Unwanted review email and sort of shipping update.

Getting sick right after a restock is just about the most unfortunate moment I could have imagined. The last few months have already been quite extreme, and this gave it that final push.

I really haven't done practically anything for a week. As a result, my mailbox has never been this full before. This is mainly due to responses to the automatic review email that is sent after a certain number of days—I believe 10 or something along those lines. The vast majority of orders exceed that timeframe, meaning many are already being asked for a review even though no plants have been received yet.

This is very confusing for you, and I have received a lot of concerned questions. So, this is going completely wrong on my end.

The vast majority of orders have been shipped in the past few days. However, there are certainly still quite a few outstanding. So, if you haven't received anything yet, that is correct. Especially if the order was placed less than a week ago.

So, should you receive one of those unwanted automatic review emails in the meantime, please ignore it. I still need to fix this.

The week I was out of action, I was able to do a lot of thinking. And I notice that I am increasingly less able to handle setbacks. Especially when they are outside my responsibility or influence. I think this has a lot to do with a lot of stress and little space/time. I consistently fail to meet the deadlines I set for myself, and the smallest thing that goes wrong has such a huge impact on everything else that something really needs to change.

The best solution would be someone who could take over a specific task or tasks on a permanent basis. However, this is not that simple. Because I do practically everything myself, this is a way to keep costs as low as possible. I have been doing this work for many years now, and everything is my own design. As a result, I get the work done 10 times faster than someone just starting out. Someone could certainly learn this in the long run. But unfortunately, I haven't reached that point yet; finding someone with the same passion and love for this plant in the vicinity of the greenhouse is not easy.

That brings me to another, less pleasant topic. At the moment I am no longer here, I will have no one to take over the business. I wouldn't mind so much if the company ceased to exist. But I would find it very regrettable if this enormous and special collection of Hoyas were to be lost. I hope to live for a very long time and be able to establish a foundation over the coming decades where the collection can be exhibited to the public in an existing or newly built botanical garden. I will then donate my entire inheritance to this foundation for the preservation and research of the Hoya. I hereby also call upon anyone who can help me with this, in any form whatsoever. Soon/in a few weeks, I really need to start making new pots. The table is getting emptier and the mother plants are growing into one another. During that period, I will likely be able to process little to no orders. I expect this entire project to take at least 1 to 2 weeks. That will once again have a huge impact on order processing times. I will also take this opportunity to critically review which Hoyas I no longer want to grow/sell. I will have to downsize the business somewhere along the line. It has become much larger than I can handle on my own in the long run.

All stupid announcements, unfortunately. But it is for the best.