I really, like how the plants look, for sure they are loving the environment.
I was thinking Doug, how do you avoid fungi with such high levels of humidity and heat? I ask because last winter, I was using a humidifier all day because the air gets very dry with the heater, and some of my hoyas ended up with fungi. I used a systemic fungicide and they are fine. But I have to be very careful as of how much time I keep on the humidifier.
Lourdes,
Maybe that will be a problem that I will face; I don't know yet as it has not surfaced. I am currently keeping the humidity at 65% or less. When the humidity gets over that mark my fans kick on and it will drop within a few minutes to around 60%. The humidity really builds quickly when the lights go off at night. That is when the fans kick on and off a lot.
Doug
Thank you Doug, I guess it's easier with the fans and having them in a room, my problem is that I have them in an open area. But so far so good this winter.
Lourdes
hoya-what do you use for the wood braces you have for vining? I live in a small town and can't get a lot of things.
Those wooden things that I use for vining are bamboo hoops that I mostly pick up at the dollar store, but are available in most garden centers. I recently came into possession of a number of campain sign wire holders that I have been bending into interesting trellises. You know the wire holders that they stick into the ground by the hundreds, just before an election, and seem to have a hard time to pick up after the voting is over. The wire is very thick gauge and galvanized so it is working pretty well for me. It takes some strength to bend, but the results are worth it. I will try to post pictures when I get a chance. I do suggest that after the next election, get up early in the morning and grab some of those sign holders. Well, I'm off the computer for the next 30 hours or so to attend to some obligations.
Doug
I had to laugh, hoya. Here they just nail sa stick to a board!! :-)
Plant Fanatics are so clever!!! I love your set up, Doug...and obviously your plants do too as they look very healthy and happy!!!! Nice work!!!
A great example of how this addiction is VERY REAL!!!
I love what you have done in every room..very handy for sure.
Beautiful plants too!
Wow! Doug, that's lot of work!!! Your plants show appreciations for sure.
Jan
Great set ups, Doug!
Doug's "House of Hoya's"!
Wow, what a great job! Your plants look really great, very happy and healthy! You've put a lot of work into your space and it shows! Great work and great growing! I think if you sneak a couple more Hoya's into your dear wife's craft room, they may grow on her! Well, I didn't mean that literally, I meant that she may just begin to take a liking to them! ^_^
Keep those pic's coming, love em!
Awesome setup. I wouldn't call it a plant room. I would call it a Plant House. ^_^
... or, how about "Plant Paradise"? ^_^
Thanks so much everyone for the compliments. It helps keep me going with this obsession, which believe me, quite frequently does not always go as I would like. Sometimes it seems for every two steps forward, I take one step back, but I guess if the plants were not so challenging I would not stick with it. I'm also really lucky that I have a wife that puts up with all of this nonsense.
Doug
Very lucky indeed!!
Have you ever counted them?
No I don't really count them, and there are a number of duplicates for one reason or another. Many times I start a new plant, because I think I'm going to lose the parent plant, and it recovers then I have two. An example would be H. magnifica, which looked like it was on its way out with the leaves all yellowing and falling off. I started a new one and never got around to throwing out the parent, and low and behold all of a sudden this broken down pile of sticks started to recover and has put on a bunch of new growth. Sometime a plant is doing really well for me and I like it so much I start another just for insurance. If I keep on with this hobby for much longer, the duplicates will have to go.
You are amazing, Doug. Soon you will be moving out furniture in favor of plants! Your plant room is the most innovative I have encountered. What a labor of love. Obviously you have invested a great deal of money, time, and labor, which have all paid off nicely. Any idea of the added cost of utilities?
Mel