Congrats Kelly! Those buds are sooo cute. Keep us posted.

Hey, Nancy!

Again, glad to see you back! Had wondered where you (and my buddy Max) were!

Will email you when it gets warmer!

Hoping these don't blast - wondering if the buds are due to the plant being REALLY stressed...

Kelly

Congrats on the newset Hoya buds Kelly. I agree that the buds are most likley due to stress. Many plants will try to produce seed if they find themselvs in harsh conditions that could lead to their death. Funny thing though is that when I forget to water my Hoyas they seem to drop their peduncles instead of decising to flower one last time.

Mike

Mike,
Do you think they'll probably blast? Really think the plant needs to be repotted. Should I do it now and check the roots or first see what happens with the buds?
Thanks!
Kelly

I find this species to be very thirsty so it might be in trouble if it looks noticeably water stressed. Did you try watering and seeing if it made an improvement? The buds are quite a ways from being mature so I would probably tend to the plant and hope for the best. The buds could still drop but at least if you check the roots you will know if you need to reroot your plant.

Mike

Can't beat pink buds. Pink buds are like the baby shower cupcake of the bud world. Good luck with coaxing meredithii through this one. ^_^

On a side note, I recently had an orchid perform a swan song blooming, and was so excited last week to see it has miraculously pulled through with this tiny nub of new growth. It will be years before it looks pretty again, though. It's like the orchid version of Meyer Mike's rescued carnosa.

Do you ever wonder whether there should be plant euthanasia? (Or a humane society that rescues plants from homes/stores that don't care for them properly?) I really worry about plant torture sometimes.

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Right-o. We were talking about BABY PINK MIRACLE BUDS. And naturally that makes me think of torture and death because I'm a psycho. Carry on, folks!

GG I used to think that I should save those poor orchids at Home Depot but then reality hits. Having an apartment full of sickly looking Phalaenopsis is nothing short of a nightmare for me. I figure that seeing as those are mericloned hybrids and their life started as a clump of cells in a lab that their death does nothing to damage wild species populations. If I saw a nice Hoya that needed rescuing I think I might have a harder time deciding.

Kelly I forgot to ask you if this is the large leafed meredithii? I have one that is more likely callistophylla and then I have the large leafed meredithii and it seems pretty tough. Hopefully your plant pulls through.

Mike

LOL The image of you drowning in an apartment flooded with "sickly looking Phalaenopsis" slays me. I also enjoy the way you always draw that line in the sand between wild species and cultivars. It adds a lot of depth to the discussion.

I have to admit I was imagining plant hoarders in line with the animal hoarders who struggle with such heartbreaking compulsions (for all involved).

I understand that severe hoarding can be triggered by a stressful event, like many other psychological disorders, which has always been a scary thought for me. (I've inherited dormant minor league hoarding genes from both my parents) There are definitely moments when I think I've crossed the line into dysfunctional-plant-lady territory, so I can easily imagine a stressful event transforming my space into a potting soil encrusted wonderland in which I pick my way through Hoyas growing out of shattered pots and old tin cans.

At least with Hoyas there are some built in controls, whereas, if I collected, say, Saintpaulia, I could easily move to 500 by the end of the year, just through trades.

My Mom rescues those Phals and has good success with them! She had two in bloom and one in bud last time I was up there!

Mike,
Good call on checking the health of the plant. The roots were dead. It's now chopped up and in the rooting tank. Will be interesting to see what the buds do.

Yeah, GG, I think we all share that hoarding gene when it comes to plants...hmmmm.....Just one more! Wonder if we could have our own reality show!

Kelly

Oh, forgot to mention- it is the large leaf variety.

In the process of shuffling hoyas around came across some new peduncles and buds.

Mentioned this one before - cv Mathilde:

cv. Sunrise - this one bloomed as a cutting, but then dropped the peduncle:

One I received as coronaria, but thinking it might be an australis species. It's only fuzzy on the underneath of the leaf. Time will tell:

ANDDDD patella! At least I think this is a bud!

Hopefully Mike can verify (or not) the petella bud as I'm pretty sure he's had this one bloom!

Kelly I started with Phals and I still like them but I go for the species now. I just got a nice little Phal javanica over the weekend and that brings the number up to twelve species.
I rescued a sun burnt Phal a little over a year ago that had been abandoned by a student at the end of the year. I had to grow the plant for at least a year before it looked good enough to re-home but it made a nice raffle prize at an orchid society meeting. I just don't have the space to dedicate to a plant that I may not like when it blooms.

I have a couple other Hoyas in bud right now but some seem like they will blast or not develop for some reason. Hoya lasiantha has dropped half the buds on one peduncle although the other still looks good. Hoya sp square has had buds for a while now but they don't seem to be doing much at all. Hoya lacanosa 'Ruby Sue' has about five peduncles working on buds as well. I hope I will get to see some of my larger plants flower for their first time this year but many don't even have peduncles yet.

That is a bud on your Hoya patella and they can pop out at just about any node along the stems. Do you have the dark pink variety? My plant is white with a light pink blush but that dark pink variety is really beautiful.

GG I think I am guilty of orchid snobbery in some peoples eyes but I don't feel that way myself. I just find species plants and their adaptations and habitats etc. are infinitely more interesting. There are some very nice hybrids out there and I have a few but it's much easier to focus on species than it is the ridiculous number of hybrids there are now.

