Signs of spring in my plants:

Wow! So much new growth - it's got me pumped! This is going to be a fan-freakin-tastic year for my plants! There are changes every day, but here are some I've taken special note of today...

Hoya arnotiana is one that seems to grow in spurts. I got it as a cutting from Gemilla on eBay in 2006 (she was the first person I got those 4.5" hanging pots from...) It rooted quickly but didn't grow the first year. In 2007, it grew a spurt. It got a HUGE leaf, then some smaller ones. Last year, it put on a spurt of growth, too, but not a lot. It seems to want to grow on one side, so I took a cutting and put it in the other side of the pot. That one's not showing any signs of new growth, but the main plant has 5 (five) new growth points!! Yay! Maybe this means this will be the year that it really takes off, and maybe there's a chance I'll get some buds this year!

H. merrridithii x. crassicaulis, which I got from Ted Green as a cutting last summer, put on a little new growth last summer then stopped abruptly. It's a big, succulent, long-leaved Hoya. I think I see a gowth nubbie starting, but I can't be absolutely sure. I think I'll pot it up to one of the 4.5" pots this week.

H. mitrata - such a weird one! It's very un-Hoya-like in my book. I got it spring of '07 from the lady in Florida who offered to get me a bunch of unnamed Hoyas & Dischidias from her local botanical gardens. It's one I'd never heard of. It seemed like I was going to lose it, but it just sat there, not dieing, not growing for the longest time. Then last summer, it put on a little new growth. I'm seeing a new growth point from each plant (2) already, so I think it might be a good year for this one. It's certainly different!...

It's got weird, thickish leaves that have some silver flecking, but they seem to grow very bunched. On one website, I saw it described as "growing cabbage-like leaves." Meaning in bunches close together I think. Anyway, I think of it as kind of a novelty plant at this point. I guess we'll see what it does as time goes on!

Dischidia griffithii, one of those I got from the Tanya Livschultz collection last fall, has 2 (maybe 3!) new growth points! YAY! Just this week, BJ and I went back over to UNO and get some more cuttings. Tom's like, "Take all you want - just leave me a stubby piece of each." I took one of those giant zip-lock bags full home and there's still enough there to choke a horse! Sent out a cooler-full to Carol in Hawaii. According to the PO tracking #, she should have gotten it yesterday.

Then there's H. meliflua. It's another one I got last summer (from CBFM) and it didn't grow much last year. It recently put on some new leaves, and now I see a couple new growth points. I think I'm going to like this one. I had a meliflua ssp. fraterna a couple years ago and didn't like it at all and, in fact, traded it for something else. So wasn't sure if it was the fraterna or the meliflua influence that I didn't care for. Now that I have a fraterna cutting (that is doing absolutely nothing!), I think it must have been the fraterna part that turned me off...

H. nicholsoniae, which I got from Shoal Creek Succulents in the summer of '05 has done well for me. Growing it on the top shelf in the GH seems to be paying off. It bloomed for me once in '06 and nothing since, but now it has a big-assed bloom forming! I can't wait - I remember how beautiful the flower was. In fact, this is the pic I have on my desktop right now...

Is that gorgeous or WHAT? You can see why I'm excited!

Latifolia, one with similar foliage to nicholsoniae, has been forming one long, leafless vine for the last month. I also see now that it has 1 new growth bud. This is the one they call the "dinner plate" Hoya for the big leaves. I grow it next to my nicholsoniae, but I think I'll move it down a couple shelves to see if I can get any of those "dinner plate" size leaves. (Because more light = smaller leaves, less light = bigger leaves...)



H. callistrophylla: what can I say? I think this one might become my all-time favorite Hoya for it's stunning foliage. It's one I got last summer from Gardinos (who have some of the nicest Hoyas and prices I've seen...) It's a knockout. I'm happy to report that there THREE new growth points, and maybe another "growth bud." Here's a photo of it back when I first got it...


This pic doesn't do it justice, but a piece broke off my camera so until I get a new one, this is all I have. But you can at least see how distinct the veins are. It's gorgeous. I can't wait for it to become a specimen-sized plant!


H. aldrichii has been a slowpoke for me. I got it from Carol (Aloha Hoyas) in '06 and I think it's about time I got some real growth from it. I'm seeing what MAY be some growth nubbies starting. I'll keep an eye on it...

H. sp. Nong Nooch has very similar leaves to callistrophylla, but a little bigger and edges are a bit wavy. I got a little bit of new growth last fall, but it was kind of crappy growth, so I wasn't very impressed. (Got this one from Carol this last summer...) Well, I see two new growth buds forming!! I'm so hoping it's as gorgeous as I think it will be...

H. fungii is always a fantastic grower AND flowerer! I've got 3 big flower buds that will be opening soon, and at least 5 "fuzzing up." And it's putting on new growth, too, but that will probably be slow due to the impending flowers.

I've been really excited about archboldiana for the last couple of weeks because it has a peduncle that's budding out. I can see 6 distinct flowers. This is the one that has the HUGE cup-shaped flowers, so I'm very excited to get my first blooms! It's also got 4 new growth points. The new vines are so delicate, it's hard to believe they're thick enough to support those big, succulent leaves.

I can always count on H. rubra to be a faithful bloomer and, true to form, it's budding up. I can't figure out why the new growth is so different than the old. Not as succulent. And all the flecking that was so rare in the older foliage. It's weird...

Oh, here's one I'm pumped about: H. purpureo-fusca has TWO new growth points! Yippie! I've got a lot of money wrapped up in this one as I got a cutting of it from Ted Green last late spring. Well, I couldn't tell which way was the "down" way and guessed (I had this problem with a couple of his cuttings...) and I must have guessed wrong and lost it. I got a rooted cutting from Carol later in the summer, but it did nothing until late fall, I suddenly noticed it had a new leaf. But then it stopped again. This is one I've wanted for a long time, so I'm thrilled knowing it's going to grow for me!

