Here is a photo that I just snapped of Hoya polyneura happily spending the winter inside of my kitchen. I hope to flower it in the autumn so that I can make a video of the event. Not the easiest Hoya to grow, going by past experience, but seems to be holding its own for now.
I met Dee and Kim three years ago when Dee emailed Carol Noel in Hawaii and asked her about growing Hoyas in Vermont. She passed along my name, and the two of them nervously drove the 30 miles from their home to mine to see my Hoyas. It turned out I wasn’t a serial killer, and both of them became friends with myself and my wife. They have become a good source to give some of my extra, or too large Hoyas to over the years.
Both Dee and Kim paid us a visit yesterday in our new home and gave us a house warming present. Dee works in stained glass and gave my wife a piece with a cat, and gave me an original of a Hoya imperialis flower. I had gifted Dee my too large imperialis a few months ago, and she took a photo of the blooms at her house. That photo is what she worked from to create this treasure below.
H. imperialis in Stained Glass by Dee Dion
Here is Hoya kanyakumariana all decorated up for the holidays. I encourage all of you to decorate your Hoyas for the holidays – they don’t mind!
We went from having almost no snow all winter long to 20 inches over night. It was a lot of work. Here is a photo of the Hoya porch with snow all around.
Had a great visit is our friends the Dillners in Montgomery yesterday. We got to watch their traditional backyard sugaring operation, and see all of the cute farm animals.
Some of the credit to my success with Hoyas has to be given to how my wife and I heat our house. If it were not for our wood pellet stove, we could never afford to keep the house warm enough for these plants. It allows us to keep the house at comfortable temperatures that vary but average around 75°F.