latifolias, new hoyas, addictive personalities.........

ANd here is obovata from last year, this used to be the only area where I had a few hours of sun a day, and it was perfect, but the big tree that was there was cut down this spring, so now it is full sun all day and way to much for the hoyas.....

oh wait a minute, thats not obovata, that's Boo from Monsters Inc.... ( also known as Hannah Banana, my niece - or sometimes we call her Hannah Montana...) I am glad I checked to make sure the post went through....

HERE is obovata, on the side patio, that looks like nummularioides on the left, polynuera on the right, a carnosa behind the numm and I can't tell what is in the background, it was a year ago...

Here is an older picture, I think taken last summer, this is in the foyer, which is also a small atrium with skylights, the best spot in the house, and this is one of my oldest hoyas....when it was very young, part of it died back, so I stuck cuttings from another carnosa in with it. They all grew together, but when the plant bloomed about 10 yrs later I realized that the original plant was a Pubicalyx Pink Silver, and the cutting I had stuck in to replace the dead part was a green carnosa. My untrained eyes back then did not see a difference between the two varieties....now I am kind of glad of the mistake, the plant blooms constantly and the 2 colored flowers make it a pretty sight.

Brenda, I'm putting that hoya aff finlaysonii on my lust list. The flowers remind me of fireworks! The leaves are gorgeous, too.

Willow, I bought two imperialises at the same time, as I mentioned earlier. The one in the humid, bright-but-indirect-light western-exposure bathroom window has grown like a weed, but the one I have in direct Eastern sun in my office window keeps aborting leaves and is struggling. It's been a fun experiment - I recently moved the office plant out of the direct light to see if it'll grow better. I've noticed that sometimes moving the hoyas around help jump start growth. I had this happen with a nummuraloides that showed no signs of life for 2 years, until I switched it from a west-facing to east-facing window a month or so ago. Now it has several new growth points....The same happened with some pottsii that were sulking. I moved them to a different spot and they just started sprouting!

Nice pictures, Jen and Jen!! I like the h. hannah banana the best! Cute little girl!

Thanks for the encouragement, Carol! We'll see.....

Karen

Yes, I agree....adorable little girl!
And Jen, it looks like you DO get good light. Well, either way, your plants are obviously happy!

I love this post! I love seeing everyone's pictures!!

Gabi

I just LOVE everyone's creativity about how and where they display their plants! Such cool people!!
Ann

What a great way to spend a rainy day. Everyone's plants and decor is just marvelous, thanks for sharing and letting us into your homes. This was fun.

My bedroom window, the only room in the house clean enough to photograph.

A closeup of the same window- of H. australis ssp. australis 'Brookfield' on the left and H. albiflora on the right. Albiflora is one of my faves, giant leaves, some over 10" long, 4" wide, a beautiful apple-green, and fuzzy. Grows like a weed.

Jen-havanna, what beautiful plants you have, and an adorable niece too. I really think you are selling yourself short on the light thing......I have plants on walls across from windows, and they still bloom consistently. I am hearing all the time that hoyas are understory plants in nature.

Mark, I like how your hoyas are hung in the apex of each window - very classy. Please show us more?

Tami, you are right, this is a little bit like going visiting isn't it? Sort of a cyber visit. Still getting great ideas though. Mark, are those 2 tomato cages, one inverted on top of another? What a great way to trellis hoyas. Hmmmmm.

Sara

well, finally got the batteries - what I really needed was coffee, and there was no way I was going to put that off!....the above pics were taken outside, in the atrium, or right in front of windows, so yes, it does look brighter...becuase my plants are spread all over right now, it is hard for me to get "group" shots like you all have here, so rather than bore you with individual shots of each plant, I will just show a few...first the atrium plants, they are the ones in the foyer.

Here is a better shot of the "Pink Silver Carnosa"

this lacunosa is in a 4" pot, cuttings saved from a big EA basket that died last fall

inside, the only window that isn't blocked by tree shade, smaller plants on the table below, most of them outside now

this is another pubicalyx out under a wisteria arbour - not very exciting I know, but if you look to the left, you will see one of my little squirrel buddies, not sure but I think it's Big Mama.

Here is how I rigged some wiring to hang some plants under the 3 foot eves, which are another reason not much light reaches the windows...

here is a picture showing the eaves a little better

and here are the last few shots with small groups of plants in one place, rather than 15 shots of individual plants - not only do I not want to bore you all, but I am getting kind of tired of doing this....

as you can see I just hang them wherever space will allow in this one small area outside, but unfortunatly space is limited and I wind up rotating them so that every one gets their turn outside in the real light

Last one, I can't take anymore. Maybe tomorrow I will take some pictures of the kitchen window and the plants under the flourescents but I have had enough for now.

Oh ok, one more....this little plant is my favorite - David from Georgia is where the cuttings came from last year - and it has it's first peduncle!

But you can see that there is no rhyme or reason to the way I keep my plants, no sense of ambiance or interior design - just stick them where the light is, without putting them in the burning sun. Ever since the tree by the side patio was cut down, I have had problems with burning if I don't keep the plants back under the eaves, but the tree being gone has made the patio window a little brighter, which helps in the winter. I think this winter I am going to try to find some more room in the atrium for hanging plants.

