A Visit with Hoya stenaokei

[@florencedubois1280]

Wow! Thank you so much for sharing those amazing beauties! I am so glad for you, I love seeing your passion rewarded...😊

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Thank you so much for the nice comment Florence! I do put an awful lot of work into these plants so it is nice to be rewarded for putting that much of your life into something.

[@DuneGlam]

wow! huge blooms! magnificent flowers!

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Thank you Dune!

[@Ruby-wt6bf]

Thank you for this update! Absolutely beautiful flower and nice big leaves. It’s sad to hear when beautiful plants like these are EW (extinct in wild). Hopefully as collectors we can keep these beauties around and perhaps one day reintroduce them to their native habitats. Again thank you for the update and the knowledge, you’re amazing!

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Thank you so much for the kind words and insightful comment Ruby!

[@juliekennedy6658]

Many congratulations Doug! What an achievement to flower both clones! Wow👏👏

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Thank you Julie! I must be living right to get that lucky!

[@mayasixtus1573]

Thank you for your wonderful and informative body of work on Hoyas and how you love them. I was recommended your website from a local plant shop owner in early 2023 and have been excitedly learning from you.

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Thank you so much Maya - I really appreciate the kind comment! I wish you the best of luck with all of your growing!

[@kristiemowry3267]

So beautiful. Part of me wishes to be you. All those hoya. Your tents, wow. My husband would just loss his mind. I will just have to be content with knowing and seeing your videos.

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Thank you so much Kristie! Everything has a downside too; it gets pretty overwhelming at times to care for all of those plants!

[@lyndaforbes6311]

Ohhhh Doug I’m so thrilled to see your new video! This one is just amazing! Always very inspiring!! Thanks for all you do!!

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

So great to hear from you Lynda! Happy holidays as I probably won't put up another video until after the new year!

[@wvh4039]

Wow, just wow!!! The leaves, the flowers, especially the colors of the flowers. This is species is on my wishlist. But I probably can forget to get a hold of haha. I've installed a large glass greenhouse in my garden. I'm preparing it now to keep Hoya's all year round in it. Wish me luck.

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

I wish you the best of luck with your new greenhouse! If you plan on keeping Hoyas out there year around, you must live in a pretty temperate climate as it would not really be feasible where I live. I'm sure that you will pick up H. stenaokei sooner rather than later as it is not that rare any longer. It is also quite easy to cultivate.

[@melanieklarofficial]

Beautiful!

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Thank you so much!

[@maynlily]

Hi Doug, the small leaf hoya in the first minute on the right is stunning. thank you for sharing the video.

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Thank you! That plant is called Hoya sp. IM-08

[@carolrolfsacredsagehoyas1654]

Hi Doug, hope all is well! What a beautiful Hoya... the more I see of the leaves of both the more I like. The blooms are outstanding... such a shame it may be extinct in the wild. So, the glabrous version may be a mutant of the wild collected pubescent version? Kind of like all the mutants of lacunosa being found in the wild. Indeed so lucky to have both! Makes me wonder if there are more.... anyway, beautiful Hoyas. By the way, Hoya stenakei was published in the International Plant Name Index as stenakei in 2017, collected in 2011, named after the late Mr. Sten-Ake Svensson of Sweden. It's also spelled that way in the Royal Botanical Gardens KEW , Plants of the World Online. I've seen the dark form advertised for sale as Hoya Stenakei Dark Form sp Papua! Can get so confusing! Happy Growing! 💚

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Hi Carol, Always great to hear from you. Apparently Stenakei is actually supposed to be Stenaokei per Nathalie Simonsson. Here is what she wrote to me: "Yes you read the spelling correctly, we had to correct the spelling to include an O because the swedish letter Å should be written AO in botanical nomenclature, which we missed. We thought it was optional and decided to just write A as it would be simpler to spell it - but found out later it wasn't optional. ;)" Happy growing to you as well💚💚!

[@fernandatorrensroman8259]

❤❤❤ beatiful

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Thank you!

