hi,
I never tried to grow Hoyas epiphytically like Tillandsias and others, only in clay balls called hydropony. A few years ago I got a Vanda, and have a lot of problems with it and finally she died.
What kind of Hoya do you grow this way ????
Best
Geneviève

I have found that almost all of them will grow this way. The only ones I haven't tried are Shooting Stars and Pachyclada. I have several that are rooted in Sphagnum moss and attached to treefern plaques, some that I started in wood slat orchid baskets with just sphagnum and the basket deteriorated but the root mass was able to be stuck to a piece of driftwood, etc. Some of my vines grew into the leaf debris that catches in the greenhouse supports and just rooted there. I have cut them away from the main vine and they are content and just keep growing.
You can check my tradelist for varieties I am currently growing. SOme are potted, but many are not

I'm sure, Bihai, in your climate controlled environment, this type of growth is easy. For your average grower of Hoyas, outside, or inside, this is not the enviroment that most have or emulate.

Without containers, it would take a whole environment to support such growth. Most folks recognize that. And pot, grow, experiement accordingly.

I still have that bromilliad that we discussed ages ago.

I'm sorry, Cena, but I have to disagree. I have seen several examples of hoya grown epiphytically that didn't require a "whole environment" to support their growth. Anyone who can grow orchids indoors on a windowsill can grow some of the smaller species of hoya (and dischidia, considered a "hoya relative") mounted with sphagnum moss to a treefern or cork plaque and hung up. All you do is mist with a spray bottle to water, and to fertilize, use orchid fertilizer in the mist solution.
There used to be a pet store here which unfortunately closed after over 20 years in business, another independent mom and pop run out of business by box stores... the lady had an 8 x 8 indoor koi pond in the window hand built of landscape timbers, from which she also sold tropical water lilies and marginal pond plants. She had a little rock waterfall built onto one corner of the pond and tucked into the crevices of the rocks she started some Hoyas, a snippet of Vanilla orchid, some stoloniferous bromeliads and some Epipremnums in sphagnum. Over time, they had to build a lattice of macrame rope in the window which they wrapped with sheets of moss and the plants ran all up and down that. It was quite a jungle, and this was in the window of a strip mall pet store, so it wasn't any special environment.
Besides, I am not the only person in the world who has a greenhouse. Anyone with even a small greenhouse could also do it.
I am afraid you'd have to refresh my memory about bromeliads

Here are a few photos of some of mine that are growing epiphytically
#1 is a treefern plaque of Hoya bella. I have this to go (eventually) into a terrarium that I haven't made yet (sigh I may never get to it)
This does so well grown this way, you could hang this in any window indoors and it would probably love it. Just mist well!
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#2 are a Dischidia (hoya relative) and another H. bella on mounts, and the big Hoya "SIlver Pink" has roots in the ground, and also has roots in moss higher up where I had to cut the vine, so its growing both ways. Its an absolutely HUGE specimen that wants to engulf everything. I have had to cut it several times.
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This isn't a Hoya, its a Peperomia ovata mounted on cork with a little moss, also a future (whenever) terrarium inhabitant
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This is a Hoya kerrii that is mounted to a stick of grapevine. It grows up the wall to a piece of cork that hasn;t really been used yet, but will eventually have broms, orchids etc on it
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This is H. kentiana (sp??) All of its roots are in a mesh bag filled with moss stuffed behind the corkbark slab. It grows all the way down the mount, a distance of about 8 feet.
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and last, a Hoya minibelle, which is rooted to grapevine, and has grown all over the area, even adheres to the wall!
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Bihai,

Wow. Quite speechless.

Bihai that is amazing. Very interesting and beautiful plants. Thanks for the pics. BTW your Hoya bella is Hoya curtsii, no?

yes fredgrow you are right it is curtisii...I am not sure why I was writing bella!

Hi Bihai,

Thx for the spectacular show & pix, really tremendous, well grown & nicely photographed!

