Gettin' it outta the pot. (Rubber mallets Are Your Friend!) Especially as this has been in this pot going on four years...
Would'na budge!

That'll show 'ya!

I litteraly stomped on the pot; nothing giving. Did I mention? I love my mallet!

How to clean all the 'tree dirt' out of your hoya, before you repot it...

As dark creeps in and you are still working. End product taller than one's self...

What a day!

Cena, that looked like some job! How many more plants do you have to remove from the tree? Would a systemic help with the thrips?

Are the bamboo stakes going to be strong enough for it? I keep thinking of my rebar job and already my obovata is climbing out of it's confines! I am so glad I thought of it because I know bamboo would not hold it up. I am going to have a real monster by the end of fall. I am also going to have to make another one for my KQ soon. Three plants on rebar, maybe I should patent the idea ;)

Wow what a job but the end result looks great.
What is that cool looking orchid plant in the second photo sitting down on the grass, a Eulophia species?

Mike

Cena, that is an awesome visual diary!!!! Thank you for sharing it AND you beautiful end result. I'd say it was most certainly worth the effort.
:-)
Ann

Cena, great hack job! The plant looks great!
Jan

Wow!! That was a big chore...but when you got done it looks GREAT!! Thanks for sharing...

Cena, that's a beautiful plant you have there. Great story too!

Mentha, the Bayer is FINALLY showing some results with the thrips, Nine Months after the first application!!! Things are looking up. This one had to be removed because the hanger broke, not so much because of the treee problems.

Excellent Eye, Mike! Not found often, and usually not recognized by Fanatics Of Other Plants. I've only in the last six months spoke with other E. pertersii growers. The first time I tried to find someone familiar with the plant I only found 'a friend of a friend of a friend has one' stories with little information. Two years ago it bloomed it's fool head off, and is currently putting on a much smaller show this time.

Thanks to all the rest of you with kind things to say, and for taking a look at how I spent yesterday afternoon!

cena, isn't it amazin how much attentation we pay to everyone elses plants.LOL!that's an awsome orchid ya have there. i'm glad you were able to save your hoya.molly

Cena

Your hoya looks great! Isn't it funny how you may dread doing a project like this and have challenges (like you did getting the hoya out of the pot) but when it's all done it is totally worth it! Very rewarding!!! Thanks for posting your story and pic's.

Shanna

Cena there were a few Eulophia species on Ebay a while ago but other than that they are very hard to come by. I think cacti and succulent growers are more likely to grow many of the species but there are a few that I see on orchid sales lists every now and then. Great plant!

Mike

you inspired me to take some cuttings from my Multiflora that is slowly turning yellow! I had some blasting too :(

I don't see any nodes or air roots on the Multiflora, so hopefully the pieces will root!

Spelling Correction: S/B Eulophia petersii

Funny you should mention that, Mike. I've been a member of my local C&S society for years now, and that is where I picked this plant up. $25.00 for two pbulbs.

Going Green, glad to be an inspiration. Multiflora is one of those 'goal' plants that I never seem to find ANY where. The one I have was gifted to me, and is in such shape it is not fit to be seen here. Not to be a downer or anything but I found my cuttings did not do well.
I have had better luck with blooming if I keep the plant in a selfwater pot with a 'standing water' tray, or just a regular pot sitting in a bowl with water in it constantly. One of those 'freaks' that LOVE to have wet feet. You get much less blasting with this method. A regular fertilizer application once the leaf color stabilizes would be good too.

Thanks for takin' a look, everyone!

Green,

I find it easiest to root multiflora in water (it's the only hoya I root in water) - roots will form at the bottom of the stem (you don't need to have a node in the water..and air roots aren't necessary for rooting either). By the way, there must be nodes on it, unless you just cut a piece of stem in between 2 nodes. The nodes are the little "bumps" that the leaf stems are connected to.

Gabi

thanks Gabi,

I took the bottom two leaves off each cutting and have them sticking out of a baggie with water in the bottom. The baggie is closed around the stems. So far they look fine... we'll see what happens! I think the mother plant did get too dry outside.

cheers! :)

Cena,

Please tell me your secret to getting E. petersii to bloom! I got mine, a 3-bulb specimen, probably 5 years ago at my C&S club's show & sale ($30...) It expanded each year, NO blooms, but I ended up with 18 bulbs this year and split it up to sell (since the dang thing won't bloom.) Since I haven't been getting jack-poop for plants on eBay, I'm holding on to them for now. So, what's the secret to the bloom? The club member (a commerial grower) who sold it to me only answers, **shrug** "It blooms when it's ready." (Thanks, dude!)

