I have been posting hoyas since my collection starts flowering one after the other. I am not going home every weekend, so you can just imagine how i feel when they decide to bloom in front of my eyes. I hope you can relate with me, as it is trully awesome!
I bought this already as a mother plant, to lessen the waiting period which tires me in some species. It hasn't even flowered with the previous owner, reason why he sold it to me perhaps. He even gave precautions that i might wait for some months or years before it blooms. This species is not very common also here because the collector from the wild decided to sell it to the US markets before selling to us here in the local scene. I am very glad i was able to get it ahead of some enthusiasts and die-hard hobbyists. As an absentee gardener i cannot fertilize or water properly, i just left the decisions for caring with my sister who manage our home and garden. She is a bit obliged, but i guess she also learned to appreciate the "fruits" of her labor, to put it more precise, the "flowers" of her labor!
This is Hoya pubicalyx 'Black Dragon'. The 'Black Dragon' is not a variety but just a name given for commerce. However, just recently it was baptized another name as Hoya pubicorolla subspecies anthracina. It might take sometime for these name controversies be resolved, but DNA analysis will surely be important as the final arbiter.
young flower buds in a big umbel
a nicely developing advance umbel
flower buds waiting for a few more days to open
The dynamically opening buds, they opened at 4:00 pm
the very fine velvet glisten with light
the whole umbel immediately after opening
Now, are you fully convinced of the magic and drama of my Black Hoya?