(yes, Hannah is a cutie pie - and what a personality! She is too much! It makes my day to see her...)

H. 'Iris-Marie', also in the bedroom. This grew from a 2" plant from Cowboyflowerman this winter through a four inch pot and recently into a 6"pot. Another hoya that grows like a weed, and has amazing flowers.

Sara, that is a double tomato cage. I find that the small tomato cages work well for hoyas, they are made of narrower material than bamboo hoops, so the plants actually twine around them, whereas they usually have to be pinned to bamboo. With the really vigorous ones, I usually end up cutting the legs off of another small tomato cage and using zip-locks to fasten it atop the old one, to give the plant a bit more room. So far only macgillivrayii and its relatives and australis and its relatives have needed the double cage.
This is the living room- the tables are from Ikea. The swedes have good taste, huh? Hoyas AND Ikea.

This is my courtyard. There are hoyas hanging in the tree in the back left, on the support to the left, and against the house past the small, potted tree.

A close-up of the bamboo support. I use this to hang my indoor plants outside and water and clean them with the hose.
There are some night-blooming morning glories planted below to climb on the trellis, but they are still very small.

And polynuera, also outside, on an iron hoop bolted to the wall.

Jen - your plants are beautiful, no matter what you think of your displays!!

Mark - Beautiful plants, and I LOVE your courtyard - how nice that must be to sit out there!

Karen

I like the 'Stealth' chairs, too!!! NICE courtyard, Mark!

Jen, your plants are all super healthy, and so big. I like how you are hanging them outside under your eaves!! What an awesome grouping. Personally, I don't have a design style....everything created itself, basically at antique malls thrift stores, and end of season sales. If it looks like something I can put a plant on, I would buy it, and put it wherever it seemed to fit best. HA!

Mark, cool house, and brilliant courtyard! It reminds me of the little outdoor cafes that were tucked between buildings when I was visiting Italy!! All of a sudden there would be an iron gate, awesome foliage, and little cafe tables just tucked in. Ahhhhhhhh. Are you able to leave your hoyas out year round?

Thanks for a wonderful glimpse into how other parts of the county live........Sometimes I forget that there IS anywhere other than Montana! How inside the box is that?!

S

Sara, some do stay out all year. Carnosa, pubicalyx, seprens, fungii, motoskei, polynuera and villosa never come inside, unless they are in bud. They take forever to bud and bloom outside, so I bring them in to hurry the process along.

I'm just getting started in hoyas. My collection is growing and it has been very helpful seeing how each of yall display your babies Thank yall for sharing.

Jeri

That's one drop dead gorgeous aff. Latifolia in the first pic! I can't stop drooling.

Also, that 100 year old carnosa is a real beauty!

Thanks for sharing the pictures.

S

Ok, I got MORE new hoyas today. Dmichael619 had some awesome hoyas on ebay recently, so I inquired about purchasing cuttings from him................

17 new hoyas later, this is what my kitchen looks like now. I just don't know where they will go, but hey, it will probably be fun figuring it out. Very awesome, and generous cuttings, I would definately say a box from David Michael rivals the boxes we get from David Liddle - really a treat!!

Oh, how cool, Sara!!

Whaddy'a get?

Karen, my bathtub isn't clean enough for hoyas (clean enough for kids, but definitely not plants!! HA!), or I would have soaked them the way you did your cuttings from Carol. Here is what I got from David M:

H. onychoides
H. sp. philippines
H. cv. jennifer
H. calycina
H. tomataensis IML1394, GPS 8860
H. meliflua ssp. fraterna
H. affinis
H. el -nidicus
H. siariae
H. retusa
H. archiboldiana
H. subcalva
H. bordenii
H. magnifica
H. excavata
H. sulawesi GPS 8865

Here is a little better condensed picture. Now, I just need to go and find some cutting pots.......OINK (Watch out Ann, I may be closer to you than I thought!) :)

Sara

NICE score, Sara!!! Those cuttings look fantastic!

Karen

Sara, those are some awesome looking cuttings!! Who'd you say you got um' from!!!!! Oh wait a minute I think I know him!!(LOL)

I' dont know if i'd go as far as to say they rival D.L's. but they're a close second!!!


annonymous!!!!

oooh, cv Jennifer - for some reason, I have always wanted that one...

So exciting to see new arrivals, it almost feels as good as getting them myself. Have a few Rolling Rock bottles laying around, Sara? Probably trying to figure out where you are going to put all the new plants is driving you to drink. Or maybe they are driving your family to drink....

What's the small roundish leafed one third in from the left, first picture?

Ok Jen, first of all, those beer bottles are a COLLECTION!!! HA! It took a lot of hard work getting those "collected", and like all good collections, it takes time to build them up. Seriously, Whenever there is a barbecue, I am always digging bottles out of the garbage to wash for rooting cuttings. The colored glass keeps the water from getting so stagnant, and things just seem to work. Bryan considers contributing to the bottle collection just his way of helping me out with my plant growing!

I really love the cv. jennifer, it has cool leaves, nicely veined and thick. I am not sure about the round leafed one, I will have to look.

LOL Dmichael - always good to be humble................

S