Hoya is my Current Passion

I have been telling my friends in blogs and in FB that I am currently hooked on hoyas. It started last year and at the moment continues to go strong. When i realized that most of them are endemic here in the Philippines, the enthusiasm is even aggravated. I attend exhibits, garden shows, lectures, plant exchanges, and more, and even if i am not trying to buy every species for my collection, i realized they are already plenty.In the beginning, i chose only those with bright colors and easy to care for, then i looked for those with bigger umbels. I again realized that even those with small umbels are so beautiful, they are attractive on their own, specially when they are managed as hanging plants with profuse flowering. 

The trend with me might be different if i am staying at home, where they are maintained. My sister and nephew, and my 84 yrs old mother water them, care for them. I only see them occassionally on some weekends i have time for the province.  They are still small, so only a few of them flowers, and not simultaneously yet. 

I bought this one already as a mature mother plant. After a few weeks it showed an umbel, in time I am home for the Christmas holidays. I am so ecstatic. I watch it when i wake up, tend to the plant, and visit it many times during the day. I almost see the flower change size. For a hoya lover, even just the beginning of a new growth is wonderful enough, much more the blooming of the flowers! It took almost 2 weeks before the whole umbel bloom.

I realized it is more amazing if viewed through a photograph. My sister was thoroughly awed when she saw this picture and also that below. The minute hairs on the corolla are very visible, as well as the fine lines longitudinal to the lobes. The details of the corona are also obvious.

 Here i changed the white balance, and the color becomes more wonderful. Nobody will say they do not like this. It looks so spectacular.

 This color is more like the real thing, more near the truth. But it isn't the color that matters. It also depends on the size of the umbel. Yes it has a lot of flowers in an umbel, and it has a slight scent, but do you know the size of this umbel? I will tell you later.

 This is the whole umbel at another angle. Do you still love it?

And this is how it looked during its last day, 4 days specifically from opening, before the flowers drop. It still looks nice, do you agree?

But if i tell you that the umbel diameter is just 1.0 inch, would you still like it?

My sister actually laughed when she saw the photographs, because the actual flowers are difficult to see when with the mother plant. She wasn't able to see it unless i showed it to her, i actually waved off the leaves for her to see the flowers! Can you beat that? I now envision a hanging plant with many developing umbels, by that time, am sure my sister will appreciate it more fully. And by that time, i will also not have a second thought in appreciating this species, Hoya camphorifolia.

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