[@BasiePlants]

Beautiful plant and a lovely flower :) My cutting only has one leaf and one node and has just started growing - the leaf is indeed completely glabrous and dark green. As per Nathalie Simonsson, the name was misspelled upon publication - it should be Hoya stenaokei, but I am not sure when that will be rectified. May be worth reaching out to Nathalie for further explanation :)

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Wow! Thank you for that information; I had not heard that it had been misspelled, Everywhere I have seen it then has been spelled incorrectly😢

[@emylucille240]

Beautiful plants Doug! Your videos are such a treat, I so enjoy seeing your collections and hearing you talk about them. Thank you for sharing your wonderful collection!

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Thank you so much Emy! Your very nice comment helped make my day!

[@connorhalliday7304]

Very pretty plant. Stenakei is the first in this family ive owned, hopefully it will gove me flowers one day!

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

I'm sure you will flower it sooner than you probably think Connor!

[@wvh4039]

Ohhh the Hoya versteegiii ...i am soooooo jealous. I destroyed two cuttings already. Maybe i'm not that good with Hoya's.

[@kevinbocher8397]

Hey Doug it's amazing your stenakei!!!

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Thank you so much Kevin!

[@kevinbocher8397]

@@DougChamberlainVTHoyas it's been a long time but now I'm back in Hoya business

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

@@kevinbocher8397 I'm really glad your back Kevin!

[@garretthall9508]

I like the light form flowers better but the leaf’s from the dark form. Can’t remember if you said if the flowers on the dark form are pubescent? Wish I could tour your tents and talk about each Hoya. Wish you would write a book on all your experiences with each one, or a collaboration with Rick Morier, April Mall and other US growers. I know I would buy a copy!

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Hi Garrett, the flowers on the dark form are pubescent too. If I were to write a book on Hoyas, the first thing I would have to do is to give up most of my Hoyas as they currently take up most of my free time so I would not have the time needed to write the book🙂 Your idea of the collaboration though is a good one!

[@Mohira-c1z]

👌💥💥💕💕💕🙏

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Thank you!

[@oksanabotsman6893]

I love watching your videos what a treat to see this beautiful piece of art thank you for sharing what a beautiful plant hopefully for more videos to come we really appreciate it you

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Thank you so much for the kind comment; I appreciate it!

[@giagia9974]

Beautiful! Your tents are amazing with all the flowers! Question, have you ever had root mealies? If so, how did you treat and how do you prevent?

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Hi Gia, I went most of my Hoya keeping life with almost no pest problems, but I am paying the price now, and the answer to your question about root mealies is yes. I discovered them over the summer, and they are a nasty, quickly spreading pest, that pretty rapidly spread to many plants in my collection. They are difficult to eradicate. I treated them with the systemic insecticide imidacloprid in a product called Dominion Tree and Shrub at 2 oz/gal water this summer. It apparently was not enough as I found them in several plants a few weeks ago. I have retreated my entire collection with the same product at 3 oz/gal and just finished up. I have also sprinkled Bonide Systemic Granules in many of my plants for additional protection. I am hopeful that I have really knocked them out this time. Other than using this systemic, I really don't know how you would get rid of them. Even cutting off the root ball and restarting from cuttings is no guarantee that will work as I found out with a Hoya serpens recently. I had new cuttings, mix and pot, and in a few weeks it was crawling with them. Apparently the little @#$%$ can crawl up the stems a short distance and lay eggs, and when restarted, they take right back off. The difficulty with imidacloprid is that it kills pollinators so many states have forbidden its retail sale. If this is the case for you, it would be necessary to go to a nearby state, or order it from Amazon to send to a friend in a state that allows it, and have them reship it to you. Hope this helps a little. Root mealies are a scourge!!

[@AngelicaMaria1983]

OMG! What a beautiful plant! It looks very healthy. And the incredible beauty of those star-shaped flowers makes me dream of seeing it in person someday. As for the intensity of the fragrance, how would you describe it? Overwhelming or rather subtle? Thank you so much, Doug, for sharing your experiences and knowledge about your plants. Hoyas have become a source of joy and inspiration for me in recent months, but I also need to learn not to rush and to limit my collection so it doesn't cause anxiety in the future. Greetings from Spain!

