Pete's place

The Lantanas looks good but unfortunately the leaves smell like cat's p**s. :(
I used to grow them but got fed up with the whitefly problem :(

 

They do have a bit of a pong, but I kinda like it.
I also had a terrible white fly problem with lantanas but I overwinter them bone dry now and all the leaves fall off along with any whitefly or eggs. I collect them up and get rid, not seen a white fly in five years.

 

Oh, Strongy, I think figs and sage have more of a cat p*ss smell than Lantana! My Lantana's great at the moment .. have a small "hedge" only 5-6 feet long with yellow, white/yellow and lilac/yellow/white all mingled together .. right next to the dining table and no probs with unpleasant smell!

Please, please, Pete send me your secret of getting rid of these horrid whiteflies, which seem to be invading everything in sight, although my daily regime of flapping the plants around and then spraying the air with the soapy water is working ... I just hope the neighbours don't see me doing this ritual :eek:

 

Santolina is another "stinker" too.
LoL, pics of your Oleanders?
You answered a question recently before I could post it, praying mantises, they are something I have never seen in the wild and you have them. I shall be looking for them on hols along with lizards, geckos, snakes and birds. BTW birds, do you get many where you are, hoopoes,egrets, falcons etc?

 

I love lantanas but have never noticed whitefly or smell- I went out and squashed a leaf and couldn't detect any nasty smell- Have I got the wrong variety, or is my nose suffering from age related failure? :confused:

 

I think your sense of smell re Lantanas is okay, Liz ... or I have the same failure as you! :D

Agree on Santolina! Dug mine up in Bucks because I couldn't stand it! Phew! I'll take pics of the Oleanders later today.

The praying mantis are about 4-5 inches long, I guess. Of course, I get all of the critters you mentioned, Strongy - usually in the house because Magic Sam brings them home after a foray (except snakes but I've only had a couple here) but they get sent back to the wild immediately. Birdwise, there's everything ... egrets/herons, falcons/other birds of prey, storks (quite some colonies in this area) and even flamingos! We have lots and lots of screech owls and bats around the house as well. In the garden there's the usual robins, swallows, sparrows (which they eat here :eek: ) and a lovely little bird with a green belly and a black one with a red nose .. I'm not very good on birds! I've never heard of a hoopoe but just looked up a picture and what a beauty!

 

This is scented, and is good as a house plant, it dont like a lot of sun,
Hoya Bella.


Then there's this one for the greenhouse, a climber
Hoya Carnosa

 

Hi pete, I have cuttings of Hoya Bella given to me by my sister, who keeps it in her bathroom covered in talcum powder where it flourishes and flowers. Mine on the other hand seldom flower and seem to be just hanging on. How warm do you keep yours, as my house is generally colder than hers? I'd love to get it to thrive [my daughter is Isabella, Bella for short].
The flowers don't look real, do they? More like little cake decorations.

 

Lovely, Pete. I'm interested in how you respond to Liz as I have a rooting given to me last year. It did nothing until recently and it's developed new leaves. Some weeks back I had a problem with yellow "dust" on two new developing leaves and couldn't get an answer as to what to do so I just washed it off ... was it pollen? Currently I have it on the bedroom windowsill (we have outside windowsills here not inside!) in the Sandbar so well protected from the sun. I shall move it to the outdoor living room in the winter.

 

Hi Liz, I think bella needs to be warm, not sure how warm, but mine doesn't go below 18C, but thats easy because it doesn't like bright sunshine so it should be happy as a house plant.
Sometimes I forget to water it but it just shrivels a bit until I do, I find its not fussy, but is easily overwatered.
The flowers are strange, and as you say look almost unreal with a slight scent, think another name for them is the wax flower.

 

L of L, is that bella or carnosa?
Carnosa is a long leggy climer which will put up with all sorts of conditions I find.
Its in my greenhouse which is close to freezing in winter and really hot in summer, it gets very little feeding, or watering for that matter, but it still flowers. Its also capable of taking full sun in the greenhouse.

 

I don't know, Pete, as I've not had a flower yet. However, I was told that it is growing up the side of a villa here near the coast, obviously in a protected area, verandah or the like.

Is there a difference in the leaves so I could make an identity? This one has thick, fleshy leaves, the largest being about 8cm. I've taken a pic but have to wait till t'other half downloads the camera (I don't know how to do that yet!) so it may be later tonight and, as we have visitors tomorrow, it may be Tuesday before I can post it.

I had one back in the late 70s / early 80s and I'm sure that was a Bella. It was delicate compared to this so I suspect this may be a Camosa.

 

Its not bella for sure with leaves that big, there are others, and some even have black flowers with a red centre, but I'm not familiar with them, they were coming back into popularity a few years back, but that seemed to stop.
Its all about fashion, and what they say we should be growing. :D

 

But isn't that just like clothes ... keep them long enough and they'll be back in fashion. Only problem is, you may not be able to get into them! :D :D :D

 

Seeing these pics of Hoyas brings back memories of the palm house we had in here town. We used to grow bella in baskets and suspend them from the roof with columneas and episcias. The only carnosa we had was a variegated one which is probably more of a rarity these days. They used to be grown round wire hoops similar to pot jasmines and stephanotis to keep them tidy.