I, on the other hand, prefer the hanging look for many of my Hoyas. I like to let them twine around the hangers and climb upwards. When they reach the ceiling, I trim them (because I don't like the look of them climbing across the ceiling.) The pruning forces them to produce growth lower, which then creates more twining upwards. Eventually, I get a very full-looking plant that's fairly tidy (as long as I keep those at the ceiling trimmed.) This works well for the upward-growing carnosa, pubicalyx, etc. types. I also like those that trail down from a hanging pot, like tsangii and wayetii. And are you saying that you have seperate plants, all-green and variegated together? Or are you saying that segments of the variegated plants have gone all-green? I remove the all-green shoots on my variegated Hoyas because they will eventually take over the plant if you don't. My rooted cuttings off the variegated plants bloom for me, but my variegates don't. Maybe someday... Denise in Omaha

I can always tell my Lacunosa are blooming by smell first before seeing the flowers. I grow most my Lacunosas in a southern window upstairs near my bedroom. As I walk past that room in the dark I can always smell these. You will notice that the scent peaks at night when the flower is fully open. No other Hoya beats the scent IMO except possibly DS-70 in full bloom. But single umbel vs umbel Lacunosa packs the biggest punch. I do understand that Obscura is another pleasant smelling Hoya that some find to be the best smelling Hoya. I bought H.davidcummingii since it was described as a wonderful smelling Hoya that others describe as smelling like Candy. Only time will tell. -David

Some possible reasons for bud drop are: Moving the plant from one place to another. Sometimes we do this to make sure we will see the flowers when they open or to watch the progress. It's a no no to do once buds start usually. Leave it where you find it. I usually hold off fertilizer once I see buds because I've had them drop because of the boost. I continue to use VF-11 with no bud drop but fertilizing I've lost buds. A cool draft can cause bud drop. Such as from a forced air vent of heat. I haven't noticed it with air conditioning in summer. I have with heat in winter. Changing watering habits can make the buds drop sometimes. We think it might could use an extra sip to help develop the buds and they drop. There is no way to know usually but change nothing and usually they continue on to develop and flower. When buds drop usually they will start developing soon again. Good luck!,,,,Debbie

Hoya kentiana, wayetii, littoralis and many as of yet undetermined species like Hoya sp. Haraku are all very similar. The main differences are leaf size, shape and thickness and flower structure and of course their geographical distribution. Flower colour is usually not a good characteristic to use when identifying many plants because it is variable in populations and due to different cultural factors like light and nutrients. In Dale Kloppenburg's book World Of Hoyas he mentions that Hoya wayetii has darker margins on it's leaves, the flowers are larger than kentiana's and the corona is different because it is raised from the corolla on a short column. "The bilobed outer extensions are not markedly curved upwards at the outer apex as they are in Hoya kentiana Burton." It also mentiones in the book that Hoya wayetii was collected in 1989 by Maximo Wayet in a higher mountain area north of Baguio in the Quirino Province in the Northern portion of Luzon island, Philippines. Mike