Just popping in to note that Hoya pandurata has started to grow!  This is one I got from Plumerndr 3 years ago and it was a real problem child.  In fact, last fall, it was doing SO badly that I took a cutting, figuring I'd make a last-ditch effort to save it.  The main plant proceeded to die.  (I still have the "stump" as I'm holding out hope maybe it will come back this spring... I'm not very optimistic, though.)  Well, the little two-leaf piece did root, but the two leaves are ugly, so I was still not particularly thrilled about it sitting among my other lovely Hoyas, so I put it on an east window sill in the sunroom, kind of hidden behind a larger plant.  I take it down about once a week and water it.  Well, last week I noticed what looked like a growth nubbin' on the side of the stem about halfway between the soil and the two ugly leaves.  And today I took it down again to water and, sure enough, there are two little leaves emerging!  Of course, these plants that came from Plumernder came all the way from Thailand, and I'm lucky to have any of those left.  According to my database, I still have three of them.  I'll have to check out the other two and report how they're doing here...

The Hoya kenejiana I got from Gardino's has new growth on it already.  Once it gets growing good, I think I'll go ahead and put it in with the little piece I managed to salvage from my old kenejiana.

And here's some REAL exciting news!!  I found new growth on H. cardiophylla, a rooted plant I got from Kathy last year.  It's a BEAUTY and I've waited to get some new growth.  I think it might have grown a bit for me last summer, but I couldn't swear to that.  I didn't take a pic of it when I got it (dummy me!), but looking at it, I can't imagine she would send me such a large rooted cutting in a trade, so I think maybe there is a chance it did grow some last year.  I can't believe I never took a photo of it, though, so here is one now...

...and here is the new growth starting at the base...

My variegated form of verticillata is budding up - well, at least the one in the south sunroom window is.  I've got 3 of them now - one in the GH, one in the spare bedroom, and the one that's budding up.  They all look great, but I'm excited to see the buds on this one since (I believe) its the youngest of the three.  I started it when my main plant had become pretty dehydrated 2 summers ago.

I took it to our cactus club meeting yesterday for Show & Tell.  For once, Arline didn't say "will you start me one of those?"  Maybe she's getting the hint that I'm not going to be her personal source for free Hoyas.  I mean, I don't mind sharing now and again, when it's MY idea.  But she seems to think I'm willing to giver her as many as she wants.  If she was really good at growing them, I'd be more willing to give her cuttings to start on her own.  But she's gotten to the point where she really isn't able to care for all the plants she has and more often than not, I soon heare a plant I gave her died.  She always says something that makes me feel as if she's implying there was something wrong with the plant.  In reality, I'm pretty sure the lady is a plant hoarder - her SIL talks about how she can not pass by a nursery without stopping in, and they often go home with her car stuffed with plants that Arline can neither afford to buy or to care for.  The lady is 80-something - she needs to cut WAY back to a few beloved plants that she can take care of and she'd be SO much happier.  It feels terrible to kill a single plant - I can't imagine how it would feel to kill them by the dozen!

Enough on that rant!!  On a funner note (I know...no such word as "funner" but I don't care - I'll make a dozen new words with the root word "fun" 'cuz that's what it's all about baby!) Tom says the rooted cutting of macrophylla I gave him has taken off and gotten one of those massive leaves.  He seemed very pleased with it!  I'm so glad for him - he is gonna LOVE it as it grows.  And it's going to impress and WOW everyone who visits the UNO greenhouse.  I'm proud that he can say he got it from me!!

Well, I need to do some watering.  We had a warm weekend, but I only had one window open in the GH, so the plants probably got warm and dried out.  And I want to get that done so I can get started painting my bedroom closet.  Mark's going to cedar it for me, but first, I need to paint the woodwork.  I picked out a beautiful, bright yellow.  I'm excited to get it done.  I'll post a photo when it's all finished...