I really like that look, too. I'm going to have to follow that philosophy with my compact growers. I was looking up spicata vs Trinidad and have you seen this flickr account? Too fun. Source: Fundación Jardín Botánico Nacional de Viña del's photostream I stuck my original pot of 'Silver Feather' out on the balcony and since it's a mass of rhizomes at this point, it must have 20+ baby plants popping up... so far. I think I'll need to transplant it into a bigger pot soon, but I think it will be crazy by the end of the summer. I totally agree that you are going to have a lot of rhizomes on your hands. Incidentally, I got this order of Episcias (and a couple Streps) in from Out of Africa, and I had to post pictures, because only we Hoya people, who spend hundreds of dollars on a cereal box full of survival-challenged unrooted cuttings... only WE could appreciate how truly deeply and utterly spoiled Gesneriad people are. Doesn't it look like I'm about to have a baby shower here? lol... and I didn't even have to find a Corgi to get a free plant! You should have seen me shaking my head in baffled amazement.

A quick search will show that foliar feeding is widely regarded as a means of quickly correcting small nutrient deficiencies. But it is not an efficient method for supplying nutrients (particularly macros). Just think about the amount of water that can cling to foliage in comparison to the amount contained in a pot of soil. You would have to foliar feed many, many times in order to provide the amount of nutrition in a single soil feeding. And consider the amount of time a plant has to absorb nutrients before water evaporates. Minutes on foliage vs days in soil. Even if you could keep foliage wet for longer periods, you'd be encouraging disease. There are a few plants that are designed for foliar feeding (like Tillandsias which possess trichomes for enhanced water/nutrient absorption). Most plants, however, are not designed for this and will be very inefficient at it. As for mineral accumulation, a healthy root system requires a porous soil that can be flushed at every watering. If you can't flush your soil without risk of rot, then you should change your soil, not your watering method. I don't mean to be argumentative here. I just want to see that people get the full story.

If the potting mix you are using is working then don't change it. Many people use a mix that includes bark or coconut husk chips, soil, and perlite. Your mix may be a bit heavy if there is sand but the vermiculite would help balance it out. Do you find the plants grow well or do they tend to sit there and do nothing? You might have to evaluate your watering habits for some, some species like to be moist to perform their best. Fertilizing is best done each week but use half strength fertilizer solutions. If the leaves of your plants are dark green then bump up the light a touch. You want medium to light green depending on the species as some respond differently. I would stop cutting because each time you do you may be stopping bloom peduncles from forming. Concentrate on growth and with it will come blooms. Some species bloom in accordance to environmental conditions do a drop in temperatures at night is recommended. Some species will only bloom during cooler months others only after a dryer winter etc. Its good to find out as much as you can about each one you have and then try to treat them accordingly. Mike

Tammy I don't have the official description of this species so I pieced together info I dug up online. This species is an epiphyte that does not seem to do much climbing so it more than likely grows hanging from trees or perhaps rocks. The terrain would almost certainly be hilly and this is especially true at the higher elevations. Remember most Hoyas grow not on the ground but scrambling through vegetation and shrubs or hanging directly from trees. If a seed falls in an appropriate place it will grow so you can also find Hoys clambering over tree roots or rocks in some habitats. It really depends on the species but think climbing vines that don't root in the ground but instead high up in the trees. The link below shows the living bridges that can be found in the Khasi Hills region of Northern India. This is an area that receives a huge amount of rainfall, one of the wettest places on earth. Check out the two videos for an idea of the forest types seen in the area, obviously much forest has been cleared for agriculture so there are also large areas that have sparse tree cover. Hoyas are plants of mature forest and do not reproduce well in areas that have been cut, for this reason many species are becoming rare as the forests of Asia are continually cut. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a0QoCxf6xU Mike Here is a link that might be useful: Living bridges made of fig trees.