Hoya Myths Part 3 by Chris Burton

12. Myth #12 is implied in myth #11 and that implication is that all hoyas are native to the equator. The implication is that because the soil at the equator is, quote, "alkaline" that all hoyas are native to the equator. Fact is that hoyas are native to as far south in Australia as New South Wales (about 32 degrees south) and even further north in India, Sikkim, Nepal, Assam and northern China (about 35 degrees north).

13. Myth #13 is implied in #11 too and that myth says that all hoyas grow in the soil of their native habitat. Get real friends. Most hoyas are epiphytes and live most of their lives high above the ground in the crotches of trees. They do usually start out on the ground but soon become severed from their beginnings as they climb. They plant themselves in collections of leaves and other debris blown in by the wind or dropped there by birds and other small animals. It makes no difference what kind of soil is present as long as it supports the trees the hoyas live in. Only Eriostemmas are terrestrial and they are very shallow rooted. Natives of their habitat have told me that they have never found their roots penetrating beneath the layer of leaf mold and forest debris in which they grow. That leaf mold is acid.

14. This myth is one I've read many times. It says that hoyas open all their flowers at the same time.

15. This myth says that "Hoya darwinii readily roots along the stems, in contrast to Hoya mitrata that roots only at a "cabbage." This is a new one -- just found it on page 5 of the latest issue of Fraterna. It is in an article written by Ted Green called "Some Interesting Leaf Adaptations." He described the fact that Hoya mitrata has two types of leaves, 1) Normal leaves (flat with long internodes between them and 2) leaves that bunch up tightly together without internodes so that they look like a head of cabbage. He said, "Hoya darwinii readily roots along the stems, in contrast to Hoya mitrata that roots only at a "cabbage." That statement is "whole cloth and a yard wide!" Several years ago, Chanin Thorut (of Bangkok, Thailand) sent me 50 2-node cuttings of Hoya mitrata for sale to HSI members. He sent them in two packets. For the sake of economy, he wanted them to fit into flat rate Global Priority envelopes so he sent only normal leaf cuttings (not even one "cabbage" could have been sent that way). Every one on those normal leaf cuttings rooted. Just thought you'd like to know in case you have Hoya mitrata and would like to propagate it.

16. This Myth is also new and found at the place as Myth #15 but on page 6. It says that Hoya darwinii has "cabbage" leaves like those of Hoya mitrata. This isn't true. Hoya darwinii has two types of leaves also but the modified leaves on H. darwinii are not "cabbage-like" at all. The modified Hoya darwinii leaves number only 2 leaves at each node, same as the normal ones. The modified leaves on Hoya darwinii look a lot like green golf balls when viewed from a distance. Up close you can see a seam on one side and openings. What happens here is that something unknown (formic acid from ants has been mentioned in some publications as the possible culprit) causes the lateral margins of the leaves to stop growing while the leaf continues to grow normally. The result is that the leaf rolls up into a ball forming numerous chambers inside in which ants dwell and in which nodal roots grow. Ants leave dropping inside these chambers and rainwater collects there too. Both nourish the plant. I don't know anyone else whose Hoya darwinii ever formed these leaves but my first one started growing a pair of "golf balls" within a week after I got the plant. This makes me believe that whatever triggered the "golf ball" leaf mechanism did it at Ms. Loyce Andrews nursery. When I told her mine had a pair of "golf ball" leaves she got very upset at having sold that one to me because she said she'd never seen that type of leaf and had always hoped to. I used to take that plant with me on trips I took to places where I knew hoya people to be so that all could see it. Hoya darwinii doesn't make those leaves often. I don't know but I believe that people who live in warmer climates and grow things outdoors will more likely see this phenomenon that those of us who grow in greenhouses and religiously guard against insects and ants. If I'm ever lucky enough to get another Hoya darwinii (even those who advertise it never have it) I will leave it outside all summer and not use any systemics in the soil nor spray it until at least one pair of "golf balls" appear. I'll hand pick any insects I see. I might even set the pot on a fire ant bed and see if the fire ants like it.

17. Hoya myth #17 says that those stems upon which Hoya blooms form are called "spurs". That's what people who don't know the first thing about hoyas call them, however a hoya spur is a hollow nectar-producing gland inside the calyx. Spur is the English language name for this gland. The Latin name for it is "calcar.' The correct name for the main stem upon which hoya flowers grow is a "peduncle." It's more than five letters but still easy to remember (for those who want to remember it). The stems of the individual flowers that grow out of a peduncle's tip are "pedicels."

