Golden, I have no idea where the booklet to my camera is but I can tell you that on the camera itself it says (Kodak Easyshare Z700) mine came as a package with the printer dock and all the accessories. I looked on Ebay (type in kodak easyshare z700) and a number of them come up. Some just the camera and some as the whole package like mine was. I saw on page 1 that someone has the entire thing with the option to buy for $75

Congrats on Sp. square finally opening...its worth the wait as its just beautiful!! The other blooms are SO pretty also, thanks for sharing!

David, that cardiophylla is just breathtaking. Terrific photo - I love the way you've captured the shimmer of the petals.

I have to second the vote for tripod. I don't use a fancy camera either (unfortunately), but I do have a good quality tripod and it is impossible to overestimate the difference it makes. Here's an example of the difference between a hand-held shot of H. loherii (which might look familiar to David) taken in my rooting aquarium, in contrast to a tripod shot of H. ...aff. Cyrtoceras floribundum.

I have a pretty steady hand, and when I take pictures w/out a tripod, I brace my hand/body against something, hold my breath, and always always use a 2s timer. All that helps quite a bit, sometimes enough, but it's not the same. You can take pictures with a tripod in quite dim light, without a flash, and they will still come out quite well. Obviously you need to use the timer with the tripod too.

Now, if you're taking pictures outside, then you can get away without a tripod much better. I never use the flash with macro pictures, though, because I'm too lazy to set up structures to control the glare lol.

NICE GG...I agree with you on the tripod. I have SO many pictures taken that is SO blurry because I can't keep my hand steady enough! LOVE those yellow blooms!! Gorgeous shot!

GG,

that second photo is S P E C T A C U L A R-!!!!

David those are all just beautiful. Your light coloured Hoya cardiophylla looks amazing with those muted colours and the perfectly spherical flower cluster. Are the blooms on cardiophylla quite small?

Mike

Mike the blooms on the plant that I know for sure to be cardiophylla are quite small. The ones in the above picture which I guess I should label as aff. cardiophylla are slightly larger.

This is the one with small flowers

Love the square leaf and vitiensis! Maybe one of these days mine will decide to bloom again!

Kelly

Some of my easy bloomers :)
Hoya diptera has 3 peduncles blooming right now:

Hoya australis ssp. tenuipes blooms again:

and H. fungii has a peduncle...

BEAUTIFUL blooms/buds lightning!! Congrats...can't wait till I get blooms on my Diptera or Vanuatuensis or Australis for that matter,lol...Thanks for sharing!

Love that fungii peduncle. It looks like a little tassel. ^_^

Gorgeous blooms! I second the motion for increased impatientience for diptera and australis blooms. I have far too many australises to still be denied blooms! /shakes fist

I think I need to invest in a tripod though, as discussed earlier... I can tell that my pics are just lacking something!

Great photos.. I love your diptera - very delicate looking...very pretty!

im so jealous lol great flowers though

Feast your eyes on these sweet treats!!!!

These were all taken today

H. lobbii orange flowering clone. I caught these as they were in the process of opening.

H. aff mindorensis. I got this from Anotne Jones a few years ago and it blooms in an array of colors. The flowers range in color from yellow as you see below to peachy/pink to red/purple all on the same plant

H. loherii doing it's thing again!!

this is the same cardiophylla that I posted above,It should probably be aff cardiophylla though and this is what the flowers look like today

this is one of my favorite hoyas for it's scent. The flowers smell just like hot buttered popcorn!!! H. heuschkeliana (yellow)

Great picture of that heuschkeliana, David! If only the picture was interactive. My head keeps instinctively turning as though I will be able peer closer inside the blooms if I keep trying.

I love your aff. mindorensis, too. It's one of my favorites of yours - too cool.

That picture of orange lobbii is so great too! All those buds with one leg or one arm sticking out, trying to get themselves extricated. That would be a perfect shot to show someone who has never seen the way Hoyas transform from little pillows to little flowers to little stars.

I love love love them all!

David that heuschkeliana photo is incredible!

Mike

Thanks for the nice comments everyone!!! I have to admit though, I sort of impressed myself with that heuschkeliana photo!!!

GG, I know what you mean about trying to get a better glimpse inside those flowers. I caught myself doing the exact same thing!!!

My H. cumingiana is blooming again,FINALLY for the first time in years.It bloomed well several years ago and grows like kudzu for me but for some reason it just quit blooming. This year it decided to put on a little show again!!

