I've been having a problem with Aphids lately and my plants don't look all that great but a couple of Hoyas are in bloom.

Hoya acuta: and ...................................... Hoya carnosa


I have two Hoya obovata, the large plant is full of buds and the small one blooms have already opened:


Hoya pubicalyx (one that I bought in a co-op a few years ago as Royal Hawaiian Purple but it may actually be Red Buttons). The leaves were getting real red before I moved it to a shadier spot:

Lovely blooms Lin

I also got Hoya pubicalyx this year, still young I guess, and like yours some leaves getting that reddish hue..so I have been moving it around to get a good shade.

I hate aphids I remember when it attacked the new growth of my schefflera, the only thing that got them out was a mixture of water, alcohol, dishwashing liquid and tabasco sauce applied early in the morning before the sun hits the plants. Aphids begone!

We've been in the dark for the past almost 3 hours ... power was just restored! We've had extremely high winds all afternoon and into the night and I don't look forward to seeing the debris (and probably plants) that will have to be cleaned up in the morning! I have lots of plants hanging in the trees and I know some have more than likely blown out, I just hope none of them ended up in the waterway.

Thanks tarev! I hear of people who have problems with mealybugs or spider mites but with me it seems to be aphids. To get rid of them I keep a bottle of isopropyl alcohol and q-tips that are labeled just for my plants ... when there are only a few aphids I dab them with the alcohol; if there are lots I have a spray bottle that I pour the alcohol in and spray the plants. FYI: To anyone using the Isopropyl Alcohol, always do so in the shade and on a NON-windy day. Sometimes when I'm too lazy to go get the alcohol I just turn the garden hose on "jet" and zap them that way ...

Sorry to hear about the lousy weather on your side.Hope you find your plants okay. Take care!

The topmost tier of blooms from my Hoya shooting star is finally blooming..I always like catching the blooms unfurl

Nice blooms, Lin.... any of those pests can be a real challenge: aphids/mealybugs usually mean ants are the problem so getting rid of them is a good idea too!!!!

Cool! Thanks, Carol. It'll be fun to give mom a little blooming plant!

Wonderful photos, Lin!!

Tarev, that 'Shooting Star' is a treat.

Thanks Carol & Critter!

Carol ... LOL, yeah we have lots of ants here in Florida ... too many ants and I hate using chemicals so they win the battle most of the time. We do have lots of Anole Lizards here which is good because they eat ants and other bugs; I find them crawling on my hoyas all the time but I guess there are just so many insects that the little lizards can't keep them under control.

Green Anole, a native in Florida:


We also have the Brown Anole which is becoming more and more prevalent. The brown one is native to the Bahamas and Cuba and is becoming invasive here in Florida and other areas. I'm assuming they eat ants and other insects too but unfortunately they also eat our native green lizards and from what I've read are displacing the natives (like so many non-native invasive plants are doing!)

Brown Anole; an adult, adult molting and a baby:

Ok, back on track ... I dislike my plants when the leaves get ugly (insect bites, chewed edges, shredded by brisk winds etc.) but I so love buds and blooms! We had tropical storm force winds yesterday and everything got beat up pretty good but at least none ended up blown out of the trees or at the bottom of the waterway behind the house!

I took a few more photo's of my Hoya pubicalyx (probably Red Buttons.) One umbel of flowers open, one bunch of fat buds soon to open, and another bunch of buds in early stage:

HAHA...I have a greenhouse full of those Anole, too. I aways thought the green anoles changed color and became brown. They are different?

Nope, they are two different varieties and both have been introduced to Hawaii.

The green is actually the Carolina Anole: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C...

Brown Anole: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B...

I have so many lizard's here but i am in the boonies.I find the green ones which i've seen get fairly big, on my plants a lot.We always called them chameleon (spelling it's early) they blow out a big red bubble under their necks that the grandkids love to see.


My oldest grandson is 5 yrs. old loves to get these to jump from a green leaf to a tree trunk or anything darker to watch them change colors.

