The old camera did an Ok job, next time I will be sure to take photos even if all the buds are not open. I can't wait for the next time this plant blooms, you can't beat a Hoya that smells like an orchid and is fragrant during the day!

Mike

Sande

Sande,
Yes, many that have this hoya say it's their favorite. The only thing holding me back is the flowers-only-open-for-a-day thing.

Does anyone know if this plant is a good bloomer? That might make up for the short-lived flowers. I hate to give space to a plant that is not in flower much. (:o)
Thanks,
Mike

For anyone who wants to see a photo of the flowers open I found a source on the web.

Congrats on your blooms, and nice pics!

Gabi

Denise in Omaha

Jan

Sue yes you can train this one around a support like many other Hoyas but I think it looks best when allowed to grow straight up, it definitely naturally grows that way. When my plant reached the top of it's support and started to look for something else to grab on to and I had to try and guide it around the top of the bamboo hoop the tip of the vine died off.

Jan I am sure if you got this Hoya you would not be disappointed. The leaves are beautiful with dark purple veins on the undersides, the back side of the leaves are also covered in soft short hairs.

Mike

Can I ask where you got bamboo hoops that large? I've never seen a hoop that big before.
Thanks,
Mike

Mike

Gorgeous lambii you got there! As for the tip dying off once you wrapped it around the trellis, was it facing down? Tips will die off if they are pinned downward, so what I do is either wait until the vine is long enough to wrap around the trellis (so that it points upward), or wrap it in a short loop on the top part of the trellis so that the tip still faces upward.

Gabi

Mike

Mine just shot out a long vine (it must be as tall as I am!!), and it tried to grab onto everything around it! For now, I clipped it onto the nearest blind cord, but I will wrap it around the trellis as soon as I see the start of new leaf growth.

I don't have to carry my hoyas to the tub anymore (so I don't have to worry about unclipping the vine for watering..thank goodness!)...it was too much of a hassle and plants were always breaking and tipping over when I moved them, so I now keep them all on pebble trays and water them right where they are. Not the hanging ones tho' - those go into the tub.

Anyway, I'd be happy with blooms too! I'd even break a vine for lambii flowers!!

Gabi

I have been thinking of trying to get low plastic containers to use as drip trys so that I can cut down on the number of plants I have to carry to another room to be watered. I was hoping to set up a self watering system for times when I am away for more than a week using capillary matting in the trays. Do you like using pebble trays, any cons associated with them?

Mike

Wow, I love that photo! It's one of the biggy-leaved ones, which are my favs. I really like the super-pointy tips. **Sigh** I must have it! It's been on my list, but it's hard to come by and even cuttings are expensive. So I guess I'll see how my DL cuttings do this year and, if I have pretty good success with rooting, I'll put it on my list for next year.

Denise in Omaha

Cindy

I agree, it doesn't seem to be a fast grower for me either. It's grown a few leaves in the few years that I've had it, and it's now shooting out this long vine. But I don't call that "fast" at all! I read that it's a good grower too - so I am stumped.

I find that it likes a lot of root space as well. Mine is in a 5 or 6 inch pot (and that's large for me...I tend to use very small pots).

I really had no choice about the pebble trays. Not only are they great for added humidity, but I had too many hoyas all cramped together on a bunch of tables - too hard to move them without disaster occurring.

Anyway, I do find some cons. For one, you can't soak the plant through and through, which would be my preference - but I do what you're not supposed to do and pour water until it gets to the rim of the tray (past the pebbles, and therefore the plants get watered from below as well...so I think this makes up for the lack of a thorough watering).

Second con is that you need to keep an eye while watering to make sure you don't overwater to the point of overflow in the tray...what a mess that can lead to, especially if your tables are as cramped as mine! But some of my plants are in big trays, so I don't really have to worry about that...it's the small trays that fill up fast, and these are the ones I use most due to space issues.

My pebble trays aren't too deep (they are the store bought drip trays), so I would say the deeper they are, the better....that way you don't have to worry as much about overflow, and you can pour more water into the plant for a more thorough watering. If you do it that way, I really think it will make your watering routine much easier.

Here's a pic of one of my tables (taken a while ago, before I added pebble trays). You can see how difficult it would be to move the plants for watering:

Gabi

Gabi your should see all the plants I have to carry around when I am watering, three shelving units worth plus the others that hang where ever I can fit them in. I will make sure to get containers that are at least 6" deep but I am convinced that the trays and capillary matting will be a great help when it comes to watering. Hopefully I will not have too many problems, guess I will have to fine tune things before I leave the plants for any length of time.

Mike

Cindy

Mike

That 3 stair system looks amazing! I bet you'd save yourself TONS of time by using that. I hope you post pics of your home-made trays if you end up making them.

Have you thought of some sort of wicking system for when you go away for a long period of time?

Gabi

Mike

Cindy

Gabi

Gabi and Cindy I will start a new thread when I have my self watering plant trays finished.

Mike