very nice wow mine is about 6 in take a decade to get to that point very nice i hope you get some blue ribbons have to share with us

David that is a very beautiful hoya.I wish you good luck in the plant show.

Cindy

What a MONSTER hoya!! It is an amazing size and very nice....Good luck and hope you win several ribbons...you should have no problems. Nice story on how you got started with your obsession...oops I mean hobby,lol...

David, I'll give you bunch of blue ribbons for that gorgeous plant. Good luck at the fair.

Thanks everyone for the nice comments on the plants and the good luck wishes!!!

Jan would you believe that as common as this hoya is and with as many as I grow,this is the only one that I will not take cuttings from??? It's my prize possession and i just can't bring myself to cut it!!!

Pug you were right the first time. Hoya collecting,at least for me anyway, has become quite an obsession!!! You can never have TOO many!!! I had a time just finding room to move the ones I already grow back into the gh this past week and today I turned around and bought 8 new varieties of cuttings as if I need any more!!!

My grandmother is still living,she's 89 and lives just next door to me. She's my only living grandparent and she had a stroke about 6 years ago. I bring her over as often as I can to see the hoyas,all of the different sizes and shapes of the leaves and flowers amazes her!!

David...absolutely stunning!! You've got my vote for BEST IN SHOW!!! Please provide a few details on your plant, i.e., how much light, water, feeding, et. al. I've had mine for 15 months, it's only half of the size of yours, and zero blooms. Thanks and good luck at the show!! Patrick

One doesn't often get to throw the word behemoth into just any sentence but I think it applys in this case. That truly is one very large and probably very heavy Hoya, quite a sight.

Good luck at the fair!

Mike

Your plant is amazing. No cuttings?! Does that mean you don't prune it back at all?

Jennifer

David, that is so sweet that she lives next door and can enjoy your hoyas!

HOW are you transporting that plant to the show? Just curious.

David, that's a winner for sure! I never saw a compacta that large! 130 blooms? Now, that's an awesome sight!

Brad AKA Moonwolf

Oh what a sight to behold for the judges if it was in bloom! I do hope you win a ribbon so you can share the joy with your Grandmother! She will be as proud I bet as if she won it herself. In a way she would of won because the growth of the plant was a combined effort of you both.
Good luck and do let us know how you did in the show!,,,,Debbie

Patrick, with VERY few exceptions, all of my hoyas are grown in very bright indirect light. I have a special spot in deep shade where I keep the shade hogs like lobbii,fusca and a couple of others. I water on a pretty regular basis during the spring and summer months,like every other day or two. My fertilizer schedule goes like this,the first 3 watering are with fertilizer (beer formula--I swear by it and will use nothing else)then the next 2 waters are with plain water to flush the soil. During the winter months I water a little less often as they seem not to dry out as quickly in the gh as they do when it's warm outside.

Mike, If I had to guess how much that plant weighs i'd say between 40-45 lbs if not more. When I move it I have to use both hands to take it down then I have to drag it carefully out of the gh. It's so long and sprawls out all over the place to where it's almost impossible to pick it up.

Jennifer, in all the years that i've had this hoya I have never taken a cutting of it to share with anyone and this is probably the only hoya that I do not prune,though while moving it recently I did manage to break off a piece of rope about a foot and a half long but you'd never be able to look at the plant and tell!!

mrsdoodlepunk, I have given your question much thought even before you asked it!!! The answer will be, VERY carefully. I have someone going with me to help transport the plants as i'm taking others,but just this one hoya. I drive a full size Chevy truck so space will not be an issue but getting the plant situated safely into that truck may very well be one!!!

Brad, when the plant had all those clusters of flowers open at once it was an awesome sight.And thankfully it was in the gh at the time because this is one of those hoyas that i absolutely can not stand the fragrance of.

Debbie, the fair starts Thursday and I believe thhe plants from the first of 2 shows will be judged at some point that day but the owners can not be present. I'm just dropping my plant off and coming back home. it's not quite a 2 hour drive each way and I have other things to do that day so i'll be coming straight back home once i'm registered and the plant is safely on display.

