Blooming right now:

Pink & white azalea
hoya shepperdi
hoya lacunosa
hoya carnosa
hoya compacta
lipstick plant (lobbianus)








lipstick plant (mona lisa)
lipstick plant (black pagoda)
numerous african violets





goldfish plant (nematanthus)
red philodendron
calamondin

June Blooms

Noid African Violet

Crown of Thorns ( this has bloomed non stop since I got it a year ago,
it is never without some flowers)

Calamondin

Hoya Shepperdi

Hoya Lacunosa

Noid African violet

Aeschynanthus "Black Pagoda"

Hoya Compacta

Hoya Heuschkeliana

Nematanthus aka Goldfish plant

Back Pagoda & More Hoya Flowers & a Peduncle!

I love Spring & Summer so much, except for the bugs. Everything seems to bloom and flower, and there is always something so colorful to find and examine and admire.


To make a long story short (see here & here & here) the above pic is supposed to be an Aeschynanthus "Black Pagoda" hybrid. I am still a little hesitant, but it's still the coolest flower for miles around. It has no scent at all, but it doesn't need it at all, it completely steals the show.


I got a cutting of a hoya polyneura (fishtail hoya) in a recent hoya round robin. It has since rooted really well, and even looks like it might be growing 2 new peduncles!! To some it sounds weird....lol, but to a hoya nut, it's a PeDuNcLe!!! YAY!!


The above hoya lacunosa had some major temper tantrums over the past couple years involving bud blast (see here & here). Now that it has started to flower, it hasn't stopped. It keeps growing new peduncles and more and more are starting to actually make it to bloom. A couple days ago I counted eight open umbels of flowers. The smell still doesn't fill the room like I expected it too, but it is quite strong smelling reminiscent of lilacs. Which reminds me, I have a couple umbels of flowers open on my hoya carnosa; those flowers are very strong either, but those couple can fill my living room at times in the late evening.


This pic is a close up of the hoya lacunosa that is flowering right now. I hadn't realized until a little while ago looking at the pic, that one of the flowers hasn't quite finished opening in the pic, and kind of reminds me of my yellow heuschkeliana flowers.I still can't get a decent close up of these flowers yet.....I have read somewhere that white/light flowers are harder to photograph than others. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Hoya Shepherdii Flowers

The hoya's are on a role on my house. Lately I haven't been without a bloom somewhere. This is my hoya shepherdii blooming away for me. This one has tried to bloom before for me a few times, but also blasted it's buds a few times.


The flowers are so simple. They are white and the inner flower has some purple in it. They are not as strong smelling as some of the other hoya's I have smelled. They smell very light and almost floral-y. It is more of just a fresh smell that I can't quite put my finger on.


This one bloomed for me and I didn't even notice until the flowers were already open. They were sitting back against the wall, kind of hidden by a few other hoya's. When I was watering today I noticed flowers in the back and was happily surprised by these guys.

Hoya Heuschkeliana Flowers & Hoya Ciliata Leafless Cutting update

This is one of the hoya's I got in the DL order. It is the yellow flowered (obviously) hoya heuschkeliana. This is such a cute flower. Pictures definitely make this one look a lot larger than it is in real life. Kudos to the people on the net that have photos of this one. I found it really hard to photograph, and I just don't think my cam can get too much closer. My cam is only 6 months old, and already I need a new one...lol.


This one has the most amazing fragrance to it. It smells like buttered caramel popcorn. I have found that all my hoya's smell way stronger at night. It's a wonderful thing since I work until eleven most nights, so when I get home, all my hoya's smell amazing!


I was checking all my cuttings I received in my DL order and all of them look awesome. I think they are ready to come out of the bag soon. I have opened all the bags to start getting them accustomed to my environment at home. I saw the greatest thing when I was checking them....my hoya ciliata that lost all it's leaves when I got it, has roots. Not only has it rooted, there is a little branch starting to grow. I haven't gotten a pic yet, but I will. There is truth to the notion that leafless cuttings can root. I had read that without the leaves, the cutting would die, but that is not all that
true. This has completely rooted sans leaves, and has new growth in the form of a branch.....in a month or so, it should have a leaf!!

The Answer to Name this Plant!

Again here is the pic from a previous post. I asked if anyone could name the plant.


The answer is a Lipstick plant or Aeschynanthus.

Update on my New Hoya's (Liddle Order)

I opened the baggies for the second time since arrival to check out the hoya's I got through the D. Liddle order. This is the first real update, and I am so excited to see good stuff happening in those baggies.

Purpureo Fusca

This is a cutting of purepureo fusca. I gave it a little tug, and it seemed firm. I wonder how long this one takes to bloom, the flowers on this one are purple on purple, and they are so pretty.

Hoya Caudata

This hoya caudata is already one of my favorites. Nevermind that the flowers are possibly the prettiest in the whole family, the foliage is just wicked. The leaves have a funky texture to them, they can be green and they can have a lot of red in them. They are spooky looking. They look like something swampish and creepy, and I just love them. I potted this one up in a clear 3 inch container, so I can see the roots developing down into the cup. They are just over an inch long, so I would have to say this hoya is doing very well.

Hoya Ciliata

This is the hoya ciliata that lost all it's leaves. I couldn't believe it when I saw roots growing all along the vine. This is the hoya that is nicknamed "the black hoya", as it has nearly black flowers. I see less black in this one as say compared to the two pubicalyx' (reb buttons & RHP), but I have not seen either flower yet, and I guess technically, the pubicalyx' have red in them as well.. The flowers of the ciliata are not as pretty as some of the other flowers, but "the black hoya" caught my attention. This will be an interesting one to grow since I came so close to losing it. It will be my "miracle black hoya".

Hoya Dischorensis

My new cutting of hoya dishchorensis is starting to root as well. The foliage is okay, but I did get this one for the goldish color flowers it should eventually produce. Me and gold flowers have a little thing on the go right now. I go ga-ga every time I see a gold flower.

Hoya Mindorensis

The hoya mindorensis cutting is also doing well. It passed the tug test. The foliage is okay. Nothing spectacular, but the flowers on this one are amazing as well.

Hoya Heutschkeliana

In light of the pending death of my other hoya heutschkeliana, this one is in flowering mode. The one that is dying is supposed to be pink, while this one should be yellow. These are a smaller leaved hoya and I really like the foliage. The flowers are small urn shaped flowers, unlike any other in the hoya family. The best past is that it has started to produce buds on two different peduncles. I am going to let it try and flower rather than disbud it. It is still in it's baggie, so I will just leave it in there until it is done flowering, then let it continue to form roots. I have seen hoya's last in baggie for weeks, so I have some confidence that it will be okay, even if I let it flower (assuming it will not blast the buds first).

All of the cuttings I received are doing fairly well. A few have lost a leaf or two, but nothing major. All have started to root, and most are already quite firm in their pot. I plan on keeping them in baggies for at least a couple more weeks before I ease them out of their humid little greenhouse into my house.....lol.

Participating in this order was such a positive experience I can not wait to do it again. My Thanks go out to everyone involved. I look forward to seeing pics of everyone's hoya's as they grow on various places across the net.

What Plant is this Extreme Close up From??

Macro photography is so cool. Anyone know what this is a pic of? It is of a plant. I will post the answer in a few days. Have Fun!!