I have a nice one that is in a regular environment. Although it is a bit warner because of the grow lights. But it is not directly under them.

Thank you so much, tlbean. It didn't even occur to me to put this under a grow light. I'll do that.

Pagan

Glad to see it's happy! I have a bit of trouble with this one, but I have a fraction of mine left that seems to be holding it's own right now. Keep doing what you're doing!

Denise in Omaha

Thanks, Denise! Semi-hydro is working very well. Except I planted this hoya in a transparent measuring cup and that got icky pretty quickly so I put it inside a tall pot to block the light and kill off the algae. I'm using gritty mix of mostly 3/8 pumice and some bark and water almost every day.

Pagan

That is a stupendous specimen! Gorgeous. I love the aged pot too and the curious kitty in the background! Wow wow wow!

Beautiful!! And of course another I wanted to buy and there is none to be found here in the U.S...Unbelievable....Every time I see a hoya that one has that I want, not for sale. What's the use..? Why is it so hard to buy a hoya you really want these days?lol

@Pagan That is beautiful!!!

@Meyermike(Zone 6a Ma.) Mike, I just did a quick search. Logee's is showing it on the website as out of stock, but you can sign up to be notified when they have more. It's small, but will grow. lol

Ebay had a few and not cheap. lol

JoJo

Jojo, thanks)))

I put a request in but I will be lucky if they get them again. Everything different one wants these days are either sold out or hard to find. I will just blame it on Covid. lol

Gardino nursery. They use to have anything you wanted. Every Hoya is sold out for months. Crazy.

Thanks, everyone. All credit goes to the growers here. And Doug (?) from Vermont Hoyas. I took a snapshot of the semi-hydro setup below, note the holes I drilled into the thing about an inch from the bottom. That reservoir empties within hours when I water it.

And because I may be going insane, I somehow ended up with yet another hoya, bringing my grant total to four:

No clue how to care for this one. I got it after being repeatedly outbid for rooted cuttings of H. mindorensis. Revenge buy! Anyway, my other two are easy---they get watered when they get watered. Tips?

Pagan, thank you for the picture of your vessel. Funny, I have that same one. It came with a stick-blender. I have melted holes in plastic for semi-hydro about an inch from the bottom too. I have a carnosa living in a Talenti gelato container in similar setup.

But I am not at all familiar with kanuma. That does not seem to be a common substrate here in the U.S. But it looks like other semi-hydro substrate, such as leca, or pon, or bonsai soil. So one could substitute.

Here's my next question! What kind of nutrients are you feeding? Thanks in advance.

Let me preface my next statement by admitting that you have been growing hoyas longer than I have! I only really got going about 3 years ago. So take my advice with a grain of "I'm sure you know better than me!"

For your new plant, you will be absolutely fine. The australis is very easy-going. I have two of the regular green form and one australis 'Lisa'. The green form is extremely forgiving. I forget to water them for weeks and they don't seem to even notice. I have one in almost plain potting soil and one in a more chunky mix. They both act the same.

Best definition of kanuma I found:

Kanuma soil is the baked substrate obtained from the Kanuma region in Japan. They are volcanic rocks that are firstly mined from the soil and then carefully processed, sterilized, and baked. It acts as an excellent substrate for growing plants that love to thrive under slightly acidic conditions.

it looks like really interesting stuff. I know there are some hoyas that appreciate a more acidic environment. It looks like your davidcummingii could be one of those since it seems to be thriving here. I read that macrophylla also like higher acid based on their origin. With that being said, I am not sure about australis. It may require some additional research to confirm.

Amazing Pagan! Those roots! I too am curious about your nutrient mix. Do you still water every couple of days? Have you ever changed out the substrate? I love the compactness of it, simply gorgeous!

Thanks, @sunfleurpower and @popmama (Colorado, USDA z5).

I have not changed the substrate since 2017. Since I knew nothing about hoyas when I got this, I just followed Doug's instructions about this specific species. I had no specific reason to use kanuma, it was what I had in excess at the time (I use it exclusively for my terrestrial orchid). However, this is one of the plants I only irrigate with rain water. I'm in the Northeastern seaboard so the rain here is probably more acidic than the interior, too. It fluctuates in the 3.5 to 5.0 pH range.

As for nutrients, I routinely fill up my 2-gallon container with rainwater (I have a 60-gallon thing plumbed into one of my downspouts) and add 1/8 teaspoon of JR Peters Jacks orchid fertilizer. I water everything with it except my haworthias.

At that rate of use, the 8-oz pack has lasted for years. As a result, I can't tell you why I decided to get that one because I really don't remember and I have since transferred the blue crystals into a peanut butter jar without the label/instruction. I bet it was primarily because it did not have urea and had the relevant micronutrients so that I never have to think about it again.

Edit: @popmama (Colorado, USDA z5) I'm sooo relieved to hear that about australis. I'm absolutely down with extremely forgiving plants. The way I grow them, they'd have a lot to forgive lol

Thank you for the details, Pagan! Kanuma is a pretty cool looking substrate. I might order some on ebay. I love to try new things! It's how I keep this hobby interesting for me. Not that growing plants isn't interesting in and of itself, but somehow new discoveries and experimentation make it more so for me.

Agreed. I might try that too )))
I have lots of rare Hoya to root

Pagan, if I may, please, where did you purchase the H davidcummingii? I have been looking all over for days. Thanks a million and does it look nice) Look's like even the Lacunosa like an acidic mix. Maybe that is why mines is so stunted(

Hi Mike. According to my email record, I got aaaaallll of my hoyas from Gardino. I apparently even ordered a lacunosa also but I can't find it so I probably killed it.

Anyway, I read somewhere that davidcummingii is supposed to smell like something. It's probably spring allergies but I smell nothing.

Pagan - you said you have a barrel plumbed into one of your down spouts, which collects rainwater off your roof. What it's also collecting is bird poop, bugs, pollen etc, which are all beneficial to your plants - they certainly show it. Best of luck with them - they look great!

Bill, that's all I give mine too unless they are outside then I just hose them off with the hose. I collect my rain water too. Good point made. Never thought of that)

Pagan, weird how Gardino's is always out of every hoyas except for one or two. I think I got my black lacunose there too way back and a couple others. I think if I had been more involved with Hoya in the past, I would of picked up a few what they call 'rare' ones today, always sold out back then for a dime a dozen. Oh, if only..)

I gotta get a downspout diverter. Now I just collect it in plastic garbage barrels as it rains, which takes forever to fill. A downspout diverter would do it with each storm. Ahhh, I love another project.....

The diverter works really well, Bill.

I empty and disconnect the thingie in winter. The black cloth on top is just weed fabric to keep bugs out of my water. I have another uglier one in another part of the yard where it isn't visible. But I needed a more presentable barrel closer to the pergola where I keep my haworthias.

When it is warmer, I powerwash the inside of the barrel, too. Still, the water definitely has yummy stuff added!

That's great! I saw one, a kit, on Amazon for $45 which will fit my 3x4" downspouts perfectly. Now I just need to locate a 55 gallon drum and I'm good to go.

I like the look of your collection pot. It's impressive.

I was thinking the same thing. Love that barrel. Or pot should I say ? Better than my ugly barrel. Lol