Today is my Thursday.

Because I work tomorrow.

3 days off in the last 21 days blows.

Anyway, here some photos from yesterday. I am still sore from sitting on my butt without support for 5 hours and lifting heavy bags/pots!

Most of my time was spent trying to make a mix I was happy with. I was running out of Organic Mechanics soil (compost-based), so I went and got some orchid mix and dumped it in there. I added lots of perlite and a little vermiculite. This is a huge 10" pot full of the mix. Looking at it now, I'm still not quite satisfied with it. ::sigh::

Here's my setup for the large Hoyas I got from Ebay. (Still not completely satisfied with the chunky mix.)

This is my cuttings batch from Joni. Believe it or not, there's 7 cuttings in here!

Just a fraction of my setup. All of my soil and pots, with clean tools. The pink tub is full of soapy water to swish my cuttings in (it helps take off any bugs on the vines, if applicable). Plastic lining the floors and cuttings in plastic until I can work on them.

Joni's cuttings went into smaller solo cups. From just a day or so in their plastic bags, the aerial roots existing got crazy! I have a large amount of confidence that they will root.

Now, these? I am not sure.

I got the above cuttings from a well-known Hoya enthusiast and researcher. The top cutting (H. obtusifolia) was infested with mealybugs, hence my crazy careful setup. She refunded my money, which was a nice gesture. I never use rubber gloves to handle cuttings...until now. I was also very careful about disinfecting and soaking. All of the cuttings soaked at least twice in a two day span. I found mealies on the smaller cuttings from Joni, but since I didn't see any mealies on them upon arrival, I'm pretty sure it had to do with it being near that damn cutting for about an hour/being near the greenhouse floor. Dangit.

Anyway, they were all careful soaked and put into their cups. Did I mention that the cuttings in the above picture were HUGE? Most are over 2 feet long...and she was really generous with the extra cuttings. She gave me Hoya cuttings that weren't in the listing as well as a bonus cutting. I bought 6 cuttings from Joni and she blessed me with 7. I guess I'm lucky! (Especially since the seller of the huge cuttings is known for being brutal.)

I don't know what will root and what won't. I'm going for the bagged jungle method - it saves space and allows for me to tend to them quickly. I have a feeling I will lose some of them, but the big cuttings give me opportunities to start over if I mess up because I'm dealing with more than two nodes.

I will follow up in a few weeks with results. A month and a half should be enough time to figure it out.

Speaking of, H. pottsii sp. 'Chiang Mai' and H. pubicalyx 'Bright One' are growing out of their ever-loving minds. I love it!

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Random, but a bird was in my greenhouse, panicking when I got into the backyard. A bird. I had to lift up the flap and let the poor, scared thing out. Once it was out, I thought it's your fault. You wanted to come in! 

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For reference, here's the list of Hoyas I have received in the past week or so (no judging):

From Joni (mystery bundle): 

H. elliptica EPC-641
H. leytensis
H. cv 'Mathilde'
H. lacunosa 'Thai Clone'
H. pubicalyx 'Red Buttons' (which is funny because I was about to buy this particular Hoya on Ebay)
H. limoniaca
H. myrmecopa

From Ebay:

H. lobbii (red flowers)
H. fischeriana (bonus)
H. macgillivrayi (bonus)
H. fungi typical form
H. fungi broad form
H. multiflora (2)
H. mindorensis
H. villosa (?)
H. obtusifolia (thrown away due to an advanced mealy infestation)

*separate orders from Ebay*

H. clandestina (!!!!!!!)
H. merrillii

I'm still planning on cataloging the plants...I just have been scattered. And busy. :(

+heholyghs+

I can't believe I heard Chino's voice live just a few weeks ago.

I had planned on making a super Hoya propogation entry, but then it took me #@)(T%#*$ 5 hours to get from mix to sealed jungles of Hoya. No, it shouldn't take you that long. And yes, this is what happens when I see a )#(%*%#($ mealybug on one of the cuttings...

Mealybugs (and scale) are the most vile plant pests.

So, I will make an entry tomorrow...they better root after all my work!

Hip hip.

I just got 7 lovely Hoya cuttings from Joni at SRQ Hoyas. I ordered 6, but she gave me 7. :)

They're currently outside in a big, clear plastic bag. Lots of humidity. Lets hope I didn't waste my money!

I'm expected 9 more tomorrow.

