Gardens Galore by Karen Brewka

Grassroots

(Page 5)

Hoya Doin'?

I'm starting to fertilize my Hoya and other houseplants now after they've had a winter rest. The April Hoya flowers fill the house at night with a light fresh scent that more than makes up for having to sweep up the spent blooms. This plant continues to flower on and off all summer.

The Hoya is one of the easiest houseplants to grow. They need bright light and benign neglect. They like to be pot-bound and prefer infrequent watering. A vine, the Hoya needs some kind of support or trellis to twine on. The blooms appear in a clump on little spurs that appear on the vines. The leaves are glossy, waxy and thick.
To propagate, take cuttings from older plants. Each cutting should have a few leaves and hopefully a spur or two. Stick the cutting in a jar of water and, apart from changing the water once a week, just wait for masses of roots to form from the little bumps on the stems. Plant up in a 3 inch pot and don't repot until the roots are crawling out the drainage holes. When the time is right, pot up into a 4 or 5 inch pot and gradually, over the years, enlarge the pot size as the plant grows.

I use a soilless mix for my houseplants (3 parts peat moss, 1 part vermiculite and 1 part perlite). Mix and wet this concoction in a bucket and use for repotting or topdressing houseplants.

From now until fall, I use about a tablespoon of water soluble 20-20-20 fertilizer in a gallon of water and fertilize lightly each watering. (African Violets and other acid-loving houseplants need a different fertilizer.) Although houseplants will start to need more frequent watering as light levels increase, it's still a good idea to make sure they go quite dry between watering.

The Valley Neighbors Garden Club meets every third Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm. For information call Susan at 403 – 933 – 7675. The Horticultural Club meets every second Tuesday of the month at 7:30 pm. For information call Sheila at 403 – 931 – 3989.