Fuzziness

Awww... look. It's my first new leaves on the lauterbachii and they're all cute and fuzzy!

And Now For Something Completely Different....

Ok, it's not a hoya. But it's pretty, and it's very happy this year. I have been particularly mean to it though - it's in the hardest soil ever, the pot is packed with bits that have fallen off and been repotted and it's in the darkest and coldest window of the house. I did feed, water and mist it like the hoyas and maybe it liked that. I thought you guys might enjoy it.

Hoya Retusa : The Bad Hair Day Hoya

So, the retusa has been potted, and to be honest it doesn't look any tidier that it did when I received it... The anonymous poster who posted below, beware for the plant is potted in very heavy soil - I'm not sure if it likes this (although it was flowering when I recieved it), so I've put in some perlite and vermiculite to aerate the soil a bit. According to some people, it likes to be kept dry so I've had to leave it on the incubator during the day in a vague attempt to dry out the soil a bit. I'm not winning at the moment, but I can but try.
So, some information about this plant, which I've nicknamed "The Bad Hair Day Hoya" because it always looks like it needs a good combing out. It is related to pauciflora (so if my cutting is really dead, it doesn't matter), the major difference being the leaves which are really strange - flat, narrow, long, and with this bizarre, almost heart-shaped, indentation at the end of the leaves.

One of the websites I found, after having to translate it into English, kept saying the word "barbed wire". I was really confused about this until I noticed that the pattern of stem and leaves did resemble barbed wire a bit. It also said that the flowers have no smell, and me with my very strong sense of smell found no smell either. The flowers are relatively large in comparison to the narrowness of the leaves and there are about 2 or so to a node, and it seems to flower profusely, from what I've read, once it's an established plant. Most of my flowers have faded due to the bad light/knocking around/repotting recieved, but I hope it'll spring back soon enough.
Aaargh - just found mealies on this plant. I've been mealy-free for 3 months!

The Heuschkeliana Gives It Another Go

A couple of months ago this hoya tried to flower and I moved it just at the wrong moment. Then it went through a dark phase where it didn't grow and a leaf went yellow and died off. I was a bit worried. Now it's starting to grow again, and I can see these peduncles. You can't but fault this little plant for trying. I hope that it'll finish what it's started this time.
But, as I looked at this plant, I wondered:-
a) why it's so bloody hard to photograph things using a conventional digital camera when it's dark
b) why people argue so much over something that has such beauty. I know we all have differing opinions, that's what makes us all individual, but there's no need to bitch. Really. I now take a policy where I lurk, listen and learn, but people being rude makes me sad.
c) what on earth I'm going to do with these plants if this little thing can get to this size... eeek!

Letting My Babies Go

I guess it'll always be hard for me - you take cuttings, you root them... and then one day you have to decide that it is time for them to go out into the wide world. I hope that it will be happy out there, grow lots and produce flowers for its new owner.
So, bye bye Australis, may you have a safe trip and a good life somewhere. Oh, and make me some money while you're at it :)

New growth

After a few weeks of rain and a week of bitter cold (brrr!) I'm surprised my plants are actually quite happy at the moment, and some so much they're actively growing.
First of all, my Hoya multiflora/javanica/insert name here. This one was the first to sprout new leaves as soon as it had rooted. I have a nasty feeling I'm going to have a very large plant in a very short time..... I don't mind as I've been told it's quick to flower.
Next, my two favorites. I know, I'm probably not supposed to have favourites in case the other plants get jealous but there were always a couple that I really wanted and here they are, and they're growing - YAY!

The imperialis was one of the cutting trades that I did that didn't work so well - this one and my original multiflora/etc/etc were put in the bathroom where I hadn't really noticed that the candles in there were being melted by the intensity of the sun - so the poor plants got burnt...
I know, I'm a bad person. The multiflora, unsurprisingly given it hates too much direct sunlight, didn't make it. The imperialis suprised me by a) taking root 3 months after I got the cutting and b) now actually growing. Although it's a bit slow now it's so cold... The lacunosa tove, that I got in the same batch, is finally thinking about growing after some intensive time in the heated propagator...

And finally, the lauterbachii. I was so, so happy to get this cutting from a Swedish girl who kindly agreed to trade with me after I'd made a bit of a mess of trying to pay for the plant. I was then worried it would die instantly but it rooted like a charm in one of those Jiffy 8 plugs in the propagator. So I potted it up into this tiny little pot, which it would not stand up in, and left it in the propagator. It must like me because it is actually growing now! I was led to believe this is one tricky and fussy plant but seems to be relatively easier than some of the others!!! The leaves on this plant are HUGE - much bigger than the other hoyas I have - and round, and really fuzzy. Very cute. Now all I have to do is get it to flower...

This Picture Made Me Happy

Lots of Hoyas

Oh, if only to have a little corner like that. One day, I will have a conservatory. I'm wondering whether I'll still have all the plants.

Hoya Retusa

Well I caved in and bought the retusa on Ebay the other day. What I got this morning, however, was a mess of leaves, flowers and soil:

I am not impressed. I spent good money on this plant, and what I get is a mess. The soil went everywhere, including my porridge, which meant I only got 3 quarters of my breakfast!
So I complained, and I hope that I will get some money back. Meanwhile I can have a great time tonight making a big mess sorting out the plant and repotting it - yay!