Wow...I'm at a loss for words! Incredible! TFS

I really appreciate you taking the time and posting these pictures here. My hobby is new, and the only flowers I see at home are my two phaleonopsis orchids.
Your pictures won't even wilt.

I love those cumingiana blooms! H. cumingiana is the one hoya that I had trouble with... I lost it to mealies last year. I also don't think I ever fully learned what cumingiana likes --- to be dry? or to be wet? or to have lots of sun? something about it didn't work for me. but after seeing those beautiful blooms, maybe I'll have to give that one a try again!

You are getting some really nice shots of your blooms, David. We are lucky to have you amongst us. Cumingiana has such an interesting color combination, like a Tuscan tablecloth. It really pops. Hopefully it has gotten over itself and won't hold out on you again.

David,

Your house must be a jungle of hoyas. I'm very jealous but grateful that you have shared them!!! Amazing!!!

Pug I didn't mean to leave you at a loss for words!!!!

Kukka,

when your hoya addiction (and it will become one) gets out of control,just think you'll have all of us here to blame!!!

Lightning, my cumingian grows in a very brightly lit part of the gh. I sometimes forget to water it and it gets bone dry then there are times I think maybe I have gotten it too wet but it seems to be a very forgiving either way. It grows so fast for me that I often cut it heavily just to keep in in control. My only fault with hoya is that mealy bugs are quite attracted to it as are mites.

GG,a few days ago corrected a problem that I was having with the camera and didn't realize it. I still haven't read the owners manual which always helps!!! So once I figured out what I was and wasn't doing right ,the pics seem to be a little sharper!!! I'm privealeged to be amongst such a friendly bunch who happen to share my passion for growing hoyas!!

Banannas, Unfortunately i'm not able to grow any hoyas in my home due to having 3 cats and 2 dogs inside. The dogs wouldn't bother them but the cats,well that another story altogether!! I grow them in a gh just about 5 months out of the year. The other 7 months they are outside under a shade house.

WOW, what a great pictures, wonderful flowers, make me wish to order all!!!

Mitzi

Oh my, I want them all! To all of you who raise such amazing specimens congrats and you are an inspiration!

David,

I've had the same issue with cumingiana! Mine bloomed 2 or 3 years ago and hasn't even CONSIDERED blooming again! Have it outside right now...
Great pictures!

Kelly

Again, great photos, David. Thanks for posting them. I want them all. :D. I have a small cummingiana and I'm patiently waiting for it to bloom. My H. Fungii is blooming her head off right now, There are five peduncles opened. She survived the freezing winters so she must be a cold hardy one.

Okay, its the last day of May so I'm going to squeeze these pictures of some of my re-bloomers. And a few non hoya.

H. meliflua

Covered it with aluminum window screening in hopes the raccoons and squirrels will keep from eating it?? Only time will tell "if" it works,lol...

My Container mango...about 6 or 7 fruits on the tree. Oh, the Dolly is tied to it because I had to bring it inside the garage so often during(winter)when temps got below 35 degrees...I have to repot it after the fruits are picked so I left the dolly till then. Very heavy pot.

I do so love bud pictures like that one you took of meliflua, where you can see the soft velvety side peeking through the cracks. I don't have so many blooms now, but it cheers me up that all these Hoyas might be blooming for me on future birthdays, since they were blooming for you guys on my day. It makes me want to collect all the May bloomers!

That mango tree is so awesome and I love your screen bags. I really hope they work because heaven help the furry creatures who tried to steal delicious mangoes from me...!

Pug you squeezed them in in just the nick of time!!!! The second photo is my favorite,that's a very cool shot!!!

Glad to see that mango tree is still alive and well and producing!!! A local nursery (very high end $$$ wise) has brought in a very large assortment of fruit (trees/vines) and vegetables this year. Amongst them are mangoes,papaya,avocado and so on and so on!!! They have a large mango tree planted directly in the ground of one of their two gh's and it is loaded with fruit.

I found some champagne mangoes at Wal-mart for .88 cents each so I bought a half dozen of them to eat and planted 2 of the seeds but only one sprouted and my tree is about a half a foot tall right now. I am sure I will have to overwinter it in the gh here. I have also grown papayas before. If you start the seeds inside around February you can have fruit in 6 months on them or at least I did here.

I have been eating Champagne mangoes like I'm being paid to do it. Just love everything about them. I wish it was even remotely possible for me to plant those pits. LOL

That is the craziest story about Papaya in 6 months. I can tell already that I am going to be informing people of this fact all day today, only to discover that I am the only person who thinks this is a deeply profound revelation.