Mike

Are Phal's easy? My mom just has a little table pushed up to a window filled with them and she says she just ignores them. She gets really tickled with her $2-3 purchases!

Think I did get the pink variety of patella since I have pauciflora which I struggle with... The little bud is so tiny right now!

My lyi grew a peduncle with tiny buds last year and it has done NOTHING since! Same with one of the australis varieties I have. Because of that I figure it's too soon to start threads for these guys.

I'm thrilled with what has buds so far! Hoping this is a sign for what is to come for the rest of the year! The vast majority of my plants were started from cuttings and are still so small!

Got a couple of cuttings yesterday and am trying wrapping them on top of perlite in hopes of getting more growth points again! Think I'll do that for now on whenever possible!

Keep watching burmanica. Hoping it doesn't wait until this weekend when I'm going away for a couple of days!

Ohhh...I LOVE Patella...Congrats on all your buds Kelly! I have a small one(from a dear friend).Can't wait to see that one bloom one day. I was just going to ask you for an update on your Sp.square (which I think you purchased as lyi?). I have something similar happening on my Villosa...it has a couple of peduncles...what I thought was a teeny tiny beginning of buds...but its stalled since last fall,lol...No sign of growing. Not giving up though! Very exciting Kelly! Keep us posted...

Nany,
I think patella is a slow grower. I got a plant and a cutting from Joni at different times because I was getting so impatient for growth! BTW- having both WON'T make it grow faster! Thrilled with the little bud though!

Hope your villosa has just been waiting for spring! What a beautiful leave on that one!

LOL I hadn't thought of you as a snob, Mike, but from now on I'll watch out for your imperious ways. /nod

No, really what I was thinking was that part of what makes a plant beautiful is the adaptive logic of its characteristics. With cultivars you sacrifice some of this for some of something else. There's not really a right or wrong choice in all of that, but for someone like you, who enjoys extensive research on origin, etc, wild species would have more layers.

Additionally, regardless of what interests a person, specializing in a specific type or area is where the really interesting patterns and observations start to emerge. So, I just generally like it when people choose a side.

Kelly, I'm so jealous that you have a patella bud! Mine bloomed for me last year, but I lost it this winter. /cry When it was alive, though, it didn't strike me as a particularly slow grower. Probably didn't have it long enough to tell for sure, though.

Kelly, I absolutely agree...so far Patella is very slow growing for me too. I hope it picks up speed soon,lol...

GG, I'm sorry you lost your patella...my hoya condolences. At least you got to see a beautiful bloom before you lost it. You might have to put that on a "try it again" list. I think this one is worth it especially for the gorgeous blooms! I try to give my most favorite hoyas 3 chances...then if I still lose it after a third time, I guess its not meant to be :o(

Nancy

Thanks for the well wishes, Nancy. lol I've already got it on an order list, that's how much I like it (the leaves, too!) I think it was just a spot of trouble with the last one. I kind of feel like if a plant is flourishing and then suddenly takes a dive, you shouldn't take it as hard as if it never did well once. Granted, you still have to figure out what went wrong, but at least you're not a total failure!

That's great GG! I also love the leaves on patella...the fuzzy leaves are so cool! I'm glad you ordered a replacement already...best of luck when you get it. I'm kind of going through that with my Sigillatis...I'm not sure what's going on...but a few of the vines have dried up and few yellowing leaves. I LOVE this hoya and would be heartbroken if I lose it :o(...I've checked the roots and they seem fine...so I'm at a loss? I find this hoya very temperamental and fussy! Wish me luck!

You've definitely got me on the edge of my seat about the sigillatis. I remember your plant - it's the one that inspired me to try again after I lost my cutting somewhere between the rooting phase and the up and running phase. So spectacular! Please keep us updated as you investigate the source of the distress. What usually precipitates it acting up?

I wish I knew what triggers it...all I know is I see a few leaves yellowing or browning...then the next to go is the vine. I'll update if I ever figure it out or gets worse whichever comes first.

One patella bud has blasted or was knocked off...not really sure what happened. Does look like there's a second bud though!

Sigillatis has been tempermental for me as well. Lost one and am now trying aff sigillatis which appears to have a slightly smaller and not quite as colorful leaf.
Nancy, if I remember correctly, yours is beautiful!

Kelly

So Sorry about the your patella bud blasting or getting knocked off...been there done that :o(...but very glad to hear there's a second one, Yay!

Thanks Kelly, I really think Sigillatis is one of those that can go downhill rather quickly or with very little warning ...one day its doing well the next its giving me fits...good luck wilth your aff sigillatis.

Oh dear, downhill with no warning. Sometimes I really wonder what I'm doing getting into a hobby like this.

Sorry about the disappearing bud, Kelly! That's what garden gnomes are supposed to prevent, right?

Exactly! While there are no traditional gnomes there is terra cotta ground hog and terra cotta turtle, plus the cat's bed is right there....hmmmmm...that could be my answer....

lol! Perhaps you need a terra cotta dog?

Perhaps I do need a terra cotta dog AND cat. Bud #2 is now gone as well... This time I think it was me though...sigh....

Aw :(

I'm sorry.

Do you still have hoya meradithii?