| A gardener sometimes needs faith. And, often, persistence. Hoya carnosa in bloom. |
Celebrate, hoyoo, hoyay! After much anticipation, my barbecued hoya is blooming for the very first time. No one could be more pleased…or surprised. Perhaps if I’d read this from the International Hoya Association, that headline might have been written 30 years ago (albeit, not on this blog).
Whatever I did right (and who’s to know where barbecuing falls into that process?), I’m happy to say that hoyas not only have very nice foliage, they have cool buds and flowers, too.
You can tell they’re members of the dogbane family, with a flower structure similar to distant cousins milkweed (yay!) and dog-strangling vine (a very big boo!). I’ve been told their scent is heavenly, but I find it mild.
A small victory, but something to sustain hope during this never-ending Wintpring 2015.
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| Waxy, button-shaped buds (the reason for the common name “wax plant”) pop open to reveal star-shaped florets. The flowers develop on unpromising-looking flower spurs – at first, they seemed like tiny clusters of brown bristles. Flowers will rebloom – fingers crossed – on the same spurs, year after year. |
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| I was surprised at how fuzzy the petals are inside. Like fine velvet. They naturally produce a nectar from the central corolla, which some tell me is drippy. No sign of that here, yet. |
10 comments
Perhaps it thought it might die and better put out seeds for a new generation. I have a vine that looks very simlar. I bought it with out a label and have never known what it is. IN 6 Years It Has Never bloomed. Hmmm
Well, Laurin, I was better about feeding it this year, which might have done the trick.
Perhaps it thought it might die and better put out seeds for a new generation. I have a vine that looks very simlar. I bought it with out a label and have never known what it is. IN 6 Years It Has Never bloomed. Hmmm
Hooray! Such an interesting bud and flower. Hope you see the back end of winter soon.
Spring did come (and stay a little too long), Alison. But we did have gardens to show our garden bloggers for the Fling, and summer is around the corner.
I've never seen a hoya in bloom. How cool! And pretty.
Aren't they interesting flowers? Nature can be a playful mathematician.
Such beautiful flowers. Just got a hindu rope hoya but i'm pretty sure it'll be a while before it blooms.
We have had a hindu rope hoya for about 2 years, and much to our surprise, it is blooming. We had no idea they would bloom. Love it!
I'd love a hindu rope hoya — great foliage. And, against all odds, the same Hoya is now reblooming! Making up for lost time?