Mmmm.Papaya....

Can I still jump in? Even though it is late afternoon.

My very first ever publicalyx blooms.

And I love the Papaya story too. My middle son is addicted to papayas. I did try to plant the seeds once, but didn't get anything to grow.

Renee

Renee - I love the pics! The lighting makes the outline of the blooms appear to glow. Very nice.

Mel

Gorgeous pictures, Renee! Even though I've seen publicalyx a million times, the composition of that first shot makes my heart want to stop. Defies words.

Renee,

your pubicalyx pictures are really pretty.

GG, I have found that the easiest way to get the mango seeds to sprout is to VERY carefully remove that woody outer husk trying not to damage the seed inside. Once you have the husk removed wrap the seed in a moist paper towel and put it inside a zip lock bag and seal it about 2/3 the way shut. Place it in a warm place and in a few days or so it will have begun to sprout. At this point you can now plant the seed in an upright position,burying about half of it.

Renee, I can't stand the taste of papaya!!! I only bought this last one for the seeds!!! my experience with germinating them though is that you need to allow them to dry out before planting them. I tried just taking them from the fruit and sowing them and not a single seed sprouted. I had leftovers which had dried out,so i planted those and almost every one of them has come up.

GG my first papaya tree grew to be almost 10 ft tall and it was between 6-8 months old and was already bearing fruit. Unfortunately I had to leave it outside that winter as I had no place big enough to move it in for protection and it died.

I had a few more hoyas blooming today that I got some nice pics of. In my head though I have been debating weather to post them today to close out "my contributions" to the May hoya show or hold off and start a new June thread tomorrow. After giving it much thought I decided it would be considerate to allow someone else to start a June flower thread as i've been a bit hoggish with them for the past few months!!! After doing a walk through of the shade house it doesn't look like much is going to be in bloom for the next week or so anyway so I decided to go ahead and post these last 3 to the May thread and call it a day!!!

This first one is H. Surigaoensis (aka) H. sp EG00897.Seems like I recall these flowers just being yellow last year and not having the brownish corolla tips like it as this year.

H. davidcummingii. This has been blooming off and on since early spring and is one of those ,at least for me anyway,tricky hoyas to grow so I grow it in straight hydroton with no problem.

and last but not least to close out the show,H. padangensis

Love the shot of publicalyx as well!

Also really like the davidcumingii and padangensis!

Kelly

Pug your Hoya meliflua looks downright cuddly in that first pic. You mango tree is pretty darn cool to!

GG have you ever tried to eat those papaya seeds? Papaya seeds are a common vermifuge (to expel intestinal worms) in South America and the seeds have a taste like black pepper.

Wait! Is it your birthday today? HAPPY BIRTHDAY GG!

Renee both of those pubicalyx photos are just lovely, great lighting.

David that's one crazy jumble of peduncles on Hoya surigaoensis. I love the look of Hoya pandangensis but my plant does not do much growing. Can I ask how you grow your pandangensis?

Mike

Mike, H. surigaoensis is just like the macrophyllas when it comes to making clusters of those crazy multiple peduncles. The only thing different about this one is that even though it makes tons of them they are all individual peduncles where on the macrophyllas they tend to be all distorted and sometimes even connected to one another. I hope that all made sense!!!

As far as H. padangensis goes I grow it in medium bright light and moist but not wet.I got my first start of it early on when I first began growing hoyas. The cuttings rooted quickly and easily and grew to become a rather large plant. Just as quickly though it went into decline for no apparent reason and I had to restart it. It has done this several times over the years as has davidcummingii. I now have the last set of about 4 cuttings from the original padangensis plant growing in hydroton. It hasn't really taken hold yet so i don't know how it will do growing in that medium. The plant pictured above is a recently (maybe 3 months ago)purchased one that I got from Joni at SRQ. So far so good with this one still growing in the pot and soil that it came in. I bumped my old plant from a 4 1/2" basket to a 6" one and that could have been the issue,that it was overpotted. I will leave this new one in it's 4 1/2" basket and see how it fares!!!

Even with me growing hoyas for as long as I have,close to 10 years now, I am still learning what to do and what not to do with my plants!!! Overpotting has only been an issue with just a few of them thank goodness. There's some that just really like to stay potted into smaller pots and seem to be quite happy being there for a long time!!

That's a rather interesting fact to know about papaya seeds. I have never heard that. If I ever get worms instead of going to the Dr. i'll just run out to Wal-mart and grab a few ripe papaya's!!!!!

