Hoya on palms, my latest obsession

Last March I put together an experimental mount of Hoya meredithii with a NoID Epiphyllum and a bit of Microsorum brachylepis 'Datun' (project here). The fern died before even making it outside for the summer, but the Hoya and Epiphyllum are still going strong...

Although it is worth noting the Hoya suffered from a little too much sun from its placement early in the summer, I feel like the leaves are still recovering their color. 

And the Epiphyllum might actually be some form of Rhipsalis.

That mount ended up hanging on the same Trachycarpus fortunei 'Wagnerianus' that has the ferns tucked into its furry trunk (they're doing great!)...

There's also a Trachelospermum asiaticum 'Theta' growing up from the base...

My tallest/oldest Trachycarpus fortunei has several Passiflora lutea working their way up the trunk. 

Which left my third palm, another Trachycarpus fortunei 'Wagnerianus' naked! Well, until I bought another Hoya—Hoya villosa—and made it into an epiphytic mount...

I was fully aware though that one was not enough, which is why I brought this Hoya crassipetiolata back from Buffalo...

I'd saved this bit of bark from another mount (a gift that unfortunately didn't make it long term under my care)...

It was hollow with a sphagnum moss plug at the bottom, so I thought I'd try and wedge the Hoya into the tube. Since it's an epiphytic vine I figured it would be okay with only a small amount of soil.

The soil in place when pulled it from the container...

I plucked off one of the smaller bits to the side and worked it into that hole...

Then I kept rolling the root ball between my palms until it was long and narrow...

Into the tube it went. A wooden skewer helped me push the last bits into place.

Done!

I love it...

But is two enough? I don't know...

Shopping with a friend one day I spotted this Hoya krohniana 'Super Silver'. It was so small I just tucked it into one of those natural pockets like the ferns are growing in. Since this Hoya isn't hardy here I'll have to remove it (pull it out) before winter. Not ideal, but c'est la vie.

That makes three...

But you guys, I can't stop! At Portland's wholesale flower market I spotted these two. On the left Hoya parasitica 'Black Margin' and on the right an Aeschynanthus sp. (another epiphytic vine).

I pulled together my materials and broke the plants into smaller pieces—not dividing them, they were actually separate plants in the small 4" pots I bought them in. You can see the Aeschynanthus was actually three plants, and the Hoya two. I also soaked some sphagnum moss and dug around for another piece of wood that was once a mount for a now dead Pyrrosia nummularifolia. Also shown, rusty bits that I'll share more about in a minute.

I didn't take any in process shots of the wood mount, but here it is finished and hanging. I used two of the Aeschynanthus here.

Those rusty bits! OMG. I stopped at a local shop, ReClaim It (LOVE this place) on the way home from buying the two plants. That's where I picked up these things. What are they? Well I had no idea what they were (or what I would do with them) when I bought them, for .50 ea. 

Once home I looked up the marks and learned that Herter's Inc. of Waseca, Minnesota was a "legendary" mail-order outdoor sporting goods store. I also learned they're vintage Herter's cast iron duck and goose decoy weights. Cool! Of course it didn't take long for me to realize they'd also be perfect for hanging planty bits from the palm trunk.

A little soil, a little sphagnum moss, and a little wire...

All wrapped up.

Times three...

I added a little green garden moss (pulled off the wall around our patio) to keep the sphagnum together and add color.

At this point I thought I would be securing each mossy ball to the rusty bit with wire...

But once I went to work them into the decoys it became obvious that wasn't necessary, they wedged in there and stayed in place without any wire or thread/string.

The base of the old palm fronds on the trunk are strong enough to hang these off of.

And they're randomly placed all up the trunk too. That's one jutting off to the right in this photo.

Perfect!

I suppose it's worth noting again, the reason I'm bullish on Hoya for this application is they're an epiphytic vine, a plant that naturally grows on another plant, often a tree. Fun and easy to experiment with!

So that makes...counting... seven assorted Hoya on this palm tree trunk.

I think I'm done? 

The Bit at the End

Tracy of TZ Garden visited Portland earlier in the month, and she spent some time wandering my garden. We had a grand time hanging out and talking about pretty much everything. She took great photos, then put together a blog post full of kind words about the garden. Check it out here. Thanks again Tracy!

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