First time blooming Hoyas

And I'll finish up writing today about some odd and end Hoyas, all first time bloomings this past summer.

Hoya davidcummingii - Not very big yet, but now has 5 penduncles, growing in S/H, shaded and warm.  Has been blooming off and on over the last month now and it definitely is one of the cuter Hoyas.  Also, it really likes to root along it's stem, you can see in the whole plant picture.

 

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And Hoya ilagiorum (sp?) now.  Although this plant did bloom for me a couple times early this summer, the plant itself doesn't seem very robust.  It just doesn't seem to grow as quickly as the rest of the Hoyas.  Come next spring, I may try converting it to S/H, see if it responds to that.  Right now, I water often, and keep it semi-shaded.

Hoya buottii - A great fuzzy flower, I am growing this one two ways.  One in S/H, the other in my Turface/Perlite mix.  Both are doing very well, and both bloomed for the first time recently.  The first picture below is from this past spring, then a picture from last week, showing how much it has grown this summer.  All of these pictures of are the plant in S/H.

 

And now, Hoya lobbii IML 1427.  I'm not crazy about this plant, it just grows up and up.  While it's outside, that's not a big deal, but as I grow this one warm, when it comes in for the winter, it's difficult to accommodate.  So I pretty much ignore it.  What a surprise when I noticed buds the other day, and then they opened!

 

Also noticed spider mites on this one, guess I'll have to deal with them here soon.

 

Hope you enjoyed!

Hoya publicalyx

Looking back over my posts, I realized I hadn't highlighted Hoya publicalyx.  Kind of surprising because, even though it is so common and even though it's almost impossible not to do well with it, it is my favorite Hoya I have.  I have three different clones.  The third one I received is 'Black Dragon' but as I haven't bloomed it yet, I'm not going to include it here.

The first publicalyx I received was in 2009 from an orchid friend in Washington State.  It didn't come with a cultivar name, so I just call it publicalyx.  This grows so easily.  I give it very bright, to partial direct sun (stronger in winter), let it dry out in between waterings (dry longer in winter), and it stayed outside from the hottest summer gets, down to freezing in winter. So it is pretty much one of the "easiest" plants I have.

Some pictures of this one, although these are from the past spring.

 

The second one I'll write about today, was in my first shipment of Hoya cuttings from Ted Green.  Different clone completely, as the leaves are a paler green, without any speckling at all.  It also has different culture requirements.  Although it too likes to dry out in between waterings, it seems to prefer more shade, and throws a fit if the night temperatures get below 50F.  Also, although I received this cutting back in 2009, it only bloomed for the first time this summer. I now have it growing up a 5 ft obelisk, which it is starting to take over, and has even grown a second punduncle.

 

Even though I know giving it a cultivar name doesn't follow the rules, as I'm not going to register it, I do call it 'Plain Jane' - reference to the plain green leaves.  The first picture here is a bit messy, but I want to highlight how different these leaves are from other typical publicalyxs.  Then picture of the blooms, which in person are a deep pink, kind of like Black Cherry, and the white hairs contrast so prettily.

 

 

 

 



Hoya heuschkeliana

I received both the yellow and the pink form of Hoya heuschkeliana a while ago.  Both seemed to take a while to settle in, and both managed to bloom for the first time this summer. Also, I am growing both in S/H, which they seemed to adjust to very well. I have only had these through one winter, but did grow it warm, and probably will continue to do so.

This is one plant my boys actually like, as the fragrance is just like buttered popcorn.  Stronger at night than the day, my youngest son, asks when it will be in bloom again.

Nice small plants too.

Starting with the yellow form. These pictures are from about 2 or so months ago, and it has been blooming off and on since then.

 

 

 

And now the pink form.  The first picture is the whole plant back in the spring, and the other two pictures are from this week.  It has started to fill in nicely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm so glad I have both of these, between the small size, cute habit, adorable flowers, and the scent of buttered popcorn, these have become a favorite.

 

 



 

Finally Hoyas

Wow, it's been quite a while since I highlighted any of my Hoyas.  Overall, the Hoyas didn't take the move as well as the orchids, but they seemed to have settled in now.

I'm going to combine three different ones in this post, I don't know if there are closely related, or even in the same Section, but to me they are pretty similar.  They are all relatively smalled leaved, small but easily flowering, and are not climbers. 

Starting with Hoya obscura, from one of the first trades I ever did with Hoyas.  I typically grow this one in pretty high light, which gives a beautiful red shade to the leaves.  Since we moved though I've kept it a bit shaded which it recovered, so in the picture below, the plant is not as red as it usually is.  As for watering, I water well and often, but allow it to almost completely dry out in between waterings.  It is growing in a 4 inch pot, in a Turface/perlite mix.  Flowers often all summer long.

