As this week progresses, I will feature a number of different Hoyas showing the entire plant instead of concentrating on the flowers. For most of us this is what we live with most of the time. Yesterday we looked at Hoya parviflora; today we look at Hoya aff. clemensiorum (IML 1752). This is a tough Hoya to grow well, and right now growing it in a hybrid bonsai mixture, the plant looks as good as I’ve ever had it before.
Hoya parviflora Splash was obtained as a small rooted plant in a trade a number of years ago, and I can’t flower the thing no matter what tricks I try. It continues to vex me. The leaves bleach out with too much light as can be seen in the photo below. I am determined that I will eventually flower this plant if it kills me.
Until we meet again, or until she flowers again, we will put one of the most beautiful flowers to rest with this little art work that I made using my photo editing software.
I have had numerous peduncles on Hoya vitiensis over the years and they mean little to nothing as they will not bud up. Besides trying the Ocean Forest soil, I am contemplating trying this plant in Lechuza Pon. The flowers on this plant are so darned beautiful, I determined to keep growing this Hoya despite the difficulties.
I recently posted a video of Hoya vitiensis on YouTube and one of my subscribers suggested that this is a plant that requires good quality soil with a slightly acid pH range. He indicated to transplant it into a product called Ocean Forest. I have now purchased a bag and look forward to working with it. He also indicated that it is a plant that flowers as the days are shortening, which follows my experience with the plant.
We will spend a few days talking about Hoya vitiensis, because 3 years is a long time to wait between flowerings! Below the effects of my new photo editing software; my easy to use Picasa software is no more! So I had to find something else simple enough for this technologically disinclined individual to use.
Here are two different flower photos taken from the same plant. The flower on the top was produced last May and is almost yellow, which was the color it was supposed to produce. The second photo was taken around Thanksgiving showing a very red coloration.
The last time I flowered this plant the plant flowered almost yellow; this time around it flowered almost totally red. Conditions make all the difference in flower color. That is why I’m not a huge believer in buying six clones of the same Hoya species just for different color variations. In all likelihood it will not bloom true to form.
Look at the size of these buds on Hoya imperialis Palawan. This plant is growing in my one and only upstairs grow tent.
I’m lucky enough to have both of these flowering at the same time so here is a new comparison photo of Hoya darwinii and Hoya platycaulis:
