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Rare Guys can be Nice Guys

13 years ago

I had a nice conversation with someone the other day about lasiantha and praetorii and one of the things that came up was how, aside from being hard to get ones hands on, neither of these plants are particularly slow-growing or difficult.

So, that made me think it would be interesting to ask you guys:

Do you have any plants in your collection that are on the rare, expensive, or a-little-hard-to-get side that ended up being a breeze once they were in your hot little hands?

I know we've all been in situations where we're paying more than we'd like for a cutting and feel certain we're going to kill it. It might be nice to hear some success stories so we'll have that much more courage when hunting our next elusive prey.

...

My collection isn't too wildly exotic, but one that comes to mind for me is Hoya megalantha, which was the most I'd paid for a small cutting at that time. It rooted with NO problems and grows like a weed for me. It would've been better for my finances if it had just sulkily perished, because then I probably would've stuck to cheap cuttings thereon...

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Comments (8)

mdahms1979
13 years ago
I have found both Hoya lasiantha and praetorii very easy to grow, quite similar to Hoya javanica or multiflora.

In the past I have spent up to $35 on a cutting of rare species and although it may not have been difficult to grow the cuttiings were very stressed and ended up rotting soon after arriving. I think that the availabliliy of cuttings along with how difficult they are to ship are the main factors that influence the price of cuttings. New species that are in demand will always cost more but with plants that are as easy to propigate as Hoyas the price falls fairly quickly once plant material is spread through collections.
Some species are just plain rare or hard to cultivate so there is always more demand for cuttings than there is supply. Hoya megalantha and Hoya platycaulis are two that are still very rare in cllections.

Now I feel like taking a vactaion in Bangkok so that I can track down some of these hard to find Hoyas, anyone want to join me?

Mike
greedygh0st
Original Author
13 years ago
Your point about the difficulty of successfully shipping some of these rare Hoyas is well taken, especially since the only way to get some of them involves a very long shipping period.

I'm up for a Bangkok field trip! My SO's father lives there, and I keep thinking: hmmmm... can I get him interested in plants?
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Hopeless, huh? Oh,well, may as well dive right in! Do I qualify for a 12-step program yet, can I have the cuttings anyway? Today I went to Lowes as promised and a nice wayetti is hanging next to my previous weaknesses now (they did tag it kentiana and it does have a darker margin. You guys are good!) Now, the guy at Lowes was very nice and asked if I was looking for a particular kind of Hoya, since he can try and order it for me. Can you tell me what I absolutely have to have? I assume he was talking about Exotic Angels. So, out of australis, fishtail, marlea, picta, shamapry, stripes,bilobata, green wax, linearis, regalis, rubra, shooting stars, and sulawesii, which ones can't I live without? Many thanks again for all your help! Grow
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mdahms1979
13 years ago
Some friends are going to the Philippines and South East Asia for five weeks starting in January. I can't tell you how much I wish I still had holiday time. I was reading about the orchid nurseries in and around Bangkok and the number is staggering, just under 5000 and you know many of those also grow Hoyas. That sounds like the a dream vacation for me and a total nightmare for everyone else that comes along but has no real interest in plants.

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mitzicos
13 years ago
I heard that we can't bring plants from Thailand!!!! It is a crime, I'm not sure if this is true or not, but who told me that is a Brazilian expert in plants!
I'd join you on this trip Mike, besides the beautiful beaches there are tons of wonderful hoyas........ if it is really a crime, I think I'd go to jail in this trip! LOL
cpawl
13 years ago
Mitzicos
I have been to Bangkok a few times and I can tell you that you can bring plants home.You have to have them inspected and boxed.They seal the box and but a ton of stamps all over the box so you dont open the box to sneak some thing extra in.
Maybe your friend was saying that you cant bring them into your country.
I next planned trip is 2012.

Cindy
mdahms1979
13 years ago
I agree with Cindy, importing plants into any country is illegal unless you have the proper paperwork. Many countries are often quite strict becuase the chances of introducing agricultural pests or invasive species is quite high. Because Hoyas are often sold as cuttings they can get away with only a phytosanitary inspection but if there is dirt/potted plants things get complicated. You should be able to look up your plant importation laws, often they are part of the governments agricultural department.

Mike
cpawl
13 years ago
I meant to say My next planned trip to bangkok is Aug 2012.

Cindy
mitzicos
13 years ago
Mike,

So he probably is wrong!!!
But as we can't bring any live plants to Brazil it would make no difference, only importers who have an special permit besides the import license are allow to import plants.

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