[@AngelicaMaria1983]

By the way, have you ever used a product called Physan 20? I've seen that orchid growers use it to prevent fungi, algae, and bacteria. I'm just asking out of curiosity.

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Good morning Angelica! Thank you so much for leaving the nice comment! You are wise to limit your collection so as to not get overwhelmed. Many new growers go crazy getting into the hobby and buy dozens of Hoyas far to quickly. I have seen many of these new growers leave the hobby over the years because the workload and stress got to be too much for them. Hoya stenaokei has a subtle fragrance that is not at all overwhelming. It is not particularly difficult to grow and well worth seeking out. The dark version that had only two flowers in the video will be flowering any day with seven blooms this time. I am looking forward to it! All the best from Vermont, Doug

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

@@AngelicaMaria1983 I have never used Physan 20, but I know that it has been around for years and it is used in greenhouses and with professional growers quite extensively.

[@debpogue3469]

Love your plants

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Thank you!

[@debpogue3469]

@@DougChamberlainVTHoyas your Welcome

[@abrachupacabra]

these are stunners ! ❤ i’ve just ordered a Stenakei cutting for myself to grow 🎉

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

I wish you as much luck with yours as I've had with mine!

[@lc9215]

Absolutely gorgeous 😍😍

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Thank you so much!

[@susangage9140]

Stunning

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Thank you Susan!

[@melanieklarofficial]

How thick and hard are the leaves on the stenakei?

[@melanieklarofficial]

I have a hoya whose leaves look exactly like that but no pubescence. Any idea what that might be?

[@georgek6118]

💚💚💚

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

💚💚💚!

[@aubreymayborn3151]

Your collection is incredible Doug!! I aspire to be at your level! I do have a few questions though does pubescent mean semi fuzzy? like most hoya leaves feel when they are growing new leaves? Hoya Caudata is one that comes to mind that has very fuzzy leaves when they are first put out but keep some of the fuzz into maturity. Does globular mean more on the glossy side like for example Kerrii or Obovata? Sorry to bombard with questions, just found your channel and cant wait to learn from your videos!

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Thank you for the kind words Aubrey! Pubescent means fuzzy leaves at any stage. Glabrous means totally smooth leaves free of any sign of fuzziness. A Hoya could potentially have pubescent leaves when the leaves are just emerging and become glabrous when mature. The plant in the video is supposed to be like that even though the leaves seem to be keeping their pubescence even when mature. Kerrii and Obovata are good examples of leaves that are glabrous throughout its life.

[@elisazhang7184]

Hi Doug, what a great result ! I always enjoy your video. I would buy from you if you could send it to Europe but if not, may i know from which vendor in Indonesia you bought this one? Thank you !

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Sadly, I don't ship to Europe, but I would be glad to tell you the name of the Indonesian vendor. I bought it from Broto Moro, and he sold on Etsy using the name Brotogarden. It looks like he is not currently selling on Etsy. He used to have a Facebook profile as well. That might be the best way to contact him. Good luck!

[@elisazhang7184]

Thank you so much for sharing 💚🌱 & i will wait your next video 🥰

[@pattheplanter]

Both H. stenakei - wow! And H. decipulae pretending to be a Ceropegia. Another example of H. stenakei was encountered in 2018-2019 in low land primary forest in Arso Keerom, Papua Province, West Indonesia - reported in "A Preliminary Survey of the Genus Hoya R. Br. (Apocynaceae) in Papua, Indonesia, with Notes on Hoya as Larval Food Plant of Euploea netscheri Snellen" - full paper available on Google Scholar through the link that says PDF. I thought the photo was not either of those you have but then I looked closer at the photos at the end of your video and it does look like the week-old flowers of the big /multiflowered one of yours, with a larger pale centre and smaller band of paler pink. The first was found in Baiberi, Sandaun Province, near the border line between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, in 2011. The paper is also available through Google Scholar - "Contribution to a revision of Hoya (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae) of Papuasia. Part I: ten new species, one new subspecies and one new combination". The photo does not look like your smaller/two-flowered specimen. Unless you assume the same progression of the purple getting paler and the pale centre star getting bigger as the flower ages. It does have blunter lobes and sharp, almost linear tips to the central star. Their photo may be of an old flower, it does look the worse for wear to me. How does/will your flower look after a few weeks?