 

 

 

 

And Hoya lacunosa, this is one of two different clones I have.  And unfortunately for both of them I left the big pots when I moved, there just wasn't room for them.  I had started cuttings of each of them in the last year, so these smaller ones came with me.  Here I'm showing a speckled leaf one, it probably has a clonal name, but as I got it at a big box store, I'm not positive which one it is. Grown shaded, moist and warm, it is potted in Turface/perlite mix. Although the flowers are tiny, it also blooms all summer long, and has the strongest fragrance, that to me smells just like carnations.

 

 

 

 

 

And the last one for this post is Hoya memoria, beautiful leaves, tiny but very brightly colored flowers.  I have this growing two ways, in S/H and potted in Turface/perlite.  Both growing well.  Also, I have a seed pod developing on this plant, when the pod is ready, I'll plant the seeds, see if they take.  No idea if it is a selfing, or the pollen came from lacunosa which is right beside it.  Grown moist, shaded and warm.

 

Hope you enjoy!





 

Angraceum scottianum

I've always loved white flowers, so you would think I would have at least a few Angraecums right?  Well, I used to.  About 5 years ago, I had at least 15 different Angraecums and Aerangis. Well, it wasn't a story with a happy ending. 

One summer, I was having a pretty bad slug and snail problem.  This was back when I lived in North Carolina.  After trying bait, diatomaecous earth, beer, coffee grounds and who knows what else (none of which worked), I desparately tried a home remedy concoction. Do I even need to finish this story?

Well the concoction seemed like it killed baby slugs, but adult ones - no effect. I swear I could see them laughing at me :)  But what it did do was remove the waxy protective coating off of 90% of my monopodials (no effect on the sympodials??), which all pretty much died within a couple weeks. You could actually see the difference in the leaves.  The only ones that survived were 4 Vandas and 1 Aerangis.  That is it.

Since then, I've only acquired one Angraecum - scottianum - as a very very small seedling.  It actually has grown well for me, and just finally bloomed for the first time.  I might have to start acquiring more again.  2 open flowers and 2 more buds on what is still a very small plant.  I can't wait for it to grow up.

 

 

 

More Dendrobiums

Well, it has been quite a while since my last post, 3 months.  During this time, we have moved from the panhandle of Florida down to SW Florida. So, it is time to learn a whole new microclimate again.  For the most part, the Hoyas and orchids survived, so far no casualties, but the Hoyas are just starting to recover from their sulking.  The orchids handled it much better, although quite a few spikes were damaged.

Also, during this time, I wasn't able to get pictures of many of them that bloomed, but here are some I managed to get.

Dendrobium tortile - I grow this one hanging right beside D. nobile, so the exact same culture.  Cool to hot, plenty of water and fertilizer while growing, and almost none when not.  This is my first bloom, and it looks like the first bloom for the plant.  A couple years from now, this should be a relatively big plant.

The color in the pictures are a bit off, it is more pink, less lavender.  This bloomed back in May.

 

 

 

Dendrobium griffithianum - from Section Callista, one of my favorites of that section.  I've had this plant for at least 5 years now, had divided it at one point.  The main potted piece eventually died, but the section I mounted is doing well.  Grown in typicall Callista Dendrobium culture.

 

 



And the third for today, Dendrobium delacourii.  The pictures do not do this one justice, the lip is extremely intricate.  Although not the first blooming for the plant, it is the first time I've bloomed it.  I have only had this for almost a year, but did keep it warm, and some watering through last winter.

 

 

Over the next day or two, hopefully I'll get caught up with the few other flowering plants I did manage to get.

 

Hope you enjoy!

 

Dendrobium sociale, farmeri and another

I'm going to combine these two Dendrobiums into one post, starting with D. sociale. Now, this is the second time I've tried sociale, the first time, it was doing well, but it was a few years ago when I was unsuccessfully battling spider mites, and yes, thin leaved Dens are very susceptable to them.  They killed it. Since then, I've found a decent chemical that helps control them, so here I am trying again.  Only one flower, and I guess most people wouldn't bother with this one, as the flowers aren't very big.  But they are so intricate when you take the time to look at it.  A couple pics, the first one is blurry, but was just trying to show the size of the bloom vs the plant.  And then two close-ups of the flower, one straight on, and one showing the beautiful lip.

And second, a Dendrobium I received as a keikii from a friend in CA, labeld sp. unknown.  It has now bloomed, and I think I know what it is, but I haven't compared it to the description yet, so I'll leave it as unknown.  Two shots, a whole plant (still very very small) and a close-up of the flower.