Yes, that IS H. Curtisii, not Bella, nicely lush! Nice Broms too, that Pep. is fabulous, I'm not familiar w/ that one.

I've grown Curtisii on bark w/ long sphagnum, loosely affixed w/ sewing thread. I had it that way for a year, but was too much for me to remember to dunk it in the kitchen sink every couple of days. But it was quite healthy & happy on the cork!

Bihai, can I pls. make an ID correction? That last shot which I believe you called mini-belle (don't know what that is), looks to me like Tsangii, aka DS-70, the leaf shape, the mid-rib, that suede like look.

Lovely plants and pics. I must say I do have to agree with Cena somewhat though as one must have a fairly humid environment or at least keep the bark and moss somewhat moist to keep them thriving in this type of situation.
Here in S. Calif, it is so darned dry in summer that almost anything grown like that and not misted daily would quickly dry out and turn brown I'm afraid. If one has the time to assure they stayed humid or not completely dry for a long time then it could be done. With as many plants as I care for, I just do not have the time to be keeping them from drying out if grown in that manner.
On the other hand, I am sure anyone with a greenhouse could do this easily.
Marcy

bihai I agree that Peperomia is fabulous and I really like that Dischidia too. It looks like a natural for growing epiphytically.

[I'm sorry, Cena, but I have to disagree]You're very welcome to but:"an 8 x 8 indoor koi pond, from which she also sold tropical water lilies and marginal pond plants implies a specialty environment", as does:"a little rock waterfall built onto one corner of the pond [with]a lattice of macrame rope which they wrapped with sheets of moss and the plants ran all up and down that. It was quite a jungle."

All of the above shout out Special Environment. I didn't see a pond, fountain, stream running through your green house, and it in its own right is a specialty environment.

I'm sorry, but if you are growing plants in your living room, even on your window sill the statement "it wasn't any special environment" belies that bit. Not so many people can afford greenhouses (I'm glad that you can) or even orchids.

I'm pleased that you grow successfully this way, but I STILL argue that it is a specialty arrangement that not many folks can achieve without $ and well, plant madness that we all suffer from.

Not so epiphytic, but still illustrating my point (forget the brom. Oh no, you have, no worries then).

My recent crop.

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So, yeah, I can grow orchids. But your 'epiphytic' hoya wouldn't last two weeks where I successfully grow my orchids. I DO disagree with your assessment on how common and easy this method is.

But thank you for sharing the beautiful pictures and broadening horizons, world round, eh?

Gosh Cena, your message is so sarcastic it drips, did you get up on the wrong side of the bed or something?
Just because it wouldn't work for you doesn't mean it might not work for other people who might want to try it, so why be so negative about it? Is it because you can't stand it if anyone disagrees with you?

And, I still DO disagree with you. Still think anyone in any house with a spray mister in their hand could mount some hoyas on a piece of treefern or cork with some moss and grow it in a window. Maybe you need to broaden your own horizons a little rather than picking on other people who have growing suggestions that you don't happen to like.

I know how dry CA is, I lived there for almost 8 years. And, about the bromeliad, whatever it was, sorry, but it must not have been a memorable offer of I might have remembered. I don't accept every trade offer made to me, as I am certain you don't either.

Nice orchids, Cena.

WoW! Whoddathunk it? An innocent question about Hoya growth technique bring out the snottiness in some people. Someone seems a bit put out that they cannot afford a GH. Not everyone can. That's just the way it is.

I don't have a stream, fountain or pond in my humble Ohio living room. Just a spray bottle and a Vick's Vaporizor that I bought from WalMart for $9.97 a few years ago. But I grow stuff like this:

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I have no room for a greenhouse on our property although I do wish for one. I do have Hoya (don't know what kind)growing on tree fern bark too. They require the same care as my other mounted orchids, which are mostly from Ecuador. I am not an expert in anything but what I do without a GH in drier than the Sahara indoor Ohio winters works for me. Even the Vanilla Orchid is thriving!

