PPPS. It should go without saying that all your beloved furry, feathered, and not-so-furry-or-feathered loved ones will be unscathed (they just won't be carrying your second and third favorite hoyas with them).

GG,

Very difficult question! I probably would die before the decision is made!!!! I'm looking to my plants right now, without any clue which one I would choose! I'm alredy dead!!!! I waited for more than 15 minutes to answer but did not make any progress!

I have the perfect answer at a quick glance. Can't take ANY plants, 'cause my arms will be full of all my quilts which having made them all myself (mostly art quilts) that's what I'll be rescuing.

(Scary question, I might have to tie up & throw over my shoulder anyway a KQ or my Hoya 'Austracalyx'.)

LOL mitzicos. Don't die!

I know just what you mean, though. When I asked myself the question, I got so panicky that I couldn't even REMEMBER what Hoyas I had! I just literally stood there trying to remember a SINGLE Hoya name... My mind was a near blank. The only plants I could think of were my first Hoya (carnosa), my rigida IML 1424, and my beloved lemon tree which is blooming now.

So, I saved the carnosa. Even though I could easily start another one from my mother's plant. I think I just saved it b/c I am determined to see it bloom before I die and I don't want to start all over again! Maybe I should've saved one of the Hoyas that are actually nice enough to give me flowers already! >:O Megalantha was right by the door!

I DO love the rigida, but I'm pretty sure the reason it popped into my head so quickly is because it's extremely top-heavy and EVERY time I water my plants I knock it over. Thus, panic is the psychological state that it's most strongly associated with!

I'm used to see my family's hoya carnosa always blooming, now reading your post I'm curious how long does it take for a cut to bloom..... if it takes too long I probably won't be able to see them blooming. LOL!!!!! If so, I should stop buying cuts and try any other plant collection that I can buy in blooming size here!

greedyghost - "PS. Rules of ability-to-lug-huge-plant-out-of-burning-building don't apply, because otherwise we all know some of you would go up in flames and we don't want to see that"

Thank you SO much for a much needed afternoon laugh. You said 10 seconds - well for 10 seconds I saw burning flames, tons of smoke and me trying to pick up the large palm tree I have while yelling at my husband "WOULD YOU JUST PICK UP THE OTHER END???!!!"

Since I'm pretty sure he won't pick up the other end my first choice would be the hoya hindu rope, it's gotten quite large and I love it, will adore it if it ever blooms. Third choice would be the large orchid cactus. Reason? My daughter says it's the 'seriously ugliest charlie brown plant' in the world. If I don't take it with me I'll never be able to prove her wrong when it finally blooms.

Carnosa takes longer than most, so feel lucky you have a blooming plant in your life. Mine is actually plenty mature to bloom (over 13 years old) but I didn't know much about Hoyas for most of that time, so I always kept it in a dark corner. Now that I give it light, I'm sure it will bloom soon.

Don't be afraid to order cuttings. Many times they come with peduncles and can bloom before they're even rooted or shortly after. The time it takes a cutting to form peduncles and bloom on its own varies from species to species. Usually you have to wait a year or two but it can take longer. Many growers will provide information on how long it took for them to receive blooms in their plant descriptions, so you can do some research if it's a concern.

Also, because many of the "small plants" you can purchase are little more than rooted cuttings, they aren't likely to bloom much faster than if you'd bought them as cuttings.

Angel: LOL at the description of you trying to convince your husband to help you. I kind of want to see this palm tree now! Yeah, I figured only in a universe where we had superpowers and flame-retardant chosen plants would any of us nuts survive my question.

I rather suspect that there are a fair number of people who are thinking: Give me some scissors and a bag and I'll just take 100 cuttings on my way out the door.

And I totally hear you on the issue of proving your Charlie Brown plants' value! My father just shakes his head at my Hoyas and says my miniature violets are infinitely more attractive.

PG: Quilt collection = Ooooo. But don't even get me started on the rescue of non-Hoya treasures. The thought of all my books burning makes my stomach drop. Although it is amusingly appropriate that if I had to choose one book to save, it would probably be my beautiful old edition of Dante's Inferno.

Wow, I made that decision pretty fast! What is Absolute Sandman Vol. 1-4 going to say? :O

I don't know why I can't just write all this in one post. I keep forgetting to respond to things! It's Friday!

It would have to be two Hoyas...one on each hand,lol...
Sigillatis and Sp. square...and "Max" is going to have to pull the Australis 'lisa' with this teeth on the way out :o)

So many hoyas not enough hands! Great and fun question GG!

GG, I would love to see pix of your lemon tree cultivated inside the apartment.

For me this is a no-brainer ,,, it would be my carnosa (that belonged to my grandmother). Okay, it's a very common plant, but I'm really attached to it (silly, I know). And given it's size, it's not the most practical choice ,,, but I'd like to think that I could somehow manage to save it.

Pug - I can just see Max helping you out. By the way, he was just too "cute as a bug" in his halloween costume!!! Thanks so much for sharing that picture.

PG - do you have pictures of your quilts posted anywhere? I would love to see them. I've been saving material for years ,,, with the intention of someday learning to quilt.

Oh the trouble I would be in if I tried to save any of my plants from a fire. I might get lucky and scoop up my dog in one arm and then grab for a plant with the other. What a terrible thought, I would be distraught if I had to watch my plants burn. Hummm wonder if I should have fire extinguishers stationed around my plant shelves, just in case. LOL

Mike

Ahh, I'm all happy that I cloned one of your rescue plants, Pug.

JLT: I'm with you. Apparently I'm more sentimental than I thought. I figured for sure I'd pick the most valuable plant, but when my brain shut down, my heart said carnosa.

