Plant friends, I’m so excited to finally bring this highly request episode to your earbuds! I have to be honest, for the first 3 years I really wasn’t getting the whole “hoya craze” that many of my plant friends were going through, I just didn’t get it. But after I was gifted a Hoya compacta from a listener… and realized how much it looked like stacked tortellinis, I started falling in love. THEN I went down a rabbit hole of what Hoya flowers looked like and I was sold. When looking for a guest for this show, I knew I had to look no further than Doug Chamberlain, the man behind Vermont Hoyas. Doug is one of the most successful Hoya collectors in all of the states and documents his collection on his blog. Today he shares his passion for hoyas and lots of information about them: where they grow in the wild, basic care, how he achieves ideal humidity in his home, a deep dive into flowers, we bust a few Hoya myths and then he shares his Top 5 Hoyas for Beginners, 3 Hoyas for Advanced Plant Parents and then assigns the perfect Hoya for each Plant Parent Personality. 

You’re going to hear a lot of intimidating latin plant names, but he provided amazing photos of all the hoyas which we have collected for your hoya heads in two ways: 

1. You can find them on the blog 
2. We’ve made a youtube episode with just the matchmaking portion of this podcast with Doug’s photos superimposed over the audio, so you can watch and listen along to connect the photos to what we are talking about.

I hope this episode sparks your curiosity within the Hoya family, and I'd love to know what your favorite Hoya's are! Share them with my on instagram @bloomandgrowradio.

In this episode we learn:

• Dougs Plant Parent History and introduction to Hoya and his Ideal Hoya Set Up
• Where Hoya's live in nature [11:11]
• Why are Hoya's called "the wax plant" [14:00]
• Where Hoya got it's name [15:20]
• General Care Guidelines for All Hoyas [15:40]
• Doug's Set Up (and humidity hacks0 [16:29]
• What does a sunburn look like on a Hoya leaf [19:50]
• Best Watering Practices for Hoya [21:00]
• Words of encouragement from Doug when you have a hoya fail [24:00]
• If Hoya's like to be potbound [25:30]
• How to pot up a hoya [26:26]
• Best potting mix for a Hoya [27:50]
• What is a peduncle [32:00]
• What is bud blast [33:50]
• Why does a hoya bud fall off before it blooms [34:27]
• How to get your hoya to bloom [35:15]
• What is a "day length specific" hoya bloom
• How frequently does a Hoya bloom [38:00]
• Is there a hack to force Hoya to flower? [39:00]
• 5 Easiest Hoyas to Care for [39:30]
•  Rarer Hoya's for Advanced Plant Parents [44:20]
• Matchmaking for the Bloom and Grow Plant Parent Personalities! [47:10]
• How to fertilize hoyas [53:00]
• Listener Questions!
• Propagation tips [54:00]
• Tips for stimulating leaf growth [57:00]

 

Spelling and Hoyas Mentioned:

5 Easiest Hoyas to Care for

Hoya Carnosa, Hoya Carnosa Crimson Queen, Hoya Pubicalyx, Hoya Cumingiana (Doug's Favorite!), Hoya Lacunosa, Hoya sp aff burtoniae

 

Rare Hoya's for Advanced Plant Parents

Hoya engleriana, Hoya polystachya, Hoya Aff clemensiorum

 

Plant Parent Personality Hoya Pairings

Mindful Plant Parent Pairing: Hoya undulata

Low Key Plant Parent: Hoya obovata

Curious Collector Plant Parent: Hoya amicabilis

Design Based Plant Parent: Hoya finlaysonii

Urban Farmer: Hoya empirialis (harvest the flowers)

Best Scented Hoyas

Hoya lacunosa, Hoya sp aff burtoniae, Hoya calycina

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Soltech Solutions Luxury Grow Lights: Whether its simply getting through the lower light winter- or if you’re like me and you’ve just got too many plants  and too few windows and need to bring more light indoors so your collection can keep growing- Soltech Solutions has the luxury lighting option for you! Soltech is offering BAGR listeners 20% off with code "20BLOOM" at soltechsolutions.com once again thats soltechsolutions.com and code 20BLOOM at checkout for 20%off.

 

Follow Doug

Website: vermonthoyas.com

Youtube: Doug Chamberlain 

 

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