And the final one for today.  D. farmeri, mine is the pink one.  (Noticing a pink trend today :) ).  I've had this one for at least 5 years, and it is mounted.  I leave this one outside year round, protected from watering during the cooler months.  The leaves are pretty rough, but I wanted to highlight it as this is the best blooming I've ever had with it.



Hope you enjoy and take care.

Sarcochilus

I currently only have one Sarcochilus, a hybrid names Melody.  But Sarcochilus was the first genus, back 15 years ago that I fell in love with.  My first dedicated orchid book was a Sarco book, the first species I ever bloomed was Sarco. cecilae, although I killed it soon after that  :)

When we moved to Charlotte, NC and I was keeping the greenhouse warm nights in the winter, and the summer days were regularly around 100F, and very low humidity, I moved away from Sarcs. After we moved down here, since we have temps that would allow a Sarc. to stay outside year round, but give it a cool winter, I decided to just try one again.  Now, I mounted it, because I like the look of it mounted, but that probably wasn't the best idea.  As we prepare to move again, to a warmer area, I'm not going to acquire anymore until I see how this one does.  Anyways, it's blooming now, two spikes on a small plant (that whole mounted thing doesn't lead to the most robust plant).

Dendrobium ruckeri

And now, one of my favorite Dendrobium species.  Just love this one, the flowers smell just like honey when the sun is shining, but when it's cloudy, the fragrance turns to black pepper.  Easy grower, although it is an ungainly plant.  The canes branch freely, and I do have it mounted, but I've had to support all the canes as it just takes up too much space if I don't.  I grow this one just like every other deciduous Den, lots of sun, water and fertilizer in summer, lots of sun, no fertilizer, and almost no water in winter.

A reliable bloomer for me.

The whole plant photo shows the back of the mount, as the flowers opened facing the back.  But the plant itself isn't very attractive, so it actually looks better this way  :)

Maxillaria tenuifolia

I usually do try to call my plants by their update to date accepted names.  But this species is so commonly known as Max. tenuifolia, I figured I'd title this post with that name.  For those who care, the current accepted name for this species is Maxillariella tenuifolia.

This is one of those species that almost everyone has. And a wonderful fragrance as well, to me is smells just like coconut suntan lotion.  I grow this one differently than many people advise.  Currently it is in LECA and lava rock, watered daily in summer, and much less often in winter.  I give it Vanda level light, and leave it outside year round, which means it gets down to just above freezing in winter, and very hot in the summer.

Here is last year's picture, it was in a 6 inch pot, with some LECA in there. 

After blooming was done last year, I uppotted it into a 10? 12? inch pond basket, and filled in with lava rock  pieces.  The following pictures taken this morning. As I was bringing it into the house, my youngest son stated "Mom, why are you taking pictures of a weed?" :)  You can see it does grow like a weed for me. But it is not going to get repotted again this year.



I've seen pictures of this species with a yellow base color, and if I ever come across one, I'll make sure to pick it up.  Can't go wrong with this one.

Dendrobium Section Spatulata

I'm not really crazy about the Spatulata Dens, but I seemed to have acquired a few species of them anyways.  The first two, D. gouldii and D. attenuatum were included free in orchids orders.  D. canaliculatum and carronii I did buy.  I grow these a bit differently, and will describe how for each one.

First, D. gouldii, still a relatively small plant, it is currently in a 5 inch pot, with Turface/Perlite mix.  It doesn't completely dry out in the warmer months, but I do let it approach dryness in the colder months.  So far, I have brought this in for the winter and it's kept at a minimum night temperature of 55F, and grown under T-5s.  In the summer, it receives direct sunlight from mid morning until about 2pm - so a lot of light.  I fertilize year round, weaker in the winter though.  First bloom, two spikes.

Next D. canaliculatum, I bought this recently from L. Del Favero Orchids in Tampa Fl, in spike, so I can't take any credit for this one.  It is currently potted in bark in a 2 inch clay pot, but once it is finished blooming, I am going to mount it.  No culture info, as I haven't had it long enough to do anything with it.

D. attenuatum is still very much a seedling, in a 2 inch pot, growing in Turface/Perlite mix.  I grow this warm, Catt level light, evenly moist in summer, and allowed to approach dryness in winter.  This is the second spring it has bloomed for me. The white dots are honeydew, not insects.  This plant seems to weep a lot.

And finally, D. carronii, which I have discussed individually about a year and a half ago, but I thought I'd highlight it again.  The original post has much better photographs, but this year, it did give me three spikes instead of two.  Grown warm, Vanda level light, mounted, lots of water and fertilizer in summer, and no fertilizer and almost no water in winter. First a picture of it from last year again, showing the plant habit,

And I cannot find my photo from this past blooming.  But it did have three spikes.

Hope you enjoy!