A Visit with Hoya imbricata and Hoya maxima

[@newmanmansell760]

spring tails!😉They feed on mildew, moss, algae

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Thank you! Thank you! I have wondered for so long what these little bugs are. They are found in most of my plants that live in my warm and very humid grow tents. I have never observed any detrimental effects caused by them, and after researching them now, I see that they can actually be very beneficial! That was a very informative comment!

[@riawhetstone3725]

“One more time!” Needs to be the hoya lover’s motto 😂

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

That's a fact😂!

[@ronminerosenberg]

Hoya imbricata grows wild here in my backyard growing in the trunks of a tall mahogany tree and I never knew it was a Hoya until I saw it's yellow blooms

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

That is so cool Melanie!!

[@ronminerosenberg]

Unfortunately the tree had been cut down by my father to be turned into furniture while I was on vacation with my friends last summer

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

@@ronminerosenberg That is sad; I would have loved to see a photo of it!

[@julial3177]

I’m buying an imbricata soon!! I hope mine doesn’t give me as much trouble. Very helpful to see your setup, thank you!

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

You're very welcome Julia! Good luck with your plant; it is a lot of work to get it to flower, but it is worth all the effort!

[@MHartleyRaregardenblooms]

Love this video.. Love your plants and i admire your passion and dedication.. Salute to you!! I also have a lot of imbricata, I felt everything you have said.. Mine are soaking every day on a small separate greenhouse, so much bright light, but humid.. Even the floors of my greenhouse i make sure its wet. I took me so much to get along growing them.. Now i have 48 plants.. :)

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

That is incredible! You must really love the plant! I wish that I had your conditions to grow my plants in. It sounds ideal! Thanks for the great comment!

[@MHartleyRaregardenblooms]

@@DougChamberlainVTHoyas hi Doug, I am from the Philippines, where the specie is endemic, the thing is they are depleting from the wild and not a lot are propagating them, most of my clients and friends find them wierd and eerrie, but for me having different colours and varietions of hoya imbricata.. I feel so happy.. What you experienced in taking care of imbricata, I did too, they require lots of determination.. Now I am your fan...

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

@@MHartleyRaregardenblooms Hello Maria, it is a real challenge to grow Hoya imbricata here where I live in Vermont. It took me a long time and lots of patience to manage to finally experience the flowers on this amazing plant. Truthfully, I had to give my mounted plants away, primarily because I know longer had the space to keep them. I am extremely happy that there are people out there such as yourself that are keeping this wonderful plant alive!

[@MHartleyRaregardenblooms]

@@DougChamberlainVTHoyas indeed you are right.. I feel the same, very few publications also about H. imbricata, glad I found your video and hope you show more follow through about this specie. I started gardening addiction with cymbidiums, the Philippine orchid species, then Ecuadorean orchids, then hoyas, amongst all plants I have, I take a lot of time and efforts and thrill seeing growth with H. imbricata. I love them, also most natives in Aurora, Philippines they use the hoya imbricata leaf as medicinal aid for deep wounds and burns.. I tried it also with a poor healing scald it works.. I am so appreciative of your vlog and more power... Keep on inspiring...

[@rachelbedoian2272]

Hi Doug, those wee insects are springtails and you're totally correct, they won't damage the plant as they subsist on decaying organic matter. in this case they're most likely enjoying the log :D

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Hi Rachel, I literally have thousands of these little springtails in the substrate of all of my plants now, and your right about them not causing any harm, as a matter of fact usually the plants that have the most of them do the best. I just let them lead their little lives and occasionally observe them!

[@lyndaforbes4763]

Very nice! I've also been fascinated by this one! Tried it once and failed but I see now why!! Great information! Thanks for sharing!

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

You're welcome Lynda!

[@alexandrahauber8145]

It looks amazing. These specimen is also on my wishlist. This tiny insects could be springtails. We call it police of the soil, cause they eat rotten material. Keep well and fit! Greatings from germany!

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Greetings Alexandra from Vermont! I recently discovered that these insects are indeed springtails, and my plants that seem to do the best have the most of these little guys so I leave them alone to do their thing.

[@maddimorton8727]

My absolute favorite

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Thank you Maddi!

[@jeroenvandiepen4445]

Hi Dough, Thank's for all the information! And also for sharing the attemps that went wrong, so we don't make the same mistakes! I have a question, are those mossed branches you used on the wooden ornament?

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Hi Jeroen, yes those mossed branches that you see were the remains of former mounts that I tied to the really big log; eventually everything was covered in moss. Within a year of making this video, I flowered both types of imbricata that were on this very large mount.