I will be going back on Saturday with friends to spend the day there riding thrill rides and just enjoying the day. I turned 42 this past June and am like a little child when it comes to amusement rides!!! I love em" and the more directions they can spin me in at one time the more I love them!!!

I then have to go back on the following Tuesday 11/3 to remove my plants from the building so the second show can begin. I should be able to find out at least by Saturday if my hoya even placed though. Even if it doesn't i'll still be happy because I finally got it on display which i've been trying to do now for at least the last 3 years. unfortunately due to both parents having major illness or surgery during those times,I was not able to show the plant. ...

Oh, my gosh. I really did want my plant come that big, it will take 1/3 of my greenhouse.
Bring some blue ribbon home, David.
sue

David...thanks a million for explaining the "growing" conditions of your Hindu rope plant....it certainly is working for you!!! I'd love to try your fertilizer, but the idea of molasses turns me off. Also, how on earth do you mix enough for all of your plants? You'd literally need a bathtub or something even larger. I mix my water in gallon jugs...I haven't a clue as to how to add those 10,000 ingredients jug by jug...it'd take forever to make enough to water my 200+ plants...especially when my papyrus' take 7 gallons of water each!! At any rate, good luck at the show....maybe they'll have some of the hoyas for sale that I'm in desperate need of!! LOL Warm regards, Patrick

Well I took the plants to the fair this past Thursday for the show. I said plants because I took 2. I didn't mention before that I was also taking a euphorbia lactea crest cacti plant. I found out Saturday where I placed in the show.

The euphorbia which is about 18" W x maybe 10" or so H took first place, best in show for it's category. The hindu rope which I had really hoped would take first place also,came in second for it's category. Not bad for my first plant show.

I'm not exactly sure what my rope went up against as far as competition went. I only saw one other hoya (carnosa) in a 6" basket and it was quite small and not very full but it took first place for it's category. I hope it wasn't what bumped my plant down to second!!!

The area where my hindu rope was located had several other very large hanging plants which won first place so i'm thinking they were what it was up against. One was a Boston fern probably 2 ft high and i'd guess a good 8 ft round at least.

I have to be at the fair grounds again by 7am tomorrow morning to remove my plants from the showroom floor so plants can be placed for the second show. I'm so not looking forward to the almost 2 hour drive at that time of morning!!

While there Saturday I was persuaded by some of the show chair people to bring some other plants for the second show. I really don't want to as the drive there tomorrow will be the third in under a week and also means that i'll have to go back a fourth time this coming Sunday to remove any plants that I might put in the second show.

I have chosen 4 other hoyas (6" basket retusa 4ft long--8" basket curtisii almost 3ft long--8" basket lacunosa cv snowcaps at least 2 1/2ft long--8"basket cv Mathilde over 3ft long) and have pulled them from the gh which I may take. I'm gonna have to sleep on it tonight and we'll see what happens in the morning!!! They have already been cleaned up and are ready to go should I decide to take them.

The only thing that would stop me from entering the second show is that fact that I DO NOT want to have to drive back over there a fourth time to pick the plants up after the show even though i'm off that day.

Great going David! Placing at all on your first show is a plus but that first place ribbon is a coup you will always treasure!
I too really figured your hindu would get a first place as well.
You did great and who knows you might place in the 2nd show if you decide to enter. But that drive does sound a long one several times in one week. Let us know if you do decide to enter and how ya do!,,,,,Debbie

Debbie, another disappointment was the fact that they no longer give ribbons. This year they decided to go with stickers,possibly due to not enough $$$. I have been trying now for at least 3 years to get plants in this show just so I could possibly win a ribbon and all I got was a sticker!!!

David

This was the award for the hindu rope.After giving it some thought it may have placed second due to water stains on the plant which would not come off. Points are deducted for cleanliness and hard as I tried I could not get the entire thing cleaned.

