July blooms!

Good on BRAD!!!!! Nice, Mel.

Lin...very nice hanging organization!!! Your plants really look lovely!

THAT is a great photo Gabi!!

Lin. I think I'm out of luck to copy what your hubby did. I'm disappointed. It is such a great idea. I have a lychee tree, but it is close to house and doesn't shade the pool area at all. DARN. The loquat is also too far away for any shade. I'll have to think of something. I'm slowly running out of room. Right now most of the hoya are just babies, cuttings received this year. I have a little time before they grow, but they really need more light. Being under the roof and facing east, they only get some sun until around 11AM.
Anyhow, tell your husband that he is a 'KEEPER'. ^_^

Imadigger: Hmm ... I wonder if you could somehow put wood or plastic trellis on top of your pool enclosure and hang the hoyas under that ... it would offer some protection from direct sun. It could probably be screwed into the aluminum braces, either from inside or on top of the enclosure. I think it comes in a couple of different sizes - about 8' in length but I'm not sure about the width. The wood trellis is inexpensive if I remember correctly ... the plastic comes in a couple of different colors and is a bit more pricey.

I'm trying to think of something to do during the winter time so that I don't have to drag so many plants into the house when we have cold nights. A gardening buddy from the African Violet forum (she lives in South Texas) covers her screened porch in, I think she said 6ml poly during the winter and her plants all do really great. She keeps telling me we need to do that with our pool area ... it would take an awful lot of poly to cover that entire area. I know I will try it for the north side of the screen but I'm not certain about the rest of the pool area.

Imadigger...what about the bamboo or rattan 'sheets' like ricf used...you could put them up for the summer months...might give it a tropical look as well...?

Great idea Carol! That really does give a tropical look and I think it would be much easier than the lattice too! I really love the look of that bamboo sheeting! I think I'm going to check and see if Home Depot or Lowes carries it. I bet you wouldn't even need to nail or screw it down to the roof of the screen room. I think it's probably heavy enough to just lay flat on the screen! I've really gotta check it out!

You could even pick up some dropped palm fronds and throw them on the roof. Now that would be authentic!!! :)

Love the nectar photo, Gabi. The hummingbirds would go nuts over that bloom.

Lin, Brad is 21 and the painting is a treasure. He had a very inspirational art teacher last semester and a talent for color and texture.

I haven't seen the bamboo sheeting, but, it sounds as it would be perfect. It would be superb if you could make a thick roll shade for your screened area. If you heat your pool in the winter, I'd think that would take care of some of those cool winter evenings. I look forward to seeing your creation!

Here is H. ameona.

Mel

Mel

Mel...great idea...those matchstick blinds...they are fairly easy to rig on the inside, as well. Or attactive material....I bet you could go on line and find ideas for 'window treatments' that cover ceilings either flat or sloped....

Thanks Lin and Carol. Both are great ideas. I think I like the bamboo sheeting better than the plam fronds. Although I have lots of fronds from the neighbors in back of me. They keep those scrub palms as a privacy fence. I usually cut off the dead fronds and use them cut up as mulch around my plumeria.

I am always picking up palm fronds in our yard but they are pretty ratty looking ... don't think my DH would appreciate them used as shade cloth. He would probably think I had finally, totally lost it! LOL. I do like the idea of the bamboo sheeting though.

Everyone's flowas are just awesome!! My Dischorensis bloomed today, another yellow flowa!!

Blessings,
Awanda

Very pretty bloom! I am loving all these long, hard to pronounce names! I write them down and then go googling to see if I can find any info about them! There must be thousands and thousands of different hoyas out there!

Beautiful blooms everyone! I've started a new job, and with the stresses associated with that there have been very few opportunities to post. I've only been able to quickly check in here a couple times a week, but it has been fun to read everyone's posts even if I have not had the chance to post myself. I will post a few of my blooms here even if it is what everyone else already has blooming.

Here is H. serpens, which has now been blooming since mid-May. It perfumes the entire house.

H. cummingiana, which with its summer growth spurt is now three feet high with 15-20 peduncles. It smells like Big Red Chewing Gum.

Doug

This is the H. cummingiana in the foreground of my small greenhouse.

Doug

H. lobbi is blooming away.

Just a couple more greenhouse photos. It is a short season here in VT, but it sure is fun while it lasts.

Doug

It is hard to make a mistake with growing Hoyas in the summer, but in the winter, I can kill any of them without even thinking about it.

