Overblast!!

I don't know if anyone noticed, but the last 2 or 3 posts have been titled after DDR songs. I know, my Asian is showing.

Anyway, I'm posting because !!!!!:

From Joni (mystery bundle): 

H. elliptica EPC-641

H. leytensis IML-1287

H. cv 'Mathilde' IML/SRQ-3075

H. lacunosa 'Thai Clone' IML/SRQ-3047

H. pubicalyx 'Red Buttons'IML-0268

H. limoniaca IML-0092

H. myrmecopa IML-1375

From Ebay:

H. lobbii (red flowers)

H. fischeriana (bonus)

H. macgillivrayi IML-015 (bonus)

H. fungi typical form

H. fungi broad form
H. multiflora IML-153 (2)

H. mindorensis IML-1776

H. villosa IML-1663 (?)

!!!! You guys, all but TWO cuttings rooted! I thought I was going to kill them all.

Multiflora is doing absolutely horrible, even in hydroton. I guess I will just have to try again next year in the spring. I read that it's finnicky and slow to root anyway, so at least it's probably not anything personal. Ha.

I went outside today because we're supposedly to have tornado-like conditions here in Philadelphia. I tried to pin down and cover everything I could, but I could not resist taking a peek at the non-Joni cuttings. They all had roots! I am just tickled pink. Even the fast-becoming-a-favorite-H.fungii is rooting quite nicely. I haven't lost one cutting put into the buckets...I think this will continue next year. :)

Tomorrow, I will take pics. I hope they don't tip over.

A.

This week hasn't been the most fortuitous. I have:

- had the worst stomach pain of my life. I hope that is not like childbirth or I may have to tell my BF that it won't ever happen. I vomited and was in the bathroom all day. I think it was food poisoning.
- my dog saw a dog, got out of his leash and attacked another dog. I was not a happy camper.
- I got pissed off on my birthday.

So, yeah. Onto the plants. I wasn't around all week, so I was definitely anxious to see how they were. Luckily only one plant (it's actually a cutting - H. multiflora) is not doing so hot. The tub of cuttings was flooded (Philly got lots of rain during the week...Jersey did too) and some of the stems got bent. Otherwise, everything looks great!

H. pubicalyx 'Red Buttons' had a bent stem. So, I cut it and divided it. This piece is definitely rooted.

This is the top portion. It has crazy aerial roots, so it should root just fine.

Onto the next one. I ordered some hydroton for H. multiflora. It's soaking in a solution of water and superthrive.

H. multiflora really suffered. Look at its yellow leaves. :(

All potted up. I didn't have a big enough container, so that explains my setup. I hope it roots! 

So, this is where we stand with the cuttings:


From Joni (mystery bundle): 

H. elliptica EPC-641

H. leytensis

H. cv 'Mathilde'

H. lacunosa 'Thai Clone'

H. pubicalyx 'Red Buttons'

H. limoniaca

H. myrmecopa

From Ebay:

H. lobbii (red flowers)

H. fischeriana (bonus) [YAY! It rooted! It resisted a good healthy tug and I could see white roots out of the node. I thought this was a goner.]

H. macgillivrayi IML-015 (bonus) [this one seems to have a root out of the first node. I will check it next week]

H. fungi typical form

H. fungi broad form [this one seems to have a root coming in. I dug the cutting in further and will check it next week]
H. multiflora IML-153 (2)

H. mindorensis IML-1776

H. villosa IML-1663 (?)

I am very happy with how these ended up. Even if I lose two or three, that's a fabulous ratio of life:death.

I had to bring some of the Hoyas in today to prop them up:

Excuse the quality. I had to crop my heinously messy background. She lost a few leaves but grew them back in spades.

BAM. Look at that gorgeous new leaf.

I am pretty sure. H. sp 910307 hasn't grown one iota, but look at those leaves. Love.

  Here is proof that some of my plants thrived in my hothouse of an apartment: 

Flo^2. Luckily, her crown of leaves isn't completely drooped like Flora had.

Jazzy had one point of new growth when I left on Saturday. This was it...

BAM. She must have needed the constant humidity to grow from more points. Just when I think she is done with the new growth and flowers...

This snazzy fellow from Violet Barn had this bud when I left. Not quite as developed - so I was shocked when I saw him! He is supposed to have a white-throat bloom. I cannot wait!

My AC gang. They hang out on top of my AC and get the best sun.

Charlie is still blooming on several runners. Such cute blooms.

Just real quick.