This is the award for my euphorbia lactea crest which I will take a pic of and post here once I get back home with it tomorrow

Congratulations David...great job...but, IMHO, you should have won first with that Hindu Rope...it's incredible. Plant shows are similar to dog shows in that the awards are insignificant. Bird shows, on the other hand, go all out with enormous rosettes for the top 10 in each division...plus they award plagues and trophies...and many times money...$100 for first, $75 for 2nd, etc. This is great, but it sometimes makes competition fierce...in Florida, one of the losers actually pulled out a gun to shoot the judge...that was the Greater Brandon bird show in Tampa. Bird shows in the US allow the public to watch the judging and the judges give their reasons for rejecting or rewarding each entry. In Europe, the public isn't allowed to enter until judging is over...in most shows anyways. Here, bird shows usually have 1,000-4,000 entries...in Europe they have over 30,000 entries!! I guess you should start showing birds...the ribbons are much nicer!!! Again, congratulations!!

Mannnn,,,,I'd of been disappointed too if all I got was a sticker for my efforts!
My bet is you won't waste your time for the 2nd show. I wouldn't for a sticker.
How the heck other than laminating could ya save a sticker as a keepsake? hahaha.,,,Debbie

David,
I have a hindu rope just like yours and I haven't had much luck with it. Do you keep yours wet or dry? Joni from SRQhoyas says she keeps compactas dry. I am curious because I bought it at Lowes and it looked really healthy but it was saturated with water. During the summer I water much more than I do now. It did get mealies for a while but I treated it with BATS and they seem to be gone. I would love my plant to grow like yours someday.

Michelle

Congrats on your winnings David...Great Job!! Sorry to hear that they aren't giving ribbons any more...but at least you won and that's the most important thing and I'm sure you had a blast! Thanks for the update.

Congrats!!! Boo for not giving away the ribbons.

Found out this morning that they do still give ribbons. Any plant placing 1st,2nd or 3thrd gets a sticker with that on it. In order to get an actual ribbon the plant must have earned at least 95 points and won first place. I did get a 1st place but don't know what the points were,1st is between 90-100. had my plant earned 95 points it could have won the award of merit which would have been a ribbon and is only awarded to a single specimen per show.

Michelle, I tend to keep all of my hoyas including the rope,evenly moist. They do sometimes dry out a bit but it's quite hot and humid here during the spring and summer months so that's to be expected.

I can tell you from personal experience that if you allow that hindu rope to stay dry for too long and it gets mealy bugs,then you have a problem and I mean a MAJOR one!!! When allowed to dry out for long periods of time a hindu rope quickly becomes a magnet for mealies and they are not so easy to get rid of on this hoya once it becomes infested. My advice to you in regards to your plant would be to not allow it to stay too dry for too long.

My plant in the pictures above has had mealies in the past and I had to fill a 20 gallon tub with insecticide and submerge the entire thing,twice to get rid of them. Thankfully now it is bug free and I try to keep it evenly moist so it will stay that way.

David...thanks SO much for your explanation on watering the Hindu rope...I think I've been underwatering mine...since I've always read that they should "dry out" before being watered. 2 nights ago I noticed that the leaves on mine were shrivelled...so I watered it. I think I'm going to water more often...mine is 5' long and has never had a peduncle...I now believe, from your explanation, that mine needs more watering. Again, thanks a million! That's the great thing about this forum...we can learn so much from others and I've found the folks on this forum so willing to share their ideas and experiences. Thanks to you all!! Fondly, Patrick

That is very impressive! Mine was doing great and drowned in Ike so I have purchased another. And like Patrick I need to water mine more.
Thanks again for sharing & congrats on your win. I'd have given you a blue ribbon.
Tally HO!

How is the plant doing now? Do you still grow it?

That post was from 2009. I haven't seen David post anything for a long time. I often wonder what happened to a lot of the people I used to see posting here. Hope they are all well and still keep at least a few Hoyas around.

Wow! That's one impressive Hoya!