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Thank you so much Pat, this was exactly the information that I was seeking. The only paper that I have seen on H. stenakei was the one on the plant discovered in 2011 and written in 2017: "Contribution to a revision of Hoya (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae) of Papuasia. Part I: ten new species, one new subspecies and one new combination" I have not read or heard of the other paper. My flowers look so different with even the corona being a different shape, I wondered if they could be two different species. I think the flowers will fall off at about the 10 day mark if they behave like the rest of the plants in the Macgillivrayi Complex. I have yet to see how they look when they are really old. I agree that the published photo looks considerably different than mine. Thanks again for that valuable information; it will help when I talk about it on my website!

[@ilikeanimalsmorethanpeople5389]

can i buy a node or 2? :)

[@pattheplanter]

Sten-Åke is tricky to get right without Swedish training. Perhaps "stenakei" would be something like "stain-oar-keh-aye"

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

It is also extra difficult when you have also never heard the plant name spoken!

[@pattheplanter]

@@DougChamberlainVTHoyas Never believe how other people pronounce plant names. Most of them don't even pronounce the p in Psoralea.

[@paoladefrenza8052]

salve complimenti per caso vende le piante ??? o dove potrei comprarle ??grazie

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

Al momento non vendo piante. Questa pianta proviene da un venditore indonesiano che attualmente non vende nemmeno piante, ma ci sono molti altri venditori indonesiani che vendono la pianta. Eccone uno: www.ebay.com/itm/364250462035?hash=item54cf04f753:g:Xp0AAOSwUpFkWcxZ&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwKJP1ogELiodW9IMO4h%2FEtQNTBXt5e0PNfe39JDZl9t3%2FHI5WSVzpKYNpftg6c1gY3MCeESswa6kiNFDdeCMxTVduK0hHTIS6nlghyWIplZcOyipUAHkziF8vicTeLZ4NaLjydhH2yYWlN%2FDM4xBB4pwN0zX8Qh9xG2Vz%2FLZAt92%2F8PCKS02rSglT%2F7%2FOXW3I%2FXp73ZJQh5Mxou32j1syhpsvK1wO5qG9no0ZQVHxEYY%2BZWHSm3KVp1Nqb64s3BSEw%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR5rvurr-Yg

[@paoladefrenza8052]

grazie gentilissimo e ancora complimenti ! 😘@@DougChamberlainVTHoyas

[@deemari577]

That's one of the sad things for those of us who collect live things from 3rd world countries where deforestation and, in this case where rare plants are being depleted for our enjoyment. The number of plant collectors worldwide has grown tremendously! I no longer will purchase any hoyas from Papua New Guinea, as a starter, as far as rare or uncommon plants go. Beautiful flower tho!

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

A very good point Dee. I will say however that perhaps hobbyists can help keep some of these plants alive that would have been lost to habitat destruction anyway. There is also the possibility that at some future time the plants could be reintroduced.

[@deemari577]

@@DougChamberlainVTHoyas Yes Doug, I hope they will and the plants as well...

[@RoseTorn411]

Please tell me that growers are sharing this to get it's numbers up otherwise it literally will be extinct.

[@DougChamberlainVTHoyas]

I believe that this plant is being propagated widely by growers worldwide now. It starts easily from stem cuttings so there really would be no reason to try to obtain this plant in the wild any longer. I would also hope that at some point it could be reintroduced to its native habitat if it is indeed gone or in peril.