Buy them and a bigger pot!!!
This way you can also have bragging rights to a monumentally HUGE Hoya.
:-)
Ann

If I already had a large obovata, I would probably pass it up, regardless of the temptation, which I understand can be overwhelming! Also, consider if you pot several - or even two- large plants in one big pot, it is going to be pretty heavy, and more so as the plant starts to grow, especially an obovata...do you have a place to hang such a heavy plant where it will be happy?

And really, shouldn't you save room for other varieties? There will be more bargains in the future! If you really feel compelled to buy the plants, why not buy one for a friend or relative? Even a non-hoya person would love an obovata, of all my hoyas it is the one mose people seem to like and comment on, with those big round leaves! I don't know about everyone else, but alot of people don't like my hoyas, they either don't see the charm or they think they are downright UGLY!!

If I lived near where your nursery is, I would buy one for my mother and one for my boyfriend.

Mentha, I agree with ines. I would pass it up too and save room for the other hoyas. LOL

I might try & see if folks are interested in swapping for some of it (esp. Hoya newbies, who might like it & otherwise have trouble finding it). I might consider buying it to cut up & offer cuttings to swap, etc.

Were I not financially strapped at the moment I might ask you to buy it myself & ship it to me here in NYC as my own Obovata (which I have loved for 5-6 yrs. particularly for its handsome round leaves) is not doing well these days. I haven't figured out why yet.

Then again if it were me, since I am esp. fond of Obovata, I'd likely buy it & make space somehow -- my personal motto is just about "There's always room for another Hoya".

(PG) Karen

Hi,
I guess I would buy and figure out later where to put them.
I live in minnesota and in the winter I have a hard time because all plants have to be indoors but now that its summer I kinda forget about the snow and cold and buy.. and put them in the yard..I was jusr outside watering and checking on my plants and its like where are you all going to fit come fall?????? good luck!!!
linda

Hi All,
I think I will go ahead and take them, but I'm going to wait a couple weeks to see if he gives me a better deal. I was in the mind of what PG said and use the extras for trades or selling. Hoyas kerrii and obovata are also my favorites. I also know they survive outside here during the winter, if protected. They both seem to like my dry area better than the smaller leaved hoyas. Now if they were kerrii, I think I would have snatched them up on credit, lol. The really nice thing about these obovatas is they not only have the solid green leaves, but some of the plants have silver flecks on them. I'm not sure if that's a different variety, or even if there is a name for the flecked one, but I really like the flecks.

PG,
If your obovata isn't doing well, I would be willing to send you half of a pot, which would be either one or two nice size plants. A whole pot would cost a mint to ship. Half of one, I may be able to trim enough roots off to make it less than a pound. Then I would have an excuse to buy them ;)

OOPS,
I forgot, I wouldn't hang the collective pot of obovata, but might trellis the guy. I have a really nice sized entertainment center which I could fit a pretty good sized pot on top of and let the streamers kind of travel where they will, or I could move the table over by my western window and train them up onto the curtain rod, which is a 1 1/2 in wooden dowel. Right now my combined obovata is in my 8 gallon pickle crock. I forgot who showed a hoya growing in one, but I love the idea.

I do have the room for a nice sized plant. It's all the smaller pots, I have trouble with. I am going to have to stop on the smaller Hoyas soon anyway. I would much rather have a few large plants than many small ones. I have over 15 different Hoyas as it is and will have to make room for my epiphyllums and Rhipsalis first. However I prefer larger sized plants, I don't have the patience for smaller plants. I'm not going to be trading for more hoyas. I am not really set up for rooting hoyas, nor are they my first love.

I would have been out the door with them before he changed his mind. :)

Hey Mentha, I agree with almost everyone else around here - I think that you should go for it!!

I posted pictures of my kerrii in an 8 gallon, red wing pickle crock. I have several crocks in my collection, and I love them all.

As far as getting all of those obovatas, I bought every kerrii I could find over several years, and now I have a seven foot plant, and it THRILLS ME. I hear you about no more small plants, and no more cuttings. I have tons of the small stuff, and I love it, but not to the extent that my large, large plants thrill me.

