I have several new Hoya photo comparison photos and we will start with Hoya thomsonii and Hoya amicabilis.

I thought that it would be kind of neat to use this slider to compare the flowers of both of the H. thomsonii clones.

This small pot that Hoya thomsonii lives in needs to be soaked every 3 days as it dries out pretty fast. Perhaps that is part of the secret to keeping this species happy. It seems very susceptible to root rot when grown in conventional mixes. The flowers when opened are extremely fragrant and perfumes the grow tent and half of the basement where it lives.

In August of last year I started my remaining two cuttings of Hoya thomsonii ‘Pink’ in a 3 oz cup of coconut chips, put it in my humid grow tent and hoped for the best. It took off and actually grew well and formed a number of peduncles in all of that humidity. I made a decision thinking about its fall blooming cycle. In January, I moved it from a day length cycle of 14 hours of light to a new shorter 12 hour day length, and almost immediately buds began to form on all of the peduncles. I could not believe the crazy amount of buds!

This little cutting grew very poorly and was started over a number of times through the years. Somehow I was always able to save it in the long run, but came close to losing it many times. I had always suffered with Hoya thomsonii as it just never did well for me. It is a fall bloomer and never did well on my windowsill, but under lights it would not flower, because it needs decreasing day length to trigger it. Finally I discovered the secret of flowering Hoya thomsonii under lights. More tomorrow…

I made a trade a few years ago, and received a cutting of Hoya thomsonii ‘Pink’, but truth be told at the time I was a little dismayed at the trade as what I received so tiny I was unsure that it would live. I remember thinking that I sent such a big cutting and what I got in return was so small and while I said nothing, I was not looking to trade with this person again. This is a wrong way of thinking, and now regret that I was upset. Below the foliage of Hoya thomsonii ‘Pink’.

These plants are such close relatives that I always wanted them both flowering at the same time so that they could be photographed together. It finally happened! Hoya sp. SR-2017-012 Frog Foot on the left and Hoya platycaulis on the right.

My little four leaved plant has managed to flower; now if I can just manage to get it to grow a few more leaves! The flowers are much lighter this go around and must vary according to the health of the plant and the conditions under which it is grown.

It was hard to hold this many flowers together with one hand and photographing it with the other!

I believe that this is the first time that I have photographed these two flowers together so here we are: