Category Archives: Uncategorized

My History with Hoya lanceolata bella ‘White’ Part Six

Through out the spring and summer of this year (2016) my tiny, two cutting, Hoya lanceolata bella ‘White’ continued to grow until I had one piece around 14 inches long and another piece about 5 inches long.  I no longer feared losing the plant, and the longest cutting started to form a peduncle.  I did not get too excited about it at first as I had seen many very tiny peduncles abort in the past.  This peduncle however was different and not only hung on, but started to grow!  I watched it daily for weeks and finally was rewarded with what you see below.  The blooms are stunning and sweetly scented.

Hoya lanceolata bella 'White' 101016

A Guide to the Hoyas of Borneo – A Must Have New Hoya Publication

A good friend sent me a copy of this brand new book, and I have to say that it is outstanding!  I’m so excited about A Guide to the Hoyas of Borneo that it is hard to know where to begin.  First of all the book is in full color, with some of the most amazing photos of Hoyas growing in their natural environment that I have seen.  There are sections on where most of the 67 covered Hoyas live, which is very helpful when trying to replicate those conditions at home.  There are many Hoyas covered that are extremely new discoveries that have yet to make it to the trade including Hoya medinillifolia, which actually has blue tinted flowers!  There are photos of seedpods of many species, which I have never seen.  Ever wondered what the seedpods of Hoya imperialis look like?  It is shown in this book.

This is a book that you will refer to again and again.  I give it my highest recommendation!  Here are a couple of sources for purchasing it.  You can order it by copying and pasting this link into your browser:  https://www.nhpborneo.com/book/hoyas-borneo/  If you live in the UK, I have just learned that there is a gentleman named Mike Parks who has ordered copies of the book to sell there.  His contact information is: mikeparkbooks@virginmedia.com

Here is a photo of the book in my hand – buy the book, you won’t be sorry!

A Guide to the Hoyas of Borneo

A Plant Monster in the Making!

Here is a photo of Murdoch our new plant monster.  The night after I snapped this photo, he threw a giant Variegated Hoya kerrii to the floor.  I was too upset to  photograph it.  Here you can see his bad attitude – Ignore me will you? I’ll show you!

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More Hoya Canvases

Here are a couple more examples of some of my photos that I have had turned into photographic canvases.  I have no idea if there would be any interest, but I may set up an area of this site where any of my photos could be purchased as a canvas.  My photos could be taken for free off from this site, but they would not be of high enough pixel quality to use on all but the smallest canvases.  The prices would probably range from $40 for an 8X10 to $125 for a 24X36.  I would not make very much money on the deal, but it would be something, and it would help to pay for the web hosting of this site.  Anyhow, I don’t know if I will pursue it, or not, but it is something that is running through my mind.

Hoya Art 031816aHoya Art 031816b

Something Different and Happy St. Patti’s Day

I recently discovered a place online that turns photographs into canvases.  I have taken over 100,000 photos of Hoya flowers and have never bothered to get any of them printed until now.  I am very pleased with how they are coming out.  Here is an example of a 24X36.  I think they look amazing!  Tomorrow I will give a couple more examples.

Hoya Art 031718

Dischidia nummularia variegata Against The Frost

These two photos were actually taken over Presidents Day weekend when the temperature dropped to -15°F. This is a slow week Flower wise so I thought I would post them. Dischidia nummularia variegata is a very easy plant to care for; I sometimes forget to water the plant for weeks on end, and it still just keeps on going – Highly recommended!

Dischidia nummularia variegata 031016Negative 15 031016

Happy Birthday To This Site! Also the Start of Hoya imperialis Unplugged

Believe it or not, today marks the fifth anniversary of this website.  It has been a lot of work, but also a lot of fun; I’ve met a lot of great people along the way as well.  I have reinstalled ClustrMaps, which now keeps track of all of my visits live and is better than ever.  I so appreciate all of the visits Vermonthoyas get from all over the world every day.  With any luck, I hope to be around for the Ten year anniversary!

My work Hoya imperialis just sitting on the windowsill with no pampered life of grow tents and artificial lighting has now flowered.  Here is the first photograph:

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Thanks to Everyone For Bearing with Me!

I often wonder how many people actually read this daily Hoya blog of mine.  I know that I have at least a few readers, and for those I’m sorry that I missed my first daily post in around three years.  I feared that I had lost my entire site forever, because of a WordPress update that went horribly wrong.  For the first time I needed to find someone to fix this site, and bring it back up.  I feel incredibly lucky and blessed that my wife found the most amazing young man with the knowledge and professionalism needed to help me in my time of distress.  I want to personally take this opportunity to thank Matthew May, the Founder/Creative Director of Studios 17 for not only bringing Vermont Hoyas back up, but for tweaking things under the hood to make it better and less likely to crash in the future.