A few weeks ago Rachel Mixon from YouTube interviewed me about Hoya blooms. For those who have not seen it here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAirlr_C1gI&t=37s During the discussion she indicated that I might want to try preserving my blooms using silica gel, and she was kind enough to send me a gift of a five pound bag of the crystals. My first try will be using it on these H. calycina ‘Stargazer’ blooms; I have attached a photo below before fully covering the flowers. I will report back in a couple of weeks on the outcome. It will be interesting to see if it prevents blackening, retains the red color near the corona, and stops the flower from reflexing into a ball.