I know not much about plants but I am sure most anyone who puts in a bit of effort and a dose of common sense can get plants to grow under less ideal conditions or without that special enviornment. Some plants may do well and others will not. That is true for anyone under every condition.

There is no need to say that something cannot be done if obviously it has been done. Certainly there is no need to challenge someone because maybe a trade was turned down? Perhaps if you tried to grow the Hoya of TF bark you may be rewarded with a lovely display.

Hi Bihai. Beautiful plants! From looking at your pictures I think one of mine is the Hoya Bella as in your first pic. I mist them once a day and then once a week they get dunked in a bucket of water for 5-10 seconds with a very weak plant food added to the water.

C3D

Hi Cena,

Long time no see, lovely Orchids, nice to see both you & them.

Can I pls. ask that whatever the problem is here, that you kindly take it private? It doesn't seem this is the place for it & several people have noticed you appear a tad upset here.

Also, this was a wonderful thread by Bihai, whether one can or cannot grow things similarly, it's still a stupendous show that I'm sure we all agree we can all appreciate.

Bihai, thx again for sharing this wonderous beauty w/ us.

Pirate Girl,
I want to thank you for the correction in the identification of my mislabeled Minibelle. I have had that plant for several years, and never knew what cultivar/species it was. Once, I posted a photo of the blooms only (the whole bloom circle is only about the size of a quarter) and someone from the Hoya forum responded and said "Oh, that's Minibelle". But in looking at photos of both Minibelle and Tsangii, I believe that you have the correct ID and I have changed my label.

I am sorry that by posting a thread about something as simple as an "alternative" growing technique that I seem to have started something unsavory. Certainly that wasn't my intent.

I grow many many differnt types of tropical plants. I always try to research the plants I grow adequately before committing myself to them, so that I can hopefully give them the environment and care that they need to thrive.

In my research on Hoyas, I have found many many citations supporting the fact that many, BUT OF COURSE NOT ALL, Hoyas are naturally epiphytic in the tropical forests of the world. I must have 10 hoya sites alone bookmarked on my computer, and probably more orchid sites than that. One of the best sites is that of the International Hoya Society (www.international-hoya.org) which details the different habitats and growing conditions for hoya in nature. There are others as well, you just have to Google Hoya to find a wealth of culture data on the web. Mounting Hoyas is not a new practice, just like mounting bromeliads and some orchids is also not a new practice...most of the orchid species of the world, and most of the bromeliad species of the world, grow naturally as epiphytes and lithophytes. Containers are for the convenience of people, not for the convenience of the plants, and everyone has to grow the way that's easiest for them. I personally think that its fun and rewarding to try to grow things the way they live in nature, and not to put too fine a point on it, I was growing mounted plants for years before I was fortunate enough to be able to construct my greenhouse, so, no, you don't have to have one to grow mounted plants.

Happy growing to all of you, no matter how you grow. As long as its fun and rewarding for you, and for your plants, that's all that counts.

Exceptional plants all, and a very interesting thread.

The only thing I would want to add is that for ME, growing dpiphytically is WAY too high maintenance. I've tried it and I always lose them because:

1) If I grow them in the GH, the heat in summer dries them to a crisp (and mine doesn't get much more than morning sun...)

2) If I grow them in the house, I have to take them down every day or so and water them, let them drain off, then put them back. It would be a full-time job.

3) Misting where they sit doesn't really work because I have beautiful old woodwork and antiques I don't want to ruin with constant moisture.

I think if you have the time, space and humidity, it would be wonderful to grow them this way. But I grow Hoyas and succulents because they're low maintenance plants and turning them into high maintenance plants would just suck all the fun out of it for me.

But I have great admiration for people who DO take the time, so congrats on your great success Bihai! They're absolutely stunning grown this way!

