Good intentions - you know what they say about them! Wow, it's been crazy. Mark started a job last Tuesday. They're calling it temporary, but we're keeping our fingers crossed that it will turn into something permanent. At work, we decided to use a down-time of two weeks to paint our wainscoat. It was my idea because... well, I'd rather not dwell on it. Let's just say I was letting fears overwhelm me. I needed a serious distraction, something that would give me a sense of moving forward, change, and it HAS helped. And it looks awesome! But it did turn into a much larger project than I had initially imagined. I didn't stop to think that it wasn't just a matter of painting the wainscot, be it would also involve painting all the woodwork (5 doors, two double doorways and 4 single doorways.) I did all the trim work because I'm very picky. Mom did a lot of the rolling. And Amanda did most of the baseboard (because Mom and I are both too fat and old to spend too much time on our butts on that hard floor!) It took us 10 days, 4 hours a day, and I still have to trim all the windows and the baseboard and doors in the buffet room. Based on the amount of work it took for this project, and taking into consideration what I paid to have two bedrooms painted, which involved quite a bit of woodwork, I bet a painter would have charged us $5000 for this project. Which makes me feel pretty good - our material costs were about $250, and Mom, I and Amanda all are on salary, so there were no extra labor costs. It was money (and time) well spent!

So on to the plants. With the days getting longer and longer, so many are starting to grow that I'm going to just list them at this point. As I have time, I hope to start taking photos to update the progress of my plants this year. So right now, here are the Hoyas that seem to be bursting forth with new growth...

H. pubicalyx 'Bright One' - 2 new growth points at the top, which is good because it's a rambler! It must have a 10' vine that hangs down, which I clip up to the blinds when I hang it in my bedroom.
H. carnosa cv. 'Dee's Big One' - 1 new growth point also at the top. I got Dee from Awanda as a cutting in 2009 and it's done very well. I love the large bright green leaves. I'm excited to see it's going to grow so early for me this year!
H. limoniaca - I see at least 3 new growth points. I got this from Gardino's in 2009 and, with the exception that I've fought scale on it since I got it, it's grown fairly well. I like that it stays nice and compact.
H. carnosa 'Krimson Queen' - This one seems to continue to grow through the winter, albeit slow. It's put on lots of new all-white growth in the last couple of months. I know I'll probably have to whack it off sooner or later, but I'm enjoying it for now.
H. cv. 'Jennifer' - 2 new vines. It's been a good grower that I got from CBFM in '08. It's supposedly a cross between finlaysonii, which I have trouble growing, and incrassata, which I show on my list but think I lost. So I guess I'd have to say the cross of the two must be easier to grow than the original species!
H. cv. 'Mathilde' - Has new growth all over it. I got it from Gardino's in 2009 and it's been a steady grower. It's a sweet plant!
H. macrophylla - Anyone who has listened to me ramble on either here or on GW knows my "Big Mac" is my favorite! I have two of them - I keep on in my bedroom, and that one has put on a couple new leaves in the last month or so, which is surprising as it faces west and in winter, gets absolutely NO sun at all, only bright indirect light. (And really not that bright...) The other is in my sunroom, sits in the south window and gets direct sun in the winter. It actually budded up for me last fall, though I find Mac's flowers utterly unimpressive. That one has one new vine I can see, and maybe one other growth point.
H. vanuatuensis - I have two of these - one was bought as diptera from Gardinos, but turns out it's vanuatuensis. The other was a cutting. One grows in the sunroom, the other in my dining room. The one in the sunroom has quite a bit of new growth (it gets very bright light, but not much actual sun) and the one in the dining room has some new growth (it gets only reflected light in the afternoon off our close neighbor's house.)
H. hueschkeliana - I call it "Little Miss H". It's such an adorable little Hoya! And one of the few small-leaved ones I grow well. I thought I might be losing it last summer and took a couple cuttings and started them in a tiny little pitcher that I drilled a hole in, so I have two (since the other came back from a bit if dehydration and looks fab now...) Both Little Miss H's are showing new growth at the tips. I hope they bloom soon - I love those little lantern-shaped flowers! Mine is the pink form. I'd love to get my hands on a yellow form.
H. DS-70 - (I miss calling it tsangii!) My biggest one needs to be cut up and traded/given away. I think the old EA soil is sour. It hasn't grown or bloomed in a long time. The new one I started a year or so ago is doing well and putting on new growth. I'm betting it will bloom this year, too.
H. subquintuplinervis - (An ugly name - so hard to say!) It has new growth, a new leaf since the last time I looked it over carefully. This is the one, however, that I have some kind of fungus (maybe?) or something that looks like brown spots on the leaves. They wipe off, mind you, but they always seem to come back. And it's only on the older leaves. I spray it with alcohol when I clean them off, thinking surely that would kill a fungus. I wonder what it is??
H. cv. 'Minibelle' - It's doing well with some new growth popping. I got this as a cutting from Yale in 2006. The long-leaved ones have always been a favorite for me. And speaking of the long-leaved ones...
H. shepherdell and H. shepherdii - I can't find even a hint of new growth on either of these, but they're both looking happy. Shepherdell is lush and absolutely packed with peduncles, so if it decides to bloom before it starts to grow (which sometimes they do in the spring...), it'll be a wonder to behold! Shepherdii, on the other hand, was unhappy hanging on the north side of the sunroom (for some reason) and I moved it to the south side. I mean, it's only 6' difference, but maybe it wanted a brighter location. It's perked up and looks much happier. Shepherdii is one I long to grow well and it goes back and forth for me.
H. wayetti - My biggest one has some new growth, but again, it's in very old EA soil, and I'm thinking of trying to completely repot it this summer. I've taken cuttings off of it - places where the leaves have started to dehydrate. I've got new ones started here and there, which I plan to sell this year. My favorite one, a small one I started a couple years ago and grows in a little 3" pot, is growing nicely, though.
Two Dischidias - I only interject these here because they, too, are long-leaved species. One I got from Tanya Livschultz's collection and I think it's probably a form of bengalensis. The leaves are almost tubular. It doesn't do much for me, but it looks better than it ever has, so maybe it will grow this year. The other is actually Dischidiopsis parasitica - very skinny, long leaves, very delicate looking. I have those two growing together and they seem happy. I can't really so, though, that I'm seeing signs of new growth yet...
H. macgillivrayii - "The other Mac"! I chopped my big plant up last spring because it was obviously sick. Well, I caught it in time because I ended up with at least 4 plants, all doing well. Three of the four are showing signs of new growth. It seems like MacG doesn't have a long growth cycle, or at least it hasn't for me so far, so I'm going to try to fertilize it regularly with an all-purpose "leafy" fertilizer this year to see if that will prolong how long it will set new growth.

Well, that's quite a few to mention today. There are others, but I need to get out of this chair and do some watering. It's pretty warm in the GH today - sunny outside and not terribly cold, but too chilly to open a window. So things are feeling pretty dry. I'll talk about others next time...