[@ScaryFear]

Oh man what bad luck. I hope it will go better and grow and flower for you soon.

[@lelew2308]

Those are Sprintails! I’m sure you know by now. I LOVE this Hoya

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Yes, I finally know what those little creatures are! They cause no harm.

[@hollyfeener5050]

Hey Doug! Did you ever get your imbricata to flower? How is it doing?

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Hi Holly so for the late reply; yes I flowered imbricata several times, but because of high maintenance I know longer have the plant.

[@kevinboecher7928]

Hey Doug thank you so much for this video what a nice imbricata. I ordered three different kinds for march 2018 from Flores in Germany and three other from Thailand for Mai 2018 some of them I try to attach to the wooden surfaces in my bathroom. At the moment I'm still waiting for my papaschonii to open it's seed pot but its hanging on it since August and nothing happend since it was fully grown up. Do you know how long it takes to develop the seeds? Kevin

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Hi Kevin, I can only urge patience with your seedpod, and don't touch it until it splits. Sometimes it takes a very long time. I currently have well over a dozen pods on my papaschonii. I can't believe how much I've come to love this plant now that I know how to grow it properly. I'm also watching my first ever seedpod on my H. bella. I can't wait to try that one.

[@anaoliveira1757]

Good afternoon, Doug, where do you buy these butterflies you use to attach the plants? I can not find it here to buy.(google translator)

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Hi Ana, These clips are readily available online here is the U.S. Here are a couple of links: www.amazon.com/Dragonfly-Orchid-Garden-Support-KINGLAKE/dp/B01JL1CMZO/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1513022209&sr=8-4&keywords=dragonfly+clips www.ebay.com/itm/Butterfly-orchid-spike-clips-20-pcs-pack/262482828498?hash=item3d1d321cd2:g:AOEAAOSwFAZTvf~9 www.chulaorchids.com/plant-clips-and-supports.html

[@anaoliveira1757]

Doug Chamberlain thank you 😍

[@MermaidGunner]

I know I’m late but insects are springtails! They are sooooo good for everything.

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Yes, I've noticed that my plants that have them do better than the plant that do not have them. Thanks for the information!

[@lelew2308]

Update pleaseeee

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Sadly there is nothing to update as I no longer have either of these plants. Trying to keep up with the maintenance of these high demand Hoyas was a little too much.

[@kevinboecher7928]

Oh cool I had a seedpod on Hoya megalaster but one of my cats pushed the entire plant down and it was broke in half and fell off

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

It seems like most Hoya people own cats! It is unfortunate about that megalaster seedpod as that would have been really cool to grow out.

[@13bunnylove13]

This plant has a symbiotic relationship with ants, they are probably helping it thrive

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Very true!

[@rnilson1501]

Doug I want a nice size baby of this one please

[@icemancometh8679]

Hi Doug, thank you for my 15 minutes of fame. You should of titled this as, How not to take care of your hoya, accidents happen. Your's is a giant compared to mine, look at all the new leaves. You know the plants little friends, well I want to tell you a story. Once I picked up a baby bird and little bugs were crawling on me, turned out to be mites, so you know, be careful, find out what they are. Thanks for the video request fulfillment. Burr

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Hi Burr, as near as I've been able to figure out these little crawlies are soil mites, which are supposed to be harmless. I have had some apprehension about them in the past, but I not been able to seen any damage to the plants that are infested. I believe that they are actually considered beneficial by some. If I do ever notice a general decline in plant health, I will try to get rid of them.

[@icemancometh8679]

Haha, more worried about the human occupants! Glad they're harmless. In the jungle I read the ants like to make their home under the imbricata's leaves - symbionic relationship- their benefit each other. I googled the flowers for this once and I think they looked like little red stars. Love your videos, keep up the good work.

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Thanks so much Burr. I appreciate it. Doug

[@carinwahlstrom389]

I have those little critters too and at first I thought they came from a piece of peat block that I originally bought for the garden that I use in my small terrarium. But I started all over again scrubbing and spraying the pieces of hoyas to make sure there were no bugs on them and using a piece of block that had been in the freezer for a month. Well whatever kind of bugs they are they reappeared in no time and like you say, Doug, they don't seem to cause any harm. Still no flowers (of course) for 14 years...

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Great information Carin; makes me feel even better about my 'critter farm.' If you are saying that you have been growing imbricata for 14 years and have yet to see flowers, than there is little hope for me I fear.