Thursday, May 30, 2013

Random plant event: Hoya bella


Well, Ivynettle kind of beat me to this post, by posting a larger, better-looking Hoya bella with more flowers on it, but I don't have a lot else going on at the moment, so it's what I'm going to post. I don't think these pictures require a lot by way of context, but I'll note that:

Hoya bella flowers have been the subject of PATSP posts before (last year; three years ago),


• this is the most flowers my plant has ever had on it at once (in the neighborhood of 15-20 simultaneous umbels, though not all are fully developed),


• and I've managed to detect a somewhat stronger fragrance from the flowers this time around, which still strikes me as being sort of generically floral and not anything to get terribly excited about. Though it's still nice.


7 comments:

Paul said...

Can't say much with regards to bella as I have never owned that one, however, based on my experience with Hoya DS70 and carnosa, you might try taking a whiff at different times of the day. I have noticed with both of mine that the scent during the day is far different than in the evening. I also find their fragrances to be much more pronounced in the evening -- though whether this is due to increased output of fragrance molecules or just to my detection sensitivity being greater for the night/evening fragrances they produce I do not know.

Nicely done with the bella, btw. So how long are the vines?

Ivynettle said...

Looks like it's a good month for Hoya bella, huh?
I keep trying to figure out what the smell reminds me of, but I still don't know...

mr_subjunctive said...

Paul:

That's usually how it is for Hoya lacunosa with me; it even starts to produce fragrance at a fairly predictable and specific time of day (roughly 9 PM, plus or minus about 15 minutes).

I think previously, I've checked Hoya bella for scent at the time of day when I usually water it, late afternoon or evening, and haven't gotten much of anything. This would have been around 10 AM.

It's also possible that the scent just isn't that strong, and that I could smell it this time because I had six or seven umbels of flowers open at once, instead of one or two.

The stems are about 18 inches long.

Podenco said...

It's pretty! Mine is blooming too right now and this year the smell is more noticeable that previous year. It reminds me on the smell of Sansevieria flowers? Same sweetness but not as strong as Sans smell.

However, I have 'problem'. It grows so well in my hands that the vines are getting too long. What is the best time of the year to trim it and will it skip flowering because of that next year? I thought a good time for a serious trim is after if finished blooming this season. Anny tips to get the cuttings growing on me?

mr_subjunctive said...

Podenco:

I honestly have no idea when the best time to trim it would be or whether that would cause it to skip blooming the following year. (Though my guess would be yes, it probably will skip a year -- I don't know if all Hoyas do this, but H. carnosa reblooms over and over from the same spot, so if that spot gets cut off, it can't rebloom until it's grown a replacement.)

The plant I have was originally a cutting someone sent me in the mail, but that was so long ago (October 2008) that I don't remember exactly how I did it. I think I just stuck the cuttings into soil and hoped for the best.

Sorry to be so useless, but I don't really understand Hoyas. I mean, I know what the books and websites say to do to them, but when I try to do those things, I get mixed results.

Podenco said...

Thanks mr_subjunctive,

it's such a shame I have to prune this year or the next year because it's getting to long. I'll give it another growing season before it touches the floor. I never realized it would grow so fast.

Well, I guess I spend a few more weeks debating to prune or not to prune. Maybe I find another way to deal with long branched twines. Placing the plant almost against the ceiling will allow another year of growth heheh.... but it will be a PITA with watering it.

We'll see.

Thanks for your opinion and updating your blog so frequently. I really enjoy reading it (reading here since a few years :-)......)

Tracy said...

I found and brought home (after paying for it, of course) a Hoya DS-70 today. The name of my new friend brings to mind the Star Wars characters, R2-D2 and C-3PO. This is my very first post here. Could I have come up with something more profound than that? Probably!