I know, I'm out of control. It's my birthday gift to myself, though, so...:)

Aw, crap. Exactly 2 weeks until my birthday...this year went so quick!

Hail the Mirandas.

Sex and the City is my comfort show. Not even because of the obvious content. Something about just chatting about relationships makes me feel at home. You know, with three of your girlfriends. I feel like I'm watching one big relationship chat. Anyway, of all the ladies, I find myself drawn to Miranda. A type-A lawyer, she was portrayed as especially suspicious of relationships (as opposed to Samantha, who did not want relationships and prowled NYC like her personal sex kennel.) She eventually fell in love with a guy that may not have been the tall dark and handsome guy (Steve was actually short, pale, and had a deep NY accent) but she grew to trust him and love him. Yeah, anyone who watched the first movie knows what happened BUT I can relate the most to her.

I digress.

Today, I went outside to check on things. I actually had a new plant (Hoya fischeriana) to put in there, and I took a good, long look at the plants. No obvious bug infestations and most are doing great. The semps are suffering due to my underwatering, and my Haworthia turgida apparently doesn't like all of the rain (even in the greenhouse). Otherwise, everything looks good. I found H. fitchii trying to wrap around the new H. macrophylla. Ha! It's growing like a weed. H. pubicalyx 'Bright One' lost that yellow leaf I was worried about...and is not trying to produce ~5 more! Yay! Everything looks good. I am more than willing to get a few bug bites for them.

Hail the Mirandas, the fierce, successful, sarcastic, even-keeled ladies that may have a chip on their shoulders.

Fineshrine.

I cannot stop listening to Purity Ring. Oh my god.

Anyway, I started checking my plants for bugs at 4 PM. I just got done. It used to take about two hours...this is how you know you are either too much of a perfectionist or you have too many plants.

Luckily, no plants had bugs and all plants are doing well. Except for H. lacunosa, that continues hating me. She is going outside tomorrow. I dropped my Alworthia x 'Black Gem' and it fell down three shelves. Luckily it only broke the root ball. One pup came off, so I repotted and put the pup in its own little pot. His babies are moving out slowly but surely!

I'm in the process of photographing all of my plants. Some of my plants never get mentioned and I feel like that's not fair. I like all of my plants, and they deserve some attention too! So the next posts should be cataloging the plants.

Gotta go wash up. Have a great night.

Why?

I'm a very curious person. I used to get scolded for asking so many questions. I have to hold back a lot of the questions I have when I counsel and save them for my own time. I go out and search and find out for myself (heh, not about my members but more so in general).

I've been thinking about why I like plants so much. Moreover, why I like certain types of plants.

Mr. S has a post *somewhere* about generalists vs. specialists. I said that I was a generalist. That's not necessarily true at this point in my journey in gardening. There are many types of plants that I can admire, but would never want to grow myself. There are plenty of plants that elicit no excitement from me. There are plants that are so prone to certain pests that I would not dare bring them in my home.

I look around at my collection and I notice some patterns. Almost all of my plants something interesting about their foliage. If they don't, then they have interesting textures. If not either, then they have spectalular blooms/are everblooming. I also gravitate towards Hoyas and succulents.

Why succulents?

Hm. That's a good question. Maybe it's something about the thick, green leaves. Maybe it's something about how they store water in their leaves in case of drought. They grow happily in hot weather and most can take full sun no problem. The number of plants that can be considered succulent besides the ones in Crassulaceae (Jades, Echeveria, etc) and Asphodelaceae (Haworthia, Gasteria, etc). That's the neat part - there's hundreds of different plants considered drought-tolerant. Some are even cold hardy, depending on your zone (I'm thinking about Semps here)!

I started my foray into succulents with Diva, my Kalanchoe calandiva. She had beautiful, dark pink double blooms and big green, thick leaves. She is currently hacked down and I'm attempting to re-root her as she had difficulties after she stopped blooming. Anyhow, I followed that up with a Crassula ovata and Portulacaria afra and I've been hooked ever since. I tend to like the plants that can do well inside (Haworthia, some Aloes, Jades, and Portulacaria afra in a bright window). I have had mixed results with Echeveria, though all three cuttings I got from a generous gardener have rebounded perfectly in my greenhouse outside.

Why Hoyas? 

Now this is slightly more complicated.