I seen these 2 one morning in my rock garden on top of the rocks either get warm or not happy with each other they were staring at each other.I've never seen these in any plants.Are these the Anole or something else? As long as they eat bugs in my beds & my HB and don't eat the plants,these brown ones get real big.The DGS says they are gross.


My Wayetii is blooming good,i have put it outside not sure about how much sun it would appreciate while in bloom?Last year it stood partial sun really well giving the leaves a real pretty color & a dark outline around the leaves but this is it's first time blooming for me.

In the first picture of the Wayetii bloom you can see up at the top to the right it looks like a petal is opening but they never do. Are they suppose to open or roll back into the bloom? The DS-70 also holds blooms closed. it started blooming outside in mid-sept. thru almost march inside non stop full of blooms always it didn't miss a beat even when i brought it inside.I smelled butterscotch all winter at least that's what the DS-70 smells like to me.waiting on another show from it this fall!!

H.kp opens her petals and has only 1 penuncle that i've seen so i'm getting 1 umbel at a time,i'm wondering how long she's going to keep doing this or if there could be a reason why the same penuncle is blooming & it's not getting any others? Any idea's, i haven't fertilized my Hoya's much at all,we have had a lot of rain since i put them out & it rains before i get a chance to feed them.

That's it. These puppies are going to go outside to play!!

Nice blooms, Jolinda...

True Story: I nurtured a huge plant to bloom for years in my greenhouse. I hadn't an ID (tag lost years ago) and every year it grew and grew but no flowers so no ID. So about 3 months ago I decided to pare down my plants in the greenhouse, put them outside (if and when possible). The greenhouse gets really hot in the summer and needs daily watering for small pots.... So...I took this monster outside and plopped it on the ground near a tree to climb. Only being watered by rain, no fertilizer, strong sun.

Yesterday I counted about 17 umbels forming IN the plant and along the mass of runners reaching out to climb. Of course, there is the 'survival school of blooming' which this may be in...blooming before it croaks...but I am pleased!!! Now the long search to find out what it is. The leaves look awful now....but there's a chance for ID!!!

Carol

I have a similar experience..the Hoya shooting star that I have in bloom, it has finished off 2 out of three umbels, then I noticed one of the lower peduncles dried off, so now left with one umbel in bloom and one peduncle still green. Worried that something is wrong, since I have read threads everywhere that hoyas rebloom on old peduncles, I kept reading on and found someone's post that said this particular plant likes it more moist than most, and she mentioned putting her plant's container on water, and the plant thrived even more.

Since our temps here has been really very, very dry and getting hotter too, I decided to step up watering, though not putting the container in water, I think that will be too much. And that slight adjustment worked! The lower peduncle is now setting buds, and not wilting, and upper umbel still blooming well. Learning something new everyday!

Multiflora comes from a humid part of the world and does like it. Have you tried putting stones/rocks/something in a deep plate, putting the plant ON the rocks and keeping the plate filled with water? Normal evaporation will give some humidity to your plant and the surrounding plants......

Hi Carol..no I have not done the rocks and plate..I will observe it further..I think it is responding well to the stepped up watering now.

As long as your planting medium isn't too dense... I find increased watering, even with my orchid bark/perlite medium can cause root root at the bottom where the moisture lingers but really doesn't affect the plant until it rots and everything goes SOUTH.

Thanks Carol, will take note of that.

Since this is my first year to grow Hoya shooting star, I have wondered how the plant forms the new leaves..and luckily the plant is showing me how..and I think I also see beginnings of a new peduncle..

I thought that pointy thing in the middle is the peduncle forming or maybe a new stem segment..turns out it is the beginnings of new leaves;maybe it will extend a bit to add the stem then continue on with the leaves as it goes.


Silhouette of the new leaves gets more defined and a tiny bump on the side of the new growth looks like a peduncle in the making:


I like any new growth, reassures me the plant is enjoying its location