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.