I found a large pot of this Hoya lacunosa in a big box store. I hadn’t seen it there before. It was the only one. It was also 10°F/-12°C out. I double bagged it, cranked up the heat in the car and went right home. At home I got it out of the soggy coco peat and into bark straightaway. It died.
Months later I saw another large pot in the same big box and was determined to try again. It wasn’t freezing outside, but again the coco peat was soggy so a repotting to bark and sphag would need to happen soon. He wasn’t happy about the repotting, and it seemed touch and go for a couple of weeks. But under the grow lights he stopped loosing leaves and there were tiny signs of new growth.
In the spring he moved out to the porch where he gets a bit of early morning and late afternoon sun, it’s also more humid out there. He put out a lot of new growth. His first peduncle formed just before I was leaving on vacation, and he bloomed while I was gone. But after I returned he put out a second peduncle, and bloomed again on the first.
I knew he was in bloom before I saw the open blossoms. I stepped into the porch and the scent hit me – sweet, floral, herbal. I’d never smelled it before, but I knew right away what it was. It was the smell of success.
I’ll keep you posted.
