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greentoe357

caudata, flagellata, imbricata - you gotta? some data?

greentoe357
9 years ago

You know how I said that I should slow down getting new hoyas and figure out and learn and get used to what I already grow, including a big bunch of this spring's acquisitions? Boy, how am I going to rationalize this one then... A bunch of species from the "I'll sell my mother down the river for these ones" section of my wish list were available? The price was really REALLY good? I wanted to try a new vendor? I am a weak individual lacking self-control and exhibiting propensity for lying? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Anyway, I am getting a box of new cuttings next week from Carol in Hawaii. I am going to read up on their culture and rooting over the weekend, but it's already clear some may be a challenge to grow. I have some brief comments from Carol, who grows in very different conditions than my indoors under lights setup. I would really appreciate your experiences and advice about these species, especially if your conditions are similar to mine.

Hoya caudata: really likes air movement, apparently, and warm...high high light... The fan is blowing, so that's fine. I have a feeling air movement is less important in my less humid conditions anyway - rotting is a much bigger problem when it rains a lot and is humid. Warmth may be a problem in the winter. I do have one "turbocharged" shelf on my plant stand that is under one 4 T5 bulbs fixture (the highest light I can give it) and on top of another (which creates elevated daytime warmth, or in other words larger intra-day temp difference). Do you think that's adequate? What do you do with your caudata?

Hoya sp. AP1122 Phu Wua: is a caudata relative, smaller and with hairless corona. Does it like similar caudata conditions?

Hoya flagellata: HATES wet feet... Carol says she never could figure it out... It might do better with my drier conditions - we shall see. She suspects flagellata has a problem with a lot of humidity.

All this actually sounds encouraging to me. My mix drains really fast, and it likes low humidity, you say? - no problem!

Hoya rotundiflora: Carol says it "hates" her. Any growing advice for me?

Hoya kanyakumariana: she describes hers as "a petulant one that doesn't want to grow or anything..." In pictures it looks to me like a really succulent, almost an arid-looking plant. Is my impression correct? What else do we have on this one?

Hoya imbricata: (google it if you've never seen it - it's quite something.) This is big for me because it's going to be my first mounted plant. My plan is to temporarily give it a moist sphagnum-filled mesh surface and stick it in one of my rooting containers (with elevated humidity and light above). Meanwhile, knowing the size and shape of the cutting, I'll go shopping for a tall glass vase or some sort of a design-minded terrarium and a cork or cedar slab to cover with damp moss and tie the cutting to. Does that sound good to those who grow it? I understand humidity is the name of the game here. What else with this one?

I am getting many more, but I want to stop here because these seem particularly challenging or peculiar. Thanks, all!

This post was edited by greentoe357 on Fri, May 30, 14 at 19:36

Comments (4)

  • vermonthoyas
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hoya caudata more than anything needs good humidity so just be careful that you don't dry it out with your four T-5 setup. Mine did very well in a basement grow tent with day time temps in the 70s and night time temps in the upper 50s. It will also do well with warmer temps, but I was very surprised at how well mine did with cooler temps.

    Rotundiflora is easy with no special conditions required although it does like a little extra humidity as most Hoyas do.

    Kanyakumariana grew very rapidly for me unlike what most people experience. To achieve that kind of growth, you need a high temp, high humidity set up with good light. It does NOT want to be kept dry. It should always be kept damp.

    Doug

  • teisa
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Well as you know, I'm trying to figure out Caudata. Thought I had it but any little move makes her unhappy!

    I wanted to comment on Rotundiflora also known as sp. Square (and alot easier to spell). Gosh it is a great little plant I wish I hadn't waited so long to acquire!! It grows like mad, just keep a little humidity up and it really puts out the sweetest leaves!

    Imbracata, I LOVE this one also but don't have the courage to buy "yet". I have also googoo eyed over it. Please keep us posted on its growth!!!

  • greentoe357
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    > Hoya caudata more than anything needs good humidity so just be careful that you don't dry it out with your four T-5 setup.

    Will watch out for that, thanks. Which reminds me: right now a tower fan on the floor blows the air around, but I really need to be moving the air closer to the ceiling as well, because that is where those two 4-bulb fixtures are, one on top of another. I did a test where I suspended a lightweight string on that top shelf, and the air is barely moving it. I might need to suspend the fan closer to the ceiling.

    > [Kanyakumariana] does NOT want to be kept dry. It should always be kept damp.

    I guess pictures can be misleading when it comes to this. Small hard-looking leaves, often yellow (full sun all day?) and not looking like they mind at all, scarcely strewn about thick woody vines - these things have all given me an impression of succulence. Although there are also pics of greener tenderer looking plants, too, so go figure.

    Carol gave me the names of the plants amonth those she sent me that live in the trees and are not gonna look like presentable indoor plants should look - about a third of the ones I am getting. This is actually a positive in my book - I have enough presentable plants. Give me bird-pocked sun-burnt gritty outdoor plants! Seeing how the new growth will be different is a big part of the fun. I am a bit concerned about acclimatization though, but maybe I shouldn't be - I've gotten Joni's cuts from Florida before, and they did fine. We'll see.

    > any little move makes [caudata] unhappy!

    Hmm. Have you been able to link it to any specific factors, like light or temps, Teisa?

    > Imbracata, I LOVE this one also but don't have the courage to buy "yet". I have also googoo eyed over it. Please keep us posted on its growth!!!

    My barrier to entry was not having any sort of a terrarium (well, except for my rooting containers but those are ugly, just functional and no decor value, which I do look for in plants and pots and stuff generally). For those who do already have a terrarium, it's a great plant to try growing, I think. Those ant-harboring leaves are something! (Does not mean you'll get ants indoors - I researched that). So, yeah, I'll tell you how it goes. Once I do have a terrarium, if it's big enough, I'd love to try growing other hoyas and some dischidias in there as well.

  • greedygh0st
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I haven't tried imbricata.

    I have found flagellata and kanyakumariana challenging.

    I have found caudata and rotundiflora very easy. I grow rotundiflora with no special conditions, which means drying out well between waterings. I grow some caudata in the aquarium and some caudata out of the aquarium and either way they grow problem-free. Obviously faster in the aquarium. Takes them a while to start growing following acquisition, so I don't think they like change.

    I always found the contributions by rainforestguy in this thread both interesting and informative.

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