There is absolutely no signs of growth on the plain green verticillata (which I got about a year ago from CBFM), but the variegated form (which I got from Carol in the spring of '06) has at least 5 new growth points, and I found a peduncle, too! Variegates tend to be slow growers, but this one has grown quite a bit for me. I may summer it outside this year again as it seems to like that...

H. pubicalyx 'Royal Hawaiian Purple' has grown like gangbusters. I got it in a GW trade in the summer of '06 (maybe from Yale?) I like the purple new growth - it's really stunning. It's got 5 new peduncles that look like they're "fuzzing up" to flower. It'll be my first flowers form this one, too.

Limoniaca, which I got from CBFM in the summer of '07, has also been an agressive grower. And now I'm seeing at least 2 peduncles, so maybe I'll finally get flowers from it!!

I got H. rigida from Awanda last summer (as a cutting) and it rooted quickly. Now it's got 2 new growth points, so this should be a good summer for it. I like the leaves that are similar to nicholsoniae, but they're narrower, almost heart-shaped.

As for my kerriis, regular has lots of the growth nubbies. Looks like hairy kerrii will bloom this year (it set peduncles last year...) And the veined clone is growing, but no signs of peduncles yet. No new growth from either of the variegates...

I was so pissed - I found scale on my davidcummingii this morning! It seems like most of the plants I got from Ted have come down with scale at some point. Of course, the detergent water swish I do with new cuttings didn't have an impact on those little buggers. I'll have to be sure to water with BATS next time I water...Otherwise, though, it's doing well.

More later! Have to do some watering...

Oh boy, oh boy! Hoya macgillivrayi and archboldiana are both budding up!! They're both the very large flowering Hoyas, and I can't wait to see the blooms! I'll be back to post pics as soon as they open...

In the meantime, I'm seeing new growth on so many plants. I noticed today that one of my Monadeniums has a flower, and they all are developing leaves. Hoya callistrophylla is putting on new growth (from two points...) Hoya nicholsonaie has a bud forming, as does the pot of green offshoots of my 'Krimson Princess'. Pubicalyx 'Royal Hawaiian Purple' and 'Red Buttons' both have peduncles that I'm pretty sure will bud up soon. Compacta, which I'm keeping in the bathroom away from EVERYthing else (because it's so prone to mealies), has new growth all over the place. I got it last year sometime, and although it's always looked good, it hasn't grown at all, so I'm glad to see it's taking off. Pubicalyx 'Pink Silver' (or 'Splash' as I like to call it) has new leaves that are unusually large. (What's that about??) I see all kinds of growth "buds" coming on kerrii, and austrlis ssp. australis (which I used to think was ssp. sana, but I've decided it's not...) continues to pump out new growth with no signs of peduncles. I can't even remember how many years I've had this one, and it grows like a weed and looks fantastic, but where are the blooms?? I've got it on the top shelf of the GH because it's so huge, but I'm thinking about moving it down a shelf. I understand it needs a lot of heat and sun to bloom, but I'm wondering if the coating on the roof glass might be preventing it from blooming. This doesn't really hold water, though, because nicholsonii and others are on the top shelf and bloom. But maybe a new position will help...

So check out this cutie photo of Pearl sleeping against Lucy's tummy, with Lucy's ball. I couldn't resist taking the pic even though I have lots of of them sleeping together. They're just so good together! Pearl is Lucy's cuddle-buddy, whereas Bella is more her play-buddy. Not that Bella doesn't enjoy a good nap with Lucy, but they love to play. Bella will run - zzzipppp! - past Lucy to get her to chase her. Lucy takes off and Bella will shoot behind a door. As soon as Lucy looks the other way, ZIP!!, there she goes again and Lucy's off on the chase. It's a riot to watch them! Check out this one of Pearl sleeping in Lucy's crate!
I'll have to get a good photo of Lucy and Bella playing. Those action shots are hard to get! But here's one of all three girls...

I got all new bedroom furniture last fall. I loved the old bed and night stands, but the Calfornia king was just way, WAY too big for the room and made it feel so small. So I got a very pretty iron bed frame, and a fan-freakin-tastic bed! It's one of those silicone memory foam beds and, WOW, has it made a difference in how I sleep!! And I got it in a queen size, so the room feels HUGE now. We took the oak armoires downstairs, since they contain all Mark's clothes. (He dresses down there, which makes it more convenient...) And I got a new dresser and one matching nightstand, and a pretty little chest for in front of the north window. Here's my new stuff...

I really like the fact that it feels like my bedroom has doubled in size. I got the dresser without a mirror so that I could set it in front of the windows and put some plants on it. I also have a Hoya (wayetti) and 3 Dischidias hanging above it. (Can't have too many plants around you, right?) And a plain old carnosa hangs above the little ornamental chest. I may have more someday when the kitties are mature enough I don't have to worry so much about them knocking plants over. They've been really good so far, and that may continue to hold true. We'll see. Oh, and I got these two really cute chairs for the corners of the bedroom. I thought I was ordering one and when it came, to my surprise there were two in the box! I searched and searched for something small and it seemed like everything either looked cheap or like a dining room chair. Then I found these little chairs that were actually meant to go with a gaming table. They're really cute and I chose the goldish colored fabric because I accent my blue bedroom with yellows. But I won't post a photo of the little chair because it's too much work to straighten all this out again! I don't know why, when I put a photo in, it puts it at the top instead of where I want it. Then it makes all these huge spaces between paragraphs when I "drag" it down to where I want it and I have to go back and fix it. Wish I could figure out what I'm doing wrong!!

'Nuff for now!