18. Hoya myth #18 says that all hoya bloom from the same peduncles over and over again and that if you cut them off, your hoya won't bloom again. The facts: Some hoyas bloom over and over on the same peduncles; some don't. One of the most common questions I've been asked over the years is, "Why do the peduncles on my Hoya bella (or lanceolata, nummularioides, polyneura, etc) fall off after they bloom?" They go on to say, "I know I'm not supposed to remove them so I'm very careful but they fall off anyway; what am I don't wrong?" The answer is "Nothing!" Because all hoyas do not rebloom on old peduncles. Some hoyas make new peduncles at every bloom cycle. Some, like Hoya multiflora rebloom several times and then drop them and start over. Some, like Hoya carnosa will rebloom on the same peduncles several times a year and continue blooming on the same ones year after year. The blooming habits of individual species differ. As for never cutting them off affecting the future production of peduncles (as stated by Kloppenburg in his books), cutting off a peduncle has absolutely no effect (or is it affect?) on future peduncle production. If a plant is mature enough to produce one peduncle it is mature enough to produce as many peduncles as there are leaf nodes. In fact many species will produce as many as a half dozen or more peduncles at the same spot. So, if your plant has become too top heavy or an old branch's leaves have become dull and unattractive, don't worry about removing it even if it has a hundred peduncles on it. Your plant will continue to grow and produce new peduncles. The only peduncle I'd caution anyone to avoid cutting or knocking off is the first peduncle the plant produces before it opens its flowers. After all, you've been waiting for it to bloom for a long time so you don't want to cut it off without seeing the flowers first. When I was in the business, I frequently cut off a first peduncle to fill an order. I didn't do it on purpose. I'd just be in a hurry and not notice. The only thing that saved my butt from constant bruises is that the tip of my boots wouldn't make contact!!!!! So watch what you cut if you've never seen the plant bloom before --- after that it doesn't matter.

19. Hoyas grow best and bloom best in bright light and even direct sunlight. The fact is that with only a very few exceptions, hoyas are what all their collectors call "understory plants". All but a very few grow under a canopy of trees. It is shady underneath trees. Many people who write about hoyas assume that because hoyas are climbers that they climb in order to reach sunlight at the tops of trees. That doesn't "wash" because as soon as a hoya vine reaches the top and emerges into the sunlight, its exposed parts are quickly burned. Hoyas climb up tree trunks and creep along tree branches because they are weak and need support. They get that support from the trees upon which they climb. A few hoyas, such as some forms of Hoya cumingiana and Hoya linearis are often found in the open, growing out of crevices in granite (Hoya linearis) or limestone (Hoya cumingiana)* These two, I would assume can probably endure a lot more light than those found only in forest trees. Re these "preferring" this open exposure: That hasn't been established either. Just because one collector found a hoya so exposed doesn't mean that is normal. A hoya seed will germinate on any damp surface. A shade lover might too and grow well for awhile during the rainy season. Before I'd advise anyone to grow either of those in full sun, I'd want to know how many other collections had been made in the same or similarly exposed area; when they were collected; and approximate ages of the plants. One that I KNOW does extremely well in dense shade is plain old Hoya carnosa, which used to bloom profusely for me on a screened in porch on the north side of our house. The porch was shaded by a 200 year old live oak tree whose branched covered the porch and most of the block where it still stands today. It was so dark on that porch that I had to turn on a lamp at noonday to read. Oh yes, air circulation is important to all plants. I keep air circulation fans going in my greenhouse 24 hours a day. I rarely turn on an exhaust fan because exhaust fans bring in outside air from the opposite end of the greenhouse at the same time the inside air is being "exhausted." All too frequently mealy bugs are drawn in with the fresh air. That's not such a big problem since I discovered a screen cover that lets in air but blocks the intake of bugs. *This may be wrong. The only people I've ever heard say limestone are people I wouldn't trust to know limestone from sandstone or granite.

20. This one says that if you print out a list of authentic Hoya names at the IPNI website that you can identify your hoyas but you will need to have the hoya sketchings from the publications. Where the hell will you find the hoya sketchings from the publications? I'd really like to know as it would make my work a hell of a lot easier!!!!!!!!!!