Denise in Omaha

Denise Eulophia petersii is a very widespread species in Africa and some areas of the middle east and it is reported to flower from spring to fall which is the hottest driest part of the year. I wonder if your plant needs more light or a different watering schedule? You know I had a Gongora orchid that never flowered for me until I cut it up and traded most of it away. The worst part was that one of the people I sent a division to emailed me to tell me that the plant was absolutely loaded with flowers shortly after receiving it. The longest I have waited for an orchid to flower once it was blooming sized was a stubborn Bulbophyllum sociale that took six years but I was still very impressed with the flowers after such a long wait.

Email me and I can send you some cultural info on this species from one of my books on African orchids.

Mike

Cena, can I digress the thread another moment pls?

Denise, I spoke to my Orchid friend abt this, never got back to you on it, but I do have a handwritten page of notes he gave me that I've been meaning to mail you (ooops) ;>)

(PG) Karen

Denise, I really Don't Know the Secret! I do know some things, but not what triggers blooming for sure.

This is an orchid that can go down to two pbulbs and still be healthy and grow. It was sold to me in a very large pot with two. It is a 'line' grower, in that it grows pbulbs straight across the pot in a line. The first time it bloomed was when the line growth hit the other side of the pot.

This year it decided to bloom because I was giving it more water... I think?

Often, the Bloom Answer for orchids is More Light. All well and good, but this succulent orchid scorches in the sun! So, you have to find bright, indirect light as an answer for this. Mine did well in an L shaped patio area that received morning sun only, for a few hours. But much indirect, bright light.

I wish you luck, and if I figure out the 'secret' you will be the FIRST to know!

I just wanted to report that the transplant went well; there is new growth and buds popping out everywhere! Uniquely, the new growth is a deep maroon color. I had none of this color before, just a coloration of sun-light exposed leaves. This is all red all the time!

I had thought I had posted these photos a week or so ago, but didn't. So, I took some more shots.
Last week shots:

This week, same vines!!!

Yep, I hit submit instead of preview. You noticed that last picture is also the first picture...

I'm going back out to the garden!!!

Cena,

Great pictures, I love the red leaves...one question?
You said this is "Hoya australis ssp. tenuipes", I saw at Walmart where they had a Hoya Australis(EA), but the leaves are all green, no hint of red at all. Do all/most Australis get the reddish tints or are they a different variety?

Thanks!

Your new growth looks great! I should send my hoya's over by you for a vacation! (and a hack job! just kidding!)

Johanna

Pug... The ssp. tenuipes I have came from HD and is an EA plant. New growth is copper if given enough sunlight. It's a beautiful plant!!

Cena... My ssp. tenuipes is budding up right now. I can't wait for it to bloom. I got a couple of blooms on it late winter or early spring this year and it was such a TEASE!! Beautiful AND frgrant! I can't wait...

But you're right - this is a species that is an aggressive climber, and you have to keep it whacked back to keep it in check. But what a beauty!

Denise in Omaha

Thanks Denise, hopefully I will see it again offered in my area...at the time I didn't know anything about them. I am partial to Hoyas that have reds, colors and patterns on the leaves. This one just seemed so "ordinary" to me, all green. Actually thought it was in the "pothos" family, till I read the label. Had no idea they can get those pretty red hues to them. Live and learn...

Cena,
I just wanted to tell you my success with your australis. After about two weeks, I just took the plant out of the perlite I had it rooting in and no joke, the root ball was as big as my fist. I had to pot them up in a 6 in hanging pot. It also has buds on the penduncles! The other cuttings have roots also, but this one amazed me with the growth on it!

Good Deal!

The mother plant has gone nuts, with new growth at every junction, tip, and growing point!!! All burgandy with the cutest green tip on the end of the leaves!

Glad you're back!

cena, just an update on the australis, i put it in a jar in my west facing window,its so happy. it has bloomed 4 times [or flowers],it still make me happy. i seem to be killing all my hoyas,but not this one. new leaves all over it . i could put it in dirt, but if its not broken, don't fix it. thanks again,molly [sewnmom]

Mine has been aggressivly blooming (just like it's growth!) for about 2 months now. My sinuses have been a total mess, but it's worth it!! I can smell the fragrance when I walk in the front door (my GH is 3 rooms away and off my kitchen...) and from our basement, where we watch TV!! Amazing!!

Denise in Omaha