Here is my kerrii:

Here is my vitellina (possibly fusco - marginata):

Sara

Beautiful Sara!

Here is my obovata in the pickle crock. I have an inverted pot under the plant itself. I may need to find a pot a bit shorter to set it on. It's been sunburned, so I moved it back into the house. I keep finding new leaves which need to be removed. The streamers are leafless from the bottom of the picture to the floor, extending another 3-4 ft.

I'm not sure what kind of pickle crock I have. It was made by Monmouth Pottery Co. in IL. It used to belong to my great-grandmother. My mom used to make chow chow in it. I found it in my front yard and adopted it when we moved here. It's been here ever since.

I have some rebar which I can bend and make a trellis with. I think I will do that.

Oh Mentha,

How tempting, I think I really want to take you up on the offer for 1/2 the new plant, but truth be told, I'm waiting to see if I qualify for the extension of Unemployment Benefits (it seems I do, but will feel better when I see the first new check, should happen in a week or so).

Just went in to see if my Obovata is flecked or not, it's somewhat flecked; I'd like a flecked one if possible pls.

Just as a lark, ask the store if they'd discount you much for buying both of them (like maybe $35 or $40 for both). If so, maybe shake off all the mix from one & cut off at least 1/2 the roots & then send it to me & I'd pay you back the shipping & 1/2 the plant, or something like that???

Can you see me salivating from here??? Pls. keep me posted, thanks so much!!

Karen

PG,
It's too late now, but I'll call him first thing tomorrow and have him hold the larger one for me. He's had them for a couple of months so they should still be there. I may even be able to talk him into letting me take both.

Mentha,
I don't have one of the oak leaf crocks, just the red wing. How awesome that it belonged to your grandmother. I would love to have a family connection to one of mine.

Your obovata looks wonderful in it, the leaves on obovata really are quite striking aren't they?

I really just can't help myself, I have to ask you, WHAT is chow chow? :)

Sara

Sara,
I was just looking up the history of Monmouth and it seems mine predates 1906. I was looking for prices, but couldn't find any.

Chow Chow is pickled green tomatoes with cabbage or cauliflower, onions, and green peppers, it's really spicy. It's pickled in a salt brine then vinegar is added and boiled, then jarred. I remember my mom making chow chow and saurcraut also. I didn't like either, but then I don't really like tomates cabbage or cauliflower. I do really like salt brine dill pickles though.

Chow Chow

2 pints green tomatoes
1 cauliflower soaked in salted water for one hour.
2 green peppers.
1 quart onions.

Chop the above in small pieces. Sprinkle 1 cup of salt over them and let stand all night. Drain well in the morning.
The sauce for Chow Chow is made as follows:

2 quarts vinegar.
1/4 pound of mustard.
1 tablespoonful of turmeric.
4/5 cup of corn syrup.
1/2 cup of flour.

Make a paste of the mustard, turmeric, sugar, flour and a little vinegar. Stir this into the warm vinegar and boil until thick. Then add the vegetables and simmer for 1/2 hour. Stir to prevent burning. Put in jars while hot.

Ooooo Mentha, that almost sounds really good!! I do like cauliflower and green peppers, but have never eaten green tomatoes.

I really like salt brine dill pickles, and my mom used to make hers in a huge crock too. It was kept down in the basement with a wooden lid on it! We were supposed to leave it alone, but my sister and I would have half of them eaten before my mom ever checked on them. Ha!!

Thank you for sharing your recipe, I will write it down. It sounds like a relish don't you think?

How cool that your crock predates 1906. I am pretty sure that mine have a 1913 copyright date on them, so I would guess 1920's at the earliest.

S

Mentha
If you do decide to buy the obovata I might be interested in buying some cuttings from you if you would be willing to ship them to me. Let me know if you are interested.

thanks shanna

Sara, by definition, I think chow chow IS a pickle relish -

I never noticed, but you have variegated kerri growing right in with the solid one?

Hi Shanna,
I'd love to send you some. Email me through my GW acct. I don't want to get banned for attempting to sell on the boards. That definitely wasn't my intention.

