Hoya verticillata flowering after... 8 years

-


About three weeks ago I noticed a cluster of flowers in the rafters of one of my shading nets. I knew it was a Hoya, but could not identify what it was, until the individual flowers dropped off shortly thereafter. And then today while looking at my tillandsias I noticed the same cluster, this time from a peduncle that grew lower down and hence easier to reach. It was most definitely a Hoya verticillata, and when I traced the stem to the pot, I learned that, from what the tag said, it was from an acquisition in 2011, back when I still would not even attempt to know what it was, because many species of Hoya are notorious for sharing practically the same foliage. I thought it was a Hoya mindorensis back then.




Now, I know that this species is one of the most common in cultivation but two things should be mentioned here. The first is that despite being a species that is widespread in tropical Asia, it wasn't known to occur in the Philippines until botanist Danilo Tandang found a flowering example in Puerto Princesa, Palawan on June 15, 2017. My plant came from Samar in the Visayas, and so this should be the first time that H. verticillata is known outside Palawan, as far as the Philippine population is concerned. Had I found this plant in bloom in 2011, then that would've been the first instance of this species being detected here.

Secondly, eight years is a very long time for a Hoya to bloom, especially when it's still in the same climate it got used to. Particularly for something as common as this species, it's just mind-stretching. But this brings forward one of those facets of hoyas that sometimes annoy collectors: some species are extremely reluctant to bloom, with bud development commencing almost as soon as you forgot that you had the plant in the first place. Or, like in my case, more than 5 years or more since I forgot about it.

So if you have a finicky Hoya, don't despair! You might find it finally flowering one of these days. Or years.


Hoya verticillata. A lesson in patience.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Plants and places: a list of places in the Philippines that were named after plants

-
Image
Many place names within the Philippines were taken from plants, historical figures, or from water features or references to it. However, the former appears to be much more widespread and perhaps reflect the early people's affinity with such plants, perhaps as sources of folk medicine, food, utilities, or simply as landmarks. Unfortunately, most of these place names no longer bear the plants so honored, and the meaning of such names have been largely lost to obscurity. Our so-called 'progress' has pulled us farther and farther away from nature: the nonstop road widening projects during the last five years have wreaked havoc on not a few roadside trees. A Facebook post shows the last and only known Acacia confusa - a Philippine endemic- along the Olongapo-Bugallon Road in the western Luzon province of Zambales that is slated for cutting. Some names are contentious, such as 'Balicbalic' and 'Vigan'. Still, many of these place names reflect a place's topogr
Read more

Distinguishing Alocasia boyceana, A. heterophylla, and A. ramosii, and some words about asking for plant identification

-
Image
  In the Philippines, three commonly encountered Alocasia species are frequently mixed with one another that identification of plants posted in social media has resulted in a muddied concept of what constitutes what, with most plants getting labeled as ' Alocasia heterophylla ' even though practically no one can elucidate why he thinks it is that species. More on that later. Still, admit I should that I, too, was confused not too long ago until I got fed up with my own ignorance and decided to undo it once and for all. I now show thee the path to thy enlightenment. The main aim of this article is to allow you to reliably identify which is which. I am going to keep this ultra-simplified, so I am not going to talk about floral morphologies. People usually don't catch them in flower anyway and very few have the inclination to save dissected inflorescence samples in an alcohol solution for later reference. The other aim, well, we'll get to that later. Alocasia heterophylla
Read more

Phalaenopsis: a photographic compendium of Philippine species

-
Image
The genus  Phalaenopsis  requires no introduction, and its species, in their myriad variations and color forms, are still much sought around the world even after more than a century of introduction. And for this post, I present to you the Philippine species which are among the most spectacular in the genus. Phalaenopsis amabilis Phalaenopsis amabilis labellum Phalaenopsis amabilis , albinistic form Phalaenopsis aphrodite subsp. aphrodite Phalaenopsis aphrodite subsp. formosana Phalaenopsis intermedia Phalaenopsis intermedia, red lip Phalaenopsis intermedia, yellow lip Phalaenopsis intermedia, pink form Phalaenopsis philippinensis Phalaenopsis sanderiana Phalaenopsis sanderiana Phalaenopsis schilleriana Phalaenopsis stuartiana Phalaenopsis stuartiana fma.  nobilis Phalaenopsis  x  veitchiana Phalaenopsis equestris Phalaenopsis  equestris  fma . alba A
Read more