Hoya Forum: Support Group or Enablers?

13 years ago

This thought has been bumbling around the corners of my mind for a while now & I thought I'd try and get your reactions.

This forum, for you, has it been closer to (1.) an OCD counseling group or (2.) a warm huddle of enablers?

On one hand, I feel many here have gained GREAT wisdom regarding moderation in the passion for acquisition. Through expansions to home, arguments with spouse, monetary strain, or the slow-dawning reality that one person can only take care of a finite number of plants and still hold down a job.

On the other hand, just as you start buckling down for a stricter more critical policy toward new adoptions, someone comes in and goes: Heyyy CEROPEGIA! Perfect for Hoya lovers! The first one's a freebie, everyone else is doing it...

So come clean - are other plant nuts good for you?

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Comments (8)

puglvr1
13 years ago
I would have to say BOTH!! We are both a support group and enablers at the same time. That's why this forum has also been known affectionately as (HAS) "Hoyas Addiction Society" and several other different acronyms. Bad news is as far as I can tell there is NO cure...only different degrees of addiction.
wrynsmom
13 years ago
Hey . . . Hey . . . hey, yeah, you! Hey, I just got this new plant. Yeah, it's totally awesome. Want a cutting? Just a little one . . . yeah. It's no big deal.

HAHAHAHAHAHA

And, actually, I DID just get some new plants in the mail . . . I'm so overwhelmed I'm just not sure where to plant them!!!!

Carolyn
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Welcome to the Hoya forum, Pinkycat! Never, ever think a question is stupid. We're a friendly group who love to enable up-and-coming addicts!! LOL! Your variegated Hindu Rope will be a slow grower. Variegates are traditionally slow, and Hindu rope, even the green form, doesn't grow real fast. Just appreciate it as it grows, when it gets long enough, you can take a cutting and put it back in the mother pot when it roots. And on and on until you have a big ol' plant. Feed it with a quality plant food (Ferti-lome is a good one) and it will reward you with decent growth. Impatience is natural when it comes to growing Hoyas, but the rewards of waiting for the "big plant" or the flowers is well worth it! Denise in Omaha
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greedygh0st
Original Author
13 years ago
lol... I knew I was in trouble when I immediately started setting up a second cutting aquarium right after finishing the first...
wrynsmom
13 years ago
But, it's okay . . . you can stop, anytime you want. hahahahahahahaha

Good luck!

Carolyn
greedygh0st
Original Author
13 years ago
I use the winter months to stop. It's sort of a externally imposed system where my plant bills go down and my heating bills go up ^_~

Maybe what this group does is provide a framework for insanity. I'm a bit of a gamer, so this is going to sound kind of dorky (whereas plant junkees are the social elite, right?), but it's like this:

If you only play games [Hoyas] alone, you can enter your own reality and block out everything else. But if you play games [Hoyas] with others, you are constantly reminded that you're in the real world and you and other gamers [Hoya Addicts Anonymous] have jobs, limited resources, annoyed spouses, responsibilities, etc.

That said, I would pay good money to know how many varieties of hoyas everyone here has.
mdahms1979
13 years ago
Carolyn your eyes look a little bloodshot are you OK? Ha ha LOL :)

I think that if we did not have each other to talk to and to share our plants with we would probably not have so many plants. Being able to share info and make connections has really added to the enjoyment of growing Hoyas. I think as a group we are enablers at times but more often I think we just decide for ourselves that we need this or that plant after seeing a photo or hearing about someoneÂs successes. I know that some of us really have very little space left for more plants but we can't seem to stop making Hoya wish lists and then slowly working our way through them.
I made a list last night and it was around 109 species if I remember correctly, a friend sent me their list and it dwarfed mine with a total of almost 400 Hoyas including several duplicates of some hard to find species.

Mike
tigerdawn
13 years ago
To answer the title question: yes!

Before GW, I barely had a grasp on how many hoyas there were but I was totally in love with the couple I had. I was already in the addictive/collecting mode when I showed up here. This forum has not only improved the diversity of my collection, but improved the care all of my plants recieve. I have also been able to curb my desire to collect them all because some plants require conditions I am unable to provide. I can look though everyone's experiences and decide which few (haha- few hundred maybe) I want to own.

Right now I have 19 pots of rooted hoyas (and relatives) from 14 species and I just recieved 4 awesome cuttings in the mail today. Two more should arrive next week. DH already thinks I have too many!
wrynsmom
13 years ago
Mike, I'm okay . . . I think. Just got a little excited there! hahaha I'm not sure how many I have, now. My master list is on my computer(which is in Nevada with my hubby at the moment). But I'm pushing 150, at this point in time. :)

Oh, and I have three Nepenthes!!!! See, I DO like a variety! I'm not a hoya snob! hehehe

Carolyn

Hoya Forum: Support Group or Enablers?

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Hoya Forum: Support Group or Enablers?

Comments (8)

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