Denise in Omaha

I have grown many epiphytically , its just so much easier that way . I have poked cuttings into Aspleniums and Platyceriums that grow on many of the trees , even used lengths of Hoya & Dischidia to tie on orchids and bromeliads to trees . Have had a hunk of driftwood hanging up in a shade house that has several plants growing well , an Oncidium some Tillandsias [self sown] and a Hoya caudata that is nearly always in flower , only needs the stem drapped back over the log every few months . All this is pretty easy when you get meters of rain and live in the tropics ;-)

Awsome! Why don't you show us a pic of that log, Aroideana? I'm sure I'm not only one dying to see a pic...

Denise in Omaha

aroideana,
I would LOVE to see your pics! It would give me some fresh ideas for mine!

No, but I do well, as I grow. As many have said (claws and fangs aside) grow well, as you can...

Yes, I can.

Mmmm, you can tell that's me, from the scar on my thumb. I call this Hoya 'Rose'. It has the yellow center, and smells like roses. The plant, pix before this, is at least 30 years old.






I don't grow epiphytically. It doesn't work in my climate. No, I don't have a green house. Perhaps, I should be shunned and post pix somewhere else...

I, too, grow other things. Not Heleconias, though!

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Ya, know, my bromeliads aren't very note worthy...

But, I grow multitudes well, and without acrimony for the most part. The point I was trying to make, was that a green house or water source within a green house was not a typical growing environment. BUT, all can be successful, no matter HOW they grow.

I've just shown you what Growing OUTSIDE with less then 10 inches of rain each year looks like.
(Except for the cactus in the Rubbermaid chair. We had 22 inches of rain that year.)

Hope you enjoyed the show.

Sorry, Karen, I got here late, and had to catch up.

Oh, better stick a hoya in there and Be On Topic, eh?

Pet 'crab spiders' pretty in pink!

So, I have trades available.

Good for you Cena. Your things are lovely, but your sarcastic attitude still shines through. Bet it took you a long while to take all those photos special for this little show and tell, ummm? Why in the world this obsession you seem to have developed with trying to put me, a virtual complete stranger to you, (who only communicated with you briefly on another forum that turned out to be too slow for me, so I quit posting) down would weigh so heavily on your mind is anyone's guess. Bored lately, are you? Hope you get over it, for your own sake.

Yeah, this is becoming quite ridiculous. Are you trying to prove something? I don't have a GH either and I'm not trying to "get back" at Bihai by posting nice pix of my plants (not that I have any anyway!). Anyway, SOMEONE is very bored and a very bitter. Get over it already Cena.

Oh, Cena, I just noticed your last post and how you had to put a pic of a hoya in there to be "on topic". You haven't been on topic at all, even by posting pics of hoyas! This is a post Bihai put up about growing epiphytically. Nobody doubts that there are other ways to grow, and each way suits each person. But Bihai never said growing epiphytically is the ONLY way to grow. So congrats on your lovely flowers, but maybe start your OWN topic elsewhere to post them. And I agree with Bihai...for YOUR own sake, move on. You are really making yourself look pretty darn pathetic.

Bihai,
Love your post and your pics! Very nice indeed.

Very Nice Stuff Cena, but what gives???

Bihai, some of these pix are not new, Cena is not new to GW either & was an early & enthusiastic contributor here when Hoya forum first opened.

She's grown lots of fab stuff including Hoyas, some of whose pix here I recognize from past postings.

That said, Cena, I don't know what your problem is, but why don't you take these gorgeous & varied pix over to the Hoya Gallery, posting Hoya pix there & the other non-Hoya stuff perhaps at the Houseplant Gallery which I see you visited recently.

So sad that you seem intent on contaminating those beautifully grown & photographed plants w/ whatever issues & animosity you seem to be harboring lately. Since I DO know you personally, I will say that directly; pls. stop it. I know you've been gone from here a long time & personally, it's kinda of irksome that you only seem to be partaking here to make waves, it's not appreciated!!