Happy B-day GG!!!!

Thanks Guys!!

Gorgeous Hoyas Renee and David!

GG, yes I agree...gosh help the critters that eat any of my mangoes,lol...Happy Belated birthday (May 30th)!

I used to have a really nice papaya tree till one of our hard freezes killed it two years ago!! It was loaded with fruits! David is right papaya trees grow super fast and fruit quickly.

David, I will start a June bloom post...

Pug my papaya bore fruit but not near as many as what was on your tree. I currently have about a half dozen 4" square pots full of little baby papaya trees. I did get them started a little late though so I really need to push them hard if I expect them to so anything this year.

Do you eat the fruit or is it just a show plant for you??? I have tried at least 3 different times to eat papaya and something about it just doesn't work well with my taste buds!!!! mangoes on the other hand I could eat with all 3 meals!!

Looking forward to see your June blooms as well. It may be several days up to a week before I have anything else to post bloom wise unless I overlooked something out there yesterday. I'm finding that for every year after 40 that I turn,the eyesight is getting worse and worse!!! I now even have to wear glasses when I take pictures just so I can see if the screen is in focus!!!

Pug... I hope you do start the June blooms! I love all the photos of all the lovely plants you guys have! Looking forward to it... :0)

/David Too funny that you don't like the taste of papaya fruit and grew one anyway. I guess that's the mark of a true lover of plants. Try eating papaya with some fresh lime juice squirted on top - it's key! Thanks for sharing your tips for growing papaya and mango from seed.

I really like all the brown tones in the surigaoensis, especially when there are still closed buds nearby. What a cluster!

I keep chopping my padangensis, so I'm probably never going to see flowers, but this is one of my favorite Hoya blooms - like tiny water lilies.

/Mike I like to use the papaya seeds in salad dressings, although I'm not above simply crunching them beneath my teeth either. A bit bitter that way, not exactly what I'd eat a whole bowlful of, but it's hard not to interact with such pretty seeds. I guess I don't have to worry about worms!

My birthday was Monday (May 30 - Memorial Day) and today is my sister's birthday, but I just love the birthday wishes. Thanks everyone! I always feel like people should get to celebrate their birthdays all month. Pug, I'm so impressed that you noticed when my birthday was! :O /dance

GG,

i'll have to break down and try one with lime juice and see if I can stomach the taste!!! I love anything with lime so maybe it won't be SO O O bad!!! I'm interested in trying the seeds now as well.

My birthday also falls on a holiday this year,Fathers day. It will also be my fathers b-day as well. I was born on his 22nd b-day 44 years ago!! My moms b-day falls that way as well,hers is May 9th so this year it was the day after Mothers day but about every other year it falls on the day of the holiday as does mine and my dads with fathers day. So I get a double whammy each year when it comes to having to buy gifts for them both!!

Ooo glad you like lime! Well I have faith you'll love it then!

What a coincidence with your and your parents' birthdays! My dad always thought my mom planned our birthdays because my two sisters and I are born on the 05-23, 05-30, and 06-1, each 3 years apart, but it's nowhere near as suspiciously perfect as your family!

David, I actually DON'T like Papaya when its ripe,lol...I eat them GREEN! I cook them with chicken like you would zucchini or chayote. Its excellent...I make a dish called Chicken Tinola with green papaya. You can google the recipe and its excellent with steamed white rice,lol..

I also make Pickle Papaya (Green or just slighly yellow) but still very hard. I used vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and lots of crushed red pepper. Very spicy and excellent side dish.

GG, when I noticed your comment about getting a compost tea for your birthday...I went to your "My Page" and noticed it was your birthday on May 30th...so I cheated,lol...Again I hope you had a great birthday!

Thanks for the mango recipe ideas, Pug. They both sound great!

I often randomly click on the "Today's Birthday" link, which is really a bad habit, because if I have the dumb luck of it actually BEING someone's birthday, I look like a total stalker when I send them a message. :O

So, everyone be forewarned, if I send you a birthday greeting, it definitely does mean I will be standing outside your living room window with crazy eyes and Hoya cupcakes later that night. jk ^_~

LOL- most of us will probably look past the creepiness aspect if you have the cupcakes in hand! Seriously, there's a Today's Birthday link?

Haha. Yeah, man! It's bottom left, on the main page. It even has a party hat!

None today though. I already cyberstalked. ._.'

Here is a link that might be useful: Hoya People Birthdays!