Hoya celata did nothing all summer, and as soon as I got it into the grow tent, the plant went crazy with growth and is now budding up on a peduncle. Here is one of its leaves from this morning.

I never thought I would say that again as this is one of the hardest Hoyas to keep alive period. I thought that I had lost this plant and had a two leaved cutting that I stuck in leca and pretty much forgot about it, and surprise; it refused to die! More on this plant if the buds make it to term.

This is the wavy leaved version and even though my plant looks half dead, it is going to flower for the second time this year. I think the buds are even cooler looking than the flowers!

I have flowered this plant many times over the years, but if these buds hold up, it will be the first time I have flowered it using leca and the passive hydro method of growing it.

Hoya linearis is definitely one of those Hoyas whose flowering is day length dependent; it always seems to flower as the days are shortening in mid-autumn.

I have not flowered this one in a bit so it is nice to see. This is one of the Finlaysonii Type Hoyas that has a very beautiful scent, albeit short lived, as the blooms begin to close in one day.

I will hopefully be able to bring this plant back here one day if I can ever get it to grow more than a single leaf!

Most Hoyas as I have found this year root exceptionally well in moist coconut husk, but what happens after that? This is the question that I keep working on. You have to be really careful with coco husk as much of it is very salty as some of it sits in ocean water for months before it is processed. It is always safer to soak and rinse many times before using it. I have many plants currently rooted in it, but while the roots can be amazing, I seem to have a lot of trouble to get any new growth above the soil line. At this point I can’t really recommend this medium as it is also very easy to rot the roots with it.

I received Hoya cf. Palawanica IML 1605 as a one node, one leaf cutting in July of this year and it put on a peduncle and flowered in Late September. It was rooted in coconut husk and has yet to put on any new growth other than a peduncle, which budded up and produced 4 flowers.

I thought as long as we are talking about Hoya cf. palawanica IML 1605, and it has a David Liddle accession number that I would say a few words about him. The Hoya world suffered a huge loss with the death of David in September of 2009. I was lucky enough to correspond with him a couple of times before his untimely passing. His nursery in those days was the go to place for Hoyas. There were huge group orders from all over the world that were placed with him, and he did a phenomenal job of fulfilling those orders. I will never forget the excitement of getting an order of unrooted cuttings in those days.

He more that any vendor I have encountered knew how to select, and process unrooted cuttings for shipment so that they would arrive even after 3 weeks in transit in good shape when they got to your door. All cuttings in an order were packed in there own separate muslin drawstring bag. His plants were all grown outdoors, and were taken near the end of the rainy season at just the right time. Most cuttings averaged only $10-$12 each and there were so many to choose from! I am thankful that I was able to experience it for myself as those days are permanently behind us.