H. macrophylla variegata. HOMG. I've been coveting this for a while now.

It took me quite a few months into my plant obsession to stumble upon Hoyas. Which is surprising because once I entered the world, I found it to be quite huge and somewhat competitive. More on that later. I saw a H. carnosa in HD a few months ago and thought it was cute. I fought off all of my omg, this looks like it would be delicious to a mealybug thoughts and bought a nice, large, clean-to-me specimen. Miss Hoya has since grown a huge vine, is in the process of another one, and wrapped around some stools in her day. I think that Miss Hoya (or H. carnosa 'Krimson Queen') is the perfect beginner plant for someone who wants to try a Hoya out. It grows so easily and without incident that it leads you to think about what others like it you can grow. I know I certainly thought about it.

Almost 5 months later and almost a dozen Hoyas later, I can easily see why someone can dedicate a whole life to these plants. The genus Hoya is vast. The genus Hoya is not yet closed to inclusions. There are always new plants being included. People search these plants out in Thailand, in China, in Papua New Guinea. Hoya collectors are for the most part extremely friendly. They love to share. They love to encourage. This is not to say that no other collector of any other type of plant isn't this way...but the whole atmosphere is pretty supportive and everyone loves these plants to death.

That's where my competitive comment comes in. Some Hoyas are very much in demand and the process of obtaining them is competitive. Forget Ebay - Hoyas on Ebay can get exorbitant very quickly. The more common Hoyas are just a click away. You want a H. praetorii? Good luck getting it within the US without importing from Thailand.

I digress. Hoyas are beautiful vines with beautiful leaves.

See?

They're also fairly easy to grow. Some like warmer conditions, and that's where things get a little complex. Some are just fine being inside of your house with bright light. I will admit that my Hoyas outside are beasting the inside ones, but the ones inside still thrive. (Though, for the record - most plants would prefer being outside with the moving air and humidity).

I also like big leaves on plants. Some Hoyas really fit that bill and I am always so impressed with the rigidity of the leaves and the healthy color of their leaves. They have veins that just make me wonder about who could have created such a beautiful plant. They don't mind occasional neglect (read: the more common ones don't...some species will not tolerate this) and they have GORGEOUS flowers. I do not have a personal photo of flowers as none of my Hoyas are mature enough to bloom...but they're gorgeous. Look them up.

This is from Joni's Hoya website, SRQ Hoyas. This came up on a google search for H. fitchii flowers. All rights for this picture stay with her, of course.

Anticipating the flowers is half the fun of collecting Hoyas. The above picture is of one of my current favorite Hoyas, H. Fitchii f/n/a CMF-8. It's growing like crazy! Sometimes, it takes years for the plant to bloom. I don't mind the wait, as I stick with Hoyas that have very attractive foliage. Even if they don't bloom, I still have a nice plant. Win-win.

That's enough for now. I'll leave you with a cute pic of one of my plant clips at work. I can't get over how adorable they are.

H. nicholsoniae.

A happy house is filled with plants.

And love, of course.

Anyway, I have a few new plants and I've been lazy with updating. I will - after the new plants - show a few of my favorite plants doing plant things.

H. pottsii sp. 'Chiang Mai'. I have a soft spot for Hoyas that have Chinese sounding names.

H. sp 910307. The leaves are big! A good 5 inches.

H. pubicalyx 'Bright One'. The yellow leaf concerns me, and it's outside for right now.

All three!

Euphorbia suzannae. To replace the deceased Mama.

OK, that's it for new plants. Onto plants doing plant things.

Catalina the Anthurium has huge leaves. Bigger than my hand! (This is why I haven't completely gone overboard with the Hoyas...I love the big leaves of Aroids.)

After a slight hiccup, Lil the Ledebouria socialis is happily offsetting. Phil is too - I think he's got three coming in.

Remember Amelia? I should never have potted her up when I got her in March. Hopefully she likes this smaller pot.

Excuse my messy background. Jazzy the Jasmine sambac has been a consistent bloomer for me. This time, she smelled so good, she made me turn to face her. I was on the computer and I said, "Is that Jazzy?" It sure was.

Horrible picture, but my Chlorophytum laxum is flowering! What cute little flowers. They don't last long, though.

What do I see here? Nematanthus 'Tropicana' is hoping to bloom soon!

This is not only my favorite gesneriad from my initial Violet Barn order, but this has also been my best grower.

And look at the underside of its leaves! I am in love.

And now I'll leave you with pictures of my (current) favorite Hoya, H. fitchii. (Acquired April 2012):

He is growing like crazy. I brought him inside because he had a ton of flies dead in the soil. (?!)

Just gorgeous leaves.