I did notice the variegated kerrii, and I'm envious. I have been looking for one, but havn't been able to spare time looking at ebay when I have the money.

Sara,
Unfortunately I've never tried it, it's just an old recipe I found from an old pickling cookbook for crock chow chow. So old in fact it was called a "receipt".

I collect cookbooks & recipes for one of these days. I was looking for olive and pickle recipes one day and then realized my crock has a hairline crack. So I'll have to find another crock before trying them.

Mentha

I emailed you let me know if you don't get it.

shanna

Hey Jen, yes, I do have variegated kerrii growing in there too. I have been growing that plant since 2002 - my second ever, and my first "exotic" hoya, and it is still one of my very favorite in my collection.

You know how once someone finds out that you are collecting something, and you end up with that something until it is literally coming out of your ears? Well, word got out that I spent over a hundred dollars on kerrii, since I just couldn't bring myself to leave them at the store, and a couple of really great friends started sending me their kerrii's as their collection expanded. One wasn't a fan of variegated plants, so I threw the variegated one in there too. Sort of like a pot of "kitchen soup", I am sure that I have over 10 different plants in that pot.

Something totally exciting for me though - 6 years, seven feet of vine, and hundreds of peduncles later, I have my first open cluster of blooms on my kerrii! I am so excited!

Sara

Sara, what a pretty bloom...congrats on getting a bloom from your Kerri. I'll have to put Variegated Kerri on my wish list, I think the leaves and blooms are so pretty!

yay!! I bet you are excited being it is your favorite hoya and first time for it to flower! I just found that one of the stick-but-no-bud peduncles on my kerrii is getting the little teeny buds as of today...hopefully it will follow through all the way like yours..

And for anyone who has cuttings that sit for so long with no new growth, one of the kerri cuttings in my pot has done nothing since I potted it up with the other two 3 years ago...as of this week, it has finally started to get some new growth...THREE YEARS! That's a record for me with
no-growth cuttings.

Hey Sara,

Congrats on the Kerrii bloom, just pls. beware the furniture. Kerrii is one that is known to drip lots of messy, dark & staining nectar. I've heard of it damaging peoples' furniture.

Hey Mentha,

However you think it best to proceed pls & pls. keep me posted (good luck at the nursery). Thanks in advance!

(PG) Karen

Hi PG,
If you contact me through my GW acct I have both pots setting in the shade on my porch. He just wanted them out of the nursery, since he's getting ready for the NORCAL show this weekend he needed the room. Boy, I wish I was going because he had some really nice plants in those boxes!

Shanna,
I didn't get your email.

Sara,
Congrats on the bloom, I had to buy my kerrii with blooms attached. It sure did drip a lot, next time it's going to get a plastic bag under it. Luckily my carpet is brown.
Now that I've got every obovata possible, I'm going to get some more kerrii. I know just the place to get them too ;) Nick the cactus guy has about 8 of them right now in 6 in pots.

Mentha, I sent you an email...let me know if you didn't get it. Thanks!

I also bought "another" kerrii and this one was in bloom. It had nectar on the flowers and it is hanging over my kitchen sink but never did drip. Here's a picture of it, I forgot to post this on here when I got it. Bought it off ebay only paid 12.99 plus shipping, Kerrii is one of my favorites.

My grandma gave me the macrame hanger, my grandpa got it at an auction and she knew if it had to do with plants I'd want it. It doesn't match my sunflower kitchen but I do like it, I did cut off the tassle at the bottom though.

shanna

Shanna,Nice Kerri!! I have to put the Variegated Kerri on my wish list.

Oh Shanna!

That is one beautiful kerrii!

Nancy,
I have one of those too and am debating on getting another one off ebay, mine only has 3 leaves. When I got my variegated kerrii it was fine then started doing bad, had to repot into a chunkier mix and I lost 2 or 3 leaves in the process. I also really like the reverse kerrii, probably better because it's yellow and green instead of the white and green.

Reverse kerrii - gardino

Variegated kerrii - ebay herbs mint 4 u

shanna