Coral is trying to bloom again. :)

The happy cuttings. They're all doing very well.

I am off until next Thursday!!!!!! After working so much, I will definitely be taking advantage of this. I won't be home until Wednesday, so the plants will have to do with what I give them tonight. Grow grow grow, little ones!

2 more days.

So, I went outside to mist the jungle tents full of Hoya cuttings. Here's how they stand now, one week later:

Green = successfully rooted/good aerial roots which are turning into roots.
Bold black = not rooted yet but still healthy looking
Red = not doing anything and doesn't look good

From Joni (mystery bundle): 

H. elliptica EPC-641

H. leytensis

H. cv 'Mathilde'

H. lacunosa 'Thai Clone'

H. pubicalyx 'Red Buttons'

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. mindorensis is already dead. Someone tipped over my pot and that was all she wrote. H. fischeriana is a very thin stemmed Hoya, and is not doing well in the tent. I might transfer it to Hydroton next week.  Otherwise, I am very, very impressed with the rate at which Joni's cuttings rooted. It might be because they are so much smaller than the other cuttings. I'm praying to the Hoya Gods that H. fungii broad form and H. multiflora root, if I had to choose two. They have such compelling leaves and growth habits respectively. Of course, I'm hoping I have all of the rest root! 

H. nicholsoniae has those weird beads of fungus that Chaka got. I haven't watered it in a bit, but I guess the recent rains have started that off. I might wrap the pot in a bag to let it dry out. 

That's it for now. I think. Heh.

OT - LOL!

I am a big fan of personality tests. Ever since I was 13 (almost 11 years!!), I've been testing.

This is funny because I usually have stable test results. I took a temperament test today that I usually test Choleric on. Guess what I got?

LOL.

Hail to you who is Choleric!

The firm control when others ar losing theirs. The cut of decision for foggy minds. The grip of leadership to head us to the good. The willingness to take a chance in a doubtful situation. The confidence to hold true in the face of ridicule. The independence to stand alone and be counted. The road map to life when we've gone astray. The urge to "take arms against a sea of troubles by opposing them."

Here is how you rock:
You are a born leader, strong willed, active, dynamic, decisive, not easily discouraged, unemotional, independent, self-sufficent, confident, with a compulsive need for change & to correct wrongs, and you can run anything. At work you are goal oriented, you see the whole picture, seek practical solutions, quickly move into action, delegate, organize well, insist on production, stimulate activity and thrive on opposition. As a friend, you have less need for friends than other temperments. You'll work for group activity, lead, organize, and you excell in emergencies. You are usually right.

Here is how you suck:
First of all you don't think there is anything wrong with you. You think you are always right, so you can't be wrong. You'll probably think the following aren't even weaknesses. You are impatient, impetuous, inflexible, unsympathetic, bossy, quick tempered, dominating, and too busy. You can't relax, you won't let others relax, you like to argue, you won't give up when you are losing, you won't admit you are wrong, and basically you come on too strong. In the workplace, you have little tolerance for mistakes, you don't compliment others instead you are rude and tactless, you make rash decisions by glossing over details (unless you have a melancholly edge to you), you are manipulative & demanding. As a friend you tend to use people, dominate, decide for others, know everything, think you can do everything better than everyone else, be unapologetic, and be too independent.

But seriously, you are freaking awesome.

LOLOLOLOL I can't be that bad, right? Hahahaha.

Okay, sorry. I was having a moment. Back to plants.

Oh na na.

Hoya business: 

I'm pretty sure all of Joni's cuttings are working on rooting. That is, unless the rain this morning was too much for them. (They're enclosed in a bag with a hole for ventilation.

H. macgillivrayi (a bonus cutting from CB) looks like it will pull through. I lost one cutting (H. mindorensis) because someone )#(#U&(@ing knocked over my pot and it was out in a hot bag without anything to do for a whole day. H. multiflora (both cuttings) will be in water until I get my hydroton and can transfer them. According to other growers, it's very fickle. -_-

Other business: 
 
Queen Anne the Pothos is happily throwing out new growth in her cup full of water. I'm glad I pulled her out of there before she died in that crappy store soil it came in.

Oh yeah! I was watering Bernie, and I picked up his pot. I see something hanging out...something like a root. I pull it, and it moves. I am skeeved out. It was a worm! I unpotted him (his roots looks great!) and took the worm out. I'm calling him Waldo.

H. pottsii sp. 'Chiang Mai' is getting weird markings on its tips. It might not like being on the top level of the greenhouse.

I have to go to bed.

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. :(