Hey nurse boy, As you surmised, it's definitely not patella, which has wider, shorter, fuzzy leaves. It looks like pauciflora, to me. Source: A New Zealand Grower This is a plant that always did really well for me, without any special needs. It tolerates drought well and grows pretty quickly. So, I was taken aback when I recently nearly lost it. Luckily I was able to bring it back from the grave from a desiccated last vine. A few months later it's looking great, has grown out, and I appreciate it more than ever! I think you'll love it and it's a great gift! Glad to hear from you! :) This post was edited by greedyghost on Sat, Apr 5, 14 at 1:05

Heuschkeliana is also an easy grower and bloomer. Some favorites of mine from that list, although they have not bloomed yet for me, are rigida 1424, aff. parasitica 'Lao 2', sp. Ban Nong Ngoy, and acuta 0079. They all grow fast and easily. I don't grow schneei, but paziae (close relative) is one of my favorites. I've done many trades and no one ever requests Lao 2, but I bet it's because they have no idea how pretty its growth habit is. ^_^ It's one of my favorites to gaze at. Mine grows its thick, heavily speckled, spade-shaped leaves in the most massive tight rosette before progressing up into a vine. I do not find pusilla or walliniana easy to grow, although they are not monsters either - just more particular. I used to think dasyantha easy, but we are always in a fight these days. I think it's best grown somewhere it dries out fast, because it used to love being right up against the glass of some extremely bright east windows. Megalantha does grow fast and easily, but I have always grown it in high humidity conditions, and I suspect it dislikes being meddled with, because whenever I do meddle with it, it drops leaves. If I just leave it strictly alone, though, it's one of my most aggressive plants. I'm really still in the process of understanding this one. Also, it looks pretty much just like paziae when not in bloom, except more delicate. Finally, I just got limoniaca in a trade, and it was totally my favorite of the bunch. Just from looking at its leaves, I suspect it will be easy to grow, but I just wanted to advise you that it's prettier in person than it looks in photographs. Good luck with your selections! Just get some fast bloomers to keep you company while you wait for the others to take their time. ^_~

1. What's a Hoya that you consider a bit of an unsung hero** that everyone should have in their collection? Nummularioides. it is finally making it's way into a lot of hoya collections but doesn't get the praise that I feel it truly deserves. It's a spectacular hoya. It is very easy to care for,it doesn't grow so fast that it'll take over everything in it's path in little to no time as a lot of hoyas tend to do. The foliage is quite nice being about the size of a U.S. nickle and having fuzz all over it. It's a fall blooming hoya and tends to open all of it's flowers at one time. There have been times when my plant had so many flowers open on it that you almost couldn't see the foliage. 2. What's your favorite Hoya you've gotten from a trade (particularly if it's one you didn't specifically start the trade to get)? most of the hoya trades that I have participated in arrived only with what I requested in the shipment. There have been a few times when I would get extras but they always seemed to be things that I already had. I'd have to say that my favorite though would most likely be H. polystachya IML 1410. 3. What's a Hoya that you bought specifically for the flower, but ended up liking particularly for its other qualities? Well that would be hoya lambii of course!!!! The flower is probably my number 1 favorite of all the hoyas that I grow and the fragrance is just as awesome. To my nose they are sweet and spