Beautiful! My H. Schneii is ready to bloom in a couple of weeks. My other hoyas are not.

TPie

Does that erythrina have an IML? It looks like a broader leafed one. That's a really nice photograph, Mike.

I really like walliniana, too. It's just a good solid Hoya all round. It's not difficult to care for, its leaves are cute and its structure compact, it grows fairly quickly. And look at that umbel! Sometimes I'm amazed the peduncles can support such weight. Makes me smile.

Thanks Tammy and GG. This Hoya erythrina came from Paul Shirley and the leaves are quite broad and the leaf tips much less pointed than in other collections I have seen. I would grow more than one Hoya erythrina because they leaves are very attractive. I never seem to give my plant enough light for the leaves to turn red but they can and it is stunning when paired with those prominent leaf veins.
I have a bunch of close ups as well but I want to try some photo stacking to get better depth of field in my macro photos. The curved umbles of flowers that Hoyas produce can make it really difficult to get an image that is not at least partially out of focus.

Mike

Love your photos, Mike! Another erythrina worth having is H. erythrina 'Bajo'...even with artificial light, it's leaves turn a beautiful red. Joni has this one available, at least the last time I checked...and it's a fabulous hoya to have...I find it much easier to grow than the regular erythrina..which has given me "fits" at times! Patrick

Very nice Mike,I would love if my erythrina would bloom for me.But I guess I will have to be happy to look at your photos.

I find Bajo easier than some of the others, too. Really, the only erythrina I have found temperamental is the one I got from TG, which is my favorite! :\ It's a narrow leaf one.

I think there are a lot of interesting erythrina collections - easily discernible from one another. It's a great species for collecting multiples of. Still waiting for blooms myself, though. ;)

I have finished some preliminary work using a photo or frame stacking program and am quite happy with the results. I will need to learn to use the program better but the results are promising.

This is a photo stack of 11 macro shots of Hoya erythrina. To accomplish image stacking it is best to use a tripod. Shooting multiple macro frames where you vary area that is in focus across the entire subject allows you to stack these photos and ultimately obtain an image where the entire subject is in focus. Photo stacking certainly allows for a very impressive final image.
I would call this image a success but others I have attempted did not turn out so good. I still have quite a bit to learn about the program and its functions.

Thanks Patrick. I will have to see if I can track down another form of this species. I do love the look of the leaves alone and my plant has always been a good grower for me.

Thanks Cindy. My plant is pretty large and completely obscures the four foot high bamboo ladder I made for it. Is your plant still quite young? What form of erythrina do you have, from Paul Shirley or another source?

GG I agree that the different collections of this species are all quite different. The leaves are quite variable but I find that if you look at photos of the flowers they also show some differences.

Mike

Those shots are STUNNING Mike! You did a BEAUTIFUL job in both the photos and the Growing :0)
Always a treat to see your work!

Awesome pictures, Mike! H. erythrina and walliniana sound like plants to put on my wish list!

Brad AKA Moonwolf

Thank you Golden. :)

Yes Brad I would reccomend both of these Hoyas. Hoya erythrina is especially nice even without blooms.

Mike

Oh my. You do pick up amazing detail with your photos Mike.

That is a lovely bloom. Would that be the same erythrina as the cutting I got from you a few years back? The leaves look the same...(hoping, hoping).

Kelly in Victoria

Thank you Kelly. Yes this is the plant that your cutting came form. By the way how is that Hoya sp Thailand growing? It's the one with the hard leaves that are slightly folded inwards. Mine has yet to bloom even though it has made a few peduncles, grows like a weed though.

Mike

Mike my cutting came from aleya.I have had for a few years but it dose not seem to grow very fast for me.Its one of my hoya's that I have not yet changed over to S/H,when I get the time I will get the last few done.I hope this gets it going.

Wow Mike... those erythrina leaves are to die for. In the pic they look so glossy & shiny. Is that the way they appear in person too?

Beth

Beth the leaves in the photo are especially shiny because they are still young. This plant does have leaves that are quite shiny but I also spray my plants with a water/Palmolive soap solution every couple of weeks to combat pests. Even though there is not much soap in the solution it does shine the leaves, must be the palm and olive oils they use to make the soap.
This is definitly a Hoya that has both beautiful leaves and amazing flowers.

Mike

Mike, wow, how did I not realize how gorgeous erythrina is? Beautiful pictures. And this one is going to the top of my wish list.

Renee

Hi again Mike

I am delighted it is one and the same! I googled the blooms a year or so ago, and thought well, ok, that's nice I suppose. These photos tell a whole different story. Took one look and thought - yeah baby! I am a sucker for fuzzy little edges. Never bloomed one yet with fuzzy edges, but the photos hook me in alright.

The sp. Thailand is doing well I think :) It sent out a vine last fall, that didn't get very long (maybe 6 inches) and then the tip died back (possibly nudged). It is sending out another vine that is in early stages, maybe 5 inches (pretty thick vines from the get-go too). The vibes I'm getting from it is that it's going to take off and grow like a son of a gun this year. At least I hope it does.

