I got a decent pic of the Dischidia ovata I talked about in my last post. At left is the plant itself. Very beautiful and healthy - it's my favorite of all the Dischidias because of the gorgeous markings. And below is a pic of the buds, which you have to look closely to see...

So here are today's notes...

I got a new Hoya compacta in January (at Lowe's) - a large, healthy plant. I used to grow it years ago, but it was such a mealy magnet that I finally gave up on it. Since I'm using systemics now, I figure I'll start growing it again. I hope it does well for me...

Hoya pubicalyx 'Pink Silver' (or 'Splash' as I prefer to call it) has lots of new growth sprouting - both the HUGE plant in the GH, and the largish one in the dining room. The one in the GH has a couple peduncles budding out, and a few others that have that "fuzzy" look of "here comes a bud." The new leaves are especially silver flecked, which is what I adore about 'Splash." Will the one in the dining room get peduncles this year??

H. diversifolia v. crassipes, which is one I got from Pirate Girl/Karen, is doing beautifully and has some new growth on it. Dischidia bengalensis, a cutting I got from Yale last year, is in the same pot and is also putting on new growth.

Ceropegia radicans is another I got from PG/Karen (both a couple years ago...), and it's doing well and all three stems have new growth. Looks like it'll be a great grower this year. Maybe I'll get some of those fascinating flowers this year.

Hoya heuschkeliana has been a challenge for me. I got one little cutting spring '06 and it has just been sitting there ever since. I finally put it in a pot with H. pubicalyx 'Royal Hawaiian Purple' where it has continued to just sit there. 'RHP' isn't showing any new signs of growth at this point, either. Maybe they'll both take off pretty soon...

Hoya arnottiana is one I got as a cutting in '06 from a lady I got some pots from on eBay. It rooted quickly, grew a bit in 2007 - seeing the little bit of growth, I knew it was one I would like. Well, it's got two new growth points, and a big new leaf that looks fabulous! I'm very excited and hope it really grows like gangbusters this year!

Hoya australis ssp. sana had slow steady growth all winter. It's on a top shelf in the GH and has stems that go all the way to the floor! But WHERE are the peduncles?!! I've had this thing so many years, I can't figure out what I'm not doing that I should to get it to bloom... Same story with the damned australis ssp. tenuipes, though it didn't grow through the winter. It's been dormant, but it got so huge last year, I was SURE I'd have flowers in the fall. NOT! What must I do to get flowers on these australis species?

Dischidiopsis parasitica is starting to grow. It looks so much like Hoya shepherdii, shepherdell and wayetii, I was sure it was another Hoya when I got it. I'm still a little skeptical, but when I get flowers, I guess that'll prove which it really is.

Hoya kerrii - well, plain kerrii has what I call "growth buds" forming. That's those kind of gnarly bumps that look fresh in spring and turn into new growth. The hairy clone (aka "hairy kerrii") is showing no signs of new growth yet. The veined clone is popping new growth like crazy (in the sunroom, interestingly enough!) I put the variegated kerrii back in the GH and it's been growing, but you have to look close to even find a HINT of variegation. I really, really want one of the albomarginata (sp?) variegates and plan to get one this spring...

Hoya shepherdell has two new growth points. I'm very excited to see this one take off. I really like the long-leaved Hoyas.

And one I'm REALLY excited about is Hoya carnosa 'Krimson Queen' has one new growth tip forming! I've had this 'KQ' for a long time and at some point, almost the entire plant had reverted back to green. I salvaged two original pieces and put them in a smaller pot by themselves and put them on a high shelf in the kitchen in front of the north window. They've done nothing for the better part of a year and a half, but today I noticed a new shoot coming out of one of the stems. It's too soon to see if it's going to be variegated or pure green, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and will be checking it every couple of days. I've been watching for a 'KQ' at the usual spots, hoping to find a new one, but I haven't seen one in years, so I have a feeling salvaging this one is my only hope...

And that's my plant notes for today... I plan to start working on repotting, top dressing, cleaning up and checking roots on the succs over the next few weeks. Need to get them ready for an early spring because with such a hard winter, I think that's what we'll see. (I HOPE so, anyway!!)

Yesterday, I spent some time out in the greenhouse looking at plants and making some written observations so I could record them here for future reference... Here are some of my notes...

Hoya fungii has three new growing tips! I have a feeling I'm going to see this one grow by leaps and bounds this year. After having a peduncle with 75 individual flowers, I'm excited to see what it does this year!

Hoya nicholsonii put out two new shoots last fall, but I see no signs of new growth yet this spring. It's looking very happy and healthy, though, so I'll bet it will get going here soon...

Hoya 'Krinkle 8', which I got as a cutting from Yale Sedman in the spring of '06, has put on some beautiful new growth this winter. I got 3 small cuttings from him (or maybe it was one large one and I cut it in three - I can't really remember...), and all rooted, but only one put on any new growth, and a couple months ago, it split at the growth point and now has two stems. Now I see that there is new growth on both of the other cuttings, so it should be a good year for 'Krinkle 8'. The new growth is so shiney and healthy looking - it could easily turn into a favorite.

Hoya rubra, the old carnosa-like Hoya, it sprouting new growth everywhere. I repotted it - was it last year?? - and although it did grow some last year, it wasn't a record year for it, and it didn't bloom quite as much as it usually does. It looks like it must be settled in its new pot now from the looks of the new growth.

Hoya bhutanica fared very well over the winter. I have it in a good sized heavy pot, but it's so top heavy with foliage that it's not very stable. There are a few new points of growth, but I'm really hoping it'll bloom up a storm for me this year. I can only find one peduncle on it, and if I remember correctly, it started to bud out last summer but aborted before it got too far...

Hoya cv. 'Minibelle', which I also got as a cutting from Yale in spring '06, has some new growth, but what was really exciting was that it set two buds last month. One aborted before it got too far, but the second opened a week or so ago. Now, it's a small flower cluster, mind you, as they often are when they first start blooming, but it's very exciting to have a carnosa cultivar bloom so quickly! It hasn't even grown that much really - usually, carnosa has to be big and old to bloom, so it was a surprise... And the fragrance was lovely, like lilacs.

Hoya wayetii - the one in the kitchen has two new bronze growth points! I'd love to see that one (and the tsangii that sits next to it...) put on some peduncles, but I suppose that's asking too much for plants that sit in a north window... And my big wayetii (that hangs in the bedroom) looks great and I anticipate it will be popping some new growth soon, too. I think I see one new shoot, but it's hard to say for sure until it puts on a new leaf...

Hoya 'Iris Marie' is putting on TONS of new growth. It starts out very bronze, which is kind of weird for such a thin-leaved Hoya. The leaves on it remind me a lot of Ficus benjamina. I'm anxious to see how it does this year...

Hoya serpens looks a little shitty - it's developed some yellow leaves which have dropped. But it has two new flowers forming, so it's hanging in there apparently!

Dischidia ovata (which I got from Cowboyflowerman last summer) is growing like a freakin' weed! It's absolutely stunning, but even more exciting is that I found two flower clusters hidden in all that foliage. There may be more - I'll have to do a thorough search. I'm anxious to see the open flowers as I'm not sure what color they are. Porbably white...

Both my Echeveria agavoides have flower spikes - one has a single, the other a double. I can't remember them blooming before, so I'm hoping they're not "terminal" flowers. They both have offsets, but I love the main plants and REALLY don't want to lose them.

And that's all my notes for now. I'll be back out in the GH today and will try to get more notes posted (and maybe get some pics taken) this weekend.