Doug

Doug, Really nice pictures and that's the largest and best trained cummingiana I've ever seen.
I've been working with mine to get it shaped up and I really like how yours looks. Thanks!
Good Job! Jo

Thank you Jo. That cummingiana is six years old and the pride and joy of my collection. I decided a long time ago that if I could only keep one Hoya, and all of my others had to go that would be the one that I would keep.

Doug

Oh my goodness, Doug! You do have some awesome hoyas! I've got to add serpens to my wish list! I have a small pot of cummingiana cuttings that I've gotten in trades - had no idea that one got so large! I think I need to train mine on a trellis like that. H. lobbi is such a pretty bloom, love that color!

Your greenhouse photo makes me want another greenhouse! It sure would be fun to have one full of nothing but hoyas! I had a really, really large GH many years ago, but with working full time (sometimes 14 and 15 hour days) the GH got neglected and I finally had my husband dismantle it. Now I have a lot more lawn to mow.

Good luck with your new job - sure hope you will be able to pop in once in awhile with a pic or two of your beautiful hoyas, whether they are blooming or not!

Lin

Thanks for the kind words Lin! My greenhouse took up very little space. I installed it on our back deck. It is very small only 6X9, and it is a good thing that it is not any bigger; I have a hard time as it is to find the room to move the plants back inside the house in the fall!

Doug

Very nice! I didn't realize you had to load and unload it every year! I guess I just figured it was heated. But, I think I remember some wonderful photo's you posted of a room in your house that you have set up as a plant room, or was that someone else?

I guess living way down south I don't stop and think about what it would cost to heat a greenhouse up there. With the cost of electricity nowadays I know it is probably astronomical. Here I thought our electric bill of @ $300 a month with the pool pump running all the time was bad and someone (I can't remember where up north she lived) that her electric bill was way over $500 a month during the winter. I have heard some folks up north close off parts of their homes in winter to save on heating bills. Yikes! I guess I can't complain since we don't even have to have our heat on for very long in the winter.

Hi Doug! Nice to see you posting on here again!
Those are some great bloom pics, and I love your greenhouse (not to mention the plants in it!).
That cummingiana is gorgeous.

Gabi

Fabulous pictures, I always enjoy this thread so much!!

Seems I waited forever for H Cominsii to open it's blooms and then poof all three opened yesterday! Here is a picture of the whole plant...

~Brenda

And a close up of the bloom that snuck out from under a leaf and the rim of the pot ....

~Brenda

The hoya that remains my favorite so far in both scent and the fact that it blooms continuously. A bloom of H Verticillata comfortably resting on a leaf. ^_^

~Brenda

Brenda, I love the looks of the foliage on your H. cominsii. That's another new one to me. Really pretty flower but I love that foliage too!

So, H. verticillata is a fragrant one, huh? I'd love to see a pic of the leaves on that one too!

Here is a picture of H Verticillata with some foliage Lin, denser more compact foliage, I enjoy it too.

~Brenda

Very nice ... and a very pretty picture!

Great pictures everyone. I especially like pictures that show the leaves too. I just keep adding and adding to my list.
Doug, that greenhouse is awesome, the plants too! I can't believe the size of your cummingiana. I just put mine outside from under the patio roof. I hope the extra light and some sun in the morning will make it take off growing.
Brenda, I love the leaves on your cominsii. The flowers are georgeous too.
I wish my little guys would grow up fast so I have some blooms.

Get out, Doug! What is your secret on the serpens? I have had a serpens for 5 years and every last peduncle it has formed blasts every time. Your greenhouse is lovely! Are most of the Hoyas the ones you re-rooted earlier this year? Everything looks so lush and healthy!!! What growing media did you end up using? Did you decide to continue growing on in perlite? Did you design the greenhouse or order a kit? It is a beauty regardless. You most definately have it growing on, my friend! Also, congratulations on the new job and I hope the stress lessens as you acclimate to the environment.

As well, nice bloomers Awanda and Brenda! Keep them coming!

Mel

Found a few more blooms this afternoon.
H. archboldiana is one of my favorites.

Here is,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Oh heck, I've gone brain dead. Anyone want to name that Hoya?
Mel

H. subquintuplinervis

Good ol' Hoya obovata.....

Also had to share this lotus that opened yesterday morning.

Nice show that your obovata is putting on, Mel!

Gabi

Wow! I just love those humongous blooms on the archboldiana. That one looks like it has pretty large leaves too? That is one nice Obovata! I have a small one rooted of that, it will be a long time before it's anywhere near that size.

Lovely Lotus bloom too! How big is that pond?

Doug, your plants look so perfect. You definitely have the touch.
Nice picture of archboldiana, Mel. That is one of my favorites too.