My house has been particularly dull this year, so growth has been slow all around, and a lot of tip die-back (thoughts anyone?). Gonna consider supplemental light this fall, but we have to sell our house first. Saw this house the other day with a fabulous insulated sunroom. I just about died. House was overpriced and impractical on so many levels. Jeez I get tired of having to make practical decisions though! Do the lads really need their own bedrooms? LOL.

On another note, palmolive you say? I have used soap washes before, but never sure which to use (detergents and all - safely?). Unscented palmolive works well does it? I tend to get aphids come the warmer weather, and if I stay committed I know I can get rid of them.

Lastly, when do you think it is safe to order cuttings in the mail? I usually wait until May or so, but then find some places are out of what I want (for a few weeks anyway), as others have been ordering for weeks if they live in warmer climes. I may be messing with forum etiquette by covering so much ground here...I can rectify that if anyone is getting twitchy. Make some new threads...

Kelly

Renee you should definetly get yourself a Hoya erythrina. This is such a beautiful plant even without the blooms.

Kelly I think that supplemental light during the winter is very important. I grow all of my plant with supplemental light of one type or another and it keeps everything growing year around.
I always use Plamolive because it's gentle, detergents like Dawn are quite harsh and not recommended.

Ok I got around to uploading another group of photos. I was hoping to stack these images as well but I has moved the camera between each shot so I was unable to create a single focused image. I have not been able to make the time to photograph a few Hoyas and orchids but maybe they will still be in bloom come Saturday. I did put one new orchid photo up on my Flickr page.
There are also buds forming on three or four peduncles on the plant I got as Hoya coloura. This is probably Hoya obscure but a particularly vigorous form of the species.

Hoya lanceolata subsp. bella

Mike

That Dendrobium unicum is a gorgeous plant and you've taken a spectacular photo of it. I enjoy your penchant for including a whole arm of the plant, especially these horizontally oriented photos.

The bella's totally angelic looking. Your plant looks so lush and healthy. Mine always looks a bit bedraggled at the beginning of its blooming season, as I hurry to catch up on its increased water needs. I did notice that Luis Bois is getting ready to bloom for the first time, though. Yay!

Thanks GG. Growing these deciduous orchid species gives a great deal of insight into just how dry some areas are during certain parts of the year. This and many other orchids share the same habitat where many of our familiar Hoyas grow. Although this orchid experiences at least a couple months of dry conditions in my care I stop watering from the End of October until I see buds are partially developed in the spring. The only moisture the plant gets is from the high humidty in the orchid case and an occasional light mist that might hit the plant while I am watering the others in the case.

I am pretty happy with myself for actually being able to grow and bloom bella this time around. I have started to use sphagnum moss as a media and the plant is obviously much happier than when I had used a soil based mix during past attempts. Congrats on the Luis Bois buds!

Mike

I'm glad you found something that's working for you. It definitely looks super good. I think I really need to just bite the bullet and repot mine in a medium that retains moisture more. I've done okay just keeping it in the kitchen and watering it constantly, but I could really stand to make my life easier. It blooms for sooooooooo long and it's soooooooo thirsty the whole time.

I can really see how you'd gain a lot of insight into how to push Hoyas to their peak, by working with fussier plants from their region. It kind of makes me want to get to know other plants that would live near Hoyas. Maybe create a giant vignette...

... o_o

I know I am being inpatient but there are no Hoyas in bloom at the moment. I am waiting on buds from Hoya obscura, coloura which is probably another form of obscura, and kanykumariana. I will have to take a closer look at the larger plants to see if any are forming new peduncles.

In the meantime I have posted three new orchid species photos on my Flickr page.

A leafless Chiloschista orchid species from Asia. This is a young plant so not many flowers but mature plants are just incredible in bloom.

Is anyone else impatiently waiting for Hoya buds to develop?

Mike

Beautiful blooms and great camera skills Mike...Love your pictures!!

Whoa you just have the coolest little orchids. That green is amazing. I love the way orchid roots so often contribute to their beauty.

I know it's kind of amusing when you have that underwhelming cluster of blooms from a young plant, but I always feel like I appreciate the individual flowers more when they are at this stage. So I'm almost sorry when they move past it.

Thanks Pug :)

GG that orchid is nothing but roots and occasionally a tiny little leaf during the summer. I really must get a few more Chiloschista species. Mature plants can have foot long pendant spikes of flowers so they are very impressive. I so wish I had the space for another orchid case so I could get even more mini orchids. My large plants really would do so much better in a greenhouse but the minis perform very well in a case. Thanks for the nice comments.

Mike

Very nice photos, Mike! I always learn something new when I'm fortnate enough to catch one of your posts in the archives. I didn't know you could layer photos...that's very cool! That orchid is a beauty...not that I know much about them...I have two species phals & one hybrid phal...nothing too fancy.

Thanks luckylittlebug. I love species Phals because they are all so different, the hybrids are not really my cup of tea but they were my first orchids. I have been trying to grow the mini Phal species such as Phalaenopsis braceana and wilsonii lately but they have been really challenging me.

So are you new to Hoyas?

Mike