To put it plain and simple: I love my Hoyas. The Hoya carnosa variegata growing up the umbrella on the patio next to my office was in need of more soil in its pot and was a bit bleached out because getting too much sun. Shame on me, time to take action! I didn’t want another hanging pot so I decided to train it to grow upwards.

Step 1:

I tied the 3 hoops at the top with fishing line to hold them together.

I had picked up a low plastic terra cotta colored bowl a year ago at our local art and reuse store for 50 cents. This is one of my many “gently used” finds. I sprayed it a combo of blue and purple along with accents of gold for a little pizazz. I decided to use 3′ bamboo u hoops which I found at a local dollar store. They came in packages of 2 for 99 cents bringing the grand total of this project to $2.50. How sweet it is for a bargain scavenger like me!

I ended up using 3 of the hoops and not all 4 because that would have been overkill in a pot this size. I sprayed the bamboo hoops with protectant to seal and protect them because the less often I need to do this project, the better. I positioned the hoops to overlap slightly and stack on top of each other so they could be tied at the top.

Step 2:

This video showing you how I trained my Hoya was filmed over a 7 month period so you’ll see a few wardrobe changes too

By the way, I posted a blog and video with Hoya care and repotting tips last week if that’s what you’re looking for. I was going to do the training as part of that posting but it would have turned into a Hoya documentary. That being said, the results of my Hoya propagation experiment will be coming soon.

Step 3:

tied the jute twine just above the nodes to keep it from falling down.

My Hoyais so happy since it’s been moved to its new bright but shady location. The foliage has really greened up and more white leaves are now appearing. The blushes of pink which this Variegated Hoya is known for are also emerging. And, it’s flowering like it never has before which warms the cockles of my horticultural heart. It’s flowered 3 times since the transplant and move and there are 7 buds ready to open on it right now.

This Hoya sits at the bottom of the steps which lead to my front door. I look at it many times a day and the biggest bonus of all is that I love the way it looks!

Happy gardening,

Nell

Joy Us garden