Here it is! As you can see, it's not even very big due to a decade of neglect and the fact that I kept clipping it so I could have its babies everywhere (some of which are larger than it now).

My rescued "Oma vine"(as we called it growing up)

Mitzicos: I'm a little embarrassed by this picture b/c I shot it from an upward angle, so my little dwarf tree doesn't even look like a tree at all! It actually does have a little trunk. :P It's been with me for about a year and a half, so this will be the first year I've had any impact on its fruit crop. Last year it gave me one lemon. Hopefully more this year, because I've been sweet-talking it all summer.

Dwarf Meyer Lemon Tree

Mike, I can't believe you didn't choose! Are you afraid they'll hear you talking about them? That's why I posted my decision at work.

Five years ago, on October 20 (my maternal grandmother's birthday), my parents and I actually had our home damaged by the neighboring mobile home (different lot than we live at now) which was determined as suspected arson (it was damaged from an earlier accidental fire that summer). Our home was declared uninhabitable and we bought a new mobile home and now live on a different lot (we still live in the same mobile home court). I didn't grow any houseplants then, but I treasured what I had (who doesn't ?) The first thing I did grab out after the firemen said it was okay was my knitting/crocheting supplies. That was what I have to consider the second most tragic event in my life. However, I can honestly say, in my experience, from the bad comes the good. I made friends with most of the people on this forum and other forums here on GW.

To answer your question now, GG, the one plant I would save is my carnosa (Nikki). It's the one that has great sentimental value to me as it is my very first hoya that I ever owned ( made up of cuttings from the nice folks here on GW plus my home-ec teacher).

Brad AKA Moonwolf

Buotii. Partially for practical reasons, as it is up front and easy to grab. Partially because it was one of my first hoyas and it has grown so well. And because you said I only had 10 seconds to think about it :P But you know, I can also easily grab lacunosa and sp. Square leaf too... they are right next to buotii and in hanging baskets, so the hooks will fit nicely in my hand as I run out the door...

GG have you ever seen the movie The Royal Tenenbaums? I imagine the Ben Stiller character giving his kids surprise fire drills with a stop watch and a whistle. I think I need a Hoya fire saftey plan and a big duffel bag.
I just can't choose because I don't think I could pick just one and after getting out of my apartment I still have 14 flights of stairs to go down. I am going to have nightmares about this tonight. LOL

Mike

Hey again folks,

GG, can I pls. digress yr. thread a bit to answer JLT's question about pix of my quilts? Hoping that's OK & allow me to plug another GW site:

at GW's Quilt Forum (I believe it's listed under 'That Home Site') I participate there, sometimes w/ pix, also using handle 'Pirate Girl'; that's likely searchable.

Sorry, I don't know how to post a link (or I would).

Tho' I haven't worked on it in over a year. my Quilt Blog is at:

http://karenthequilter.blogspot.com

Also my Photobucket.com album is open to the public: I believe if you search for KRSternberg, you see my various albums (quilts, plants, & more). Lovely of you to ask, thanks so much.

That's a really nice caged Hoya, very pretty & the Meyer Lemon too, they'd be some tough choices to make...

Now I have to go make nice w/ the Hoyas who I didn't volunteer to rescue immediately.

Thank goodness I don't have to think about this as I grow all of mine in a gh and it's all plastic and metal,so no chance of it burning down!!!! Though I do have to worry about one of those 60+ foot pines that grows behind it possibly falling on it one day!!!!

David

without a doubt i would take my huge aloe vera.it's a huge plant with about twenty babies.the largest leaves are about 6 inches across nd 3 feet long!it was the plant that started it all.... :) i think my next choice would have to be my hoya carnosa just because i'm determined to see it bloom!

My first thought was to grab pentaplebia, but that was soon followed by an image of me coercing Genny, my seven pound miniature American Hairless Terrier, to drag merilee along behind me. I may have to start keeping dog treats in my nightstand...

Karen I took a look at your Blog, the last quilt is very nice. I still have not started on my first quilt, a denim rag quilt with small square panels that fades from black and white to light blue and then to dark blue. I have cut out all the pieces but have yet to master the sewing machine, maybe this winter.

Mike

Brad: It's interesting that you have first hand experience and know exactly what your instincts led you to grab. Hopefully your family has used up all their bad luck and you never have to rescue any Hoyas in future.

Quinn: I hear the way you're thinking. My first impulse was to grab one of the flats I keep my smaller Hoyas grouped on.

Mike: Yes, I am definitely a Wes Anderson fan. I loved your reference. I bet we're all a little more prepared should such a disaster occur just having thought so much about this topic now. Feel free to put on a jogging suit and take pictures of yourself with 20 hoyas in each duffle bag, though!

PG: I NEVER have any problem with thread hijacking (that would be pretty hypocritical of me!). I just like it when everyone's posting. Love the Nissei Africans.

David: You know you're totally dogging the spirit of my question with that lame "my gh can't burn down" answer. And you're the one I was imagining trying to drag your compacta out of a burning building when I gave everyone superpowers, too!

Matt: That sounds like one awesome aloe vera! I'm so jealous. What kind is it? I am in the market for an arborescens at the moment, I just have to figure out where I'm going to put it before I buy it.

GG,

The most that could happen would be that the shade cloth would catch fire and therefore cause the plastic to start melting and dripping. The thought alone of having hot melted dripping plastic falling onto me makes me wonder if i'd even go back in to rescue a hoya!!! If I did chance it though it would most definitely be my hoya lambii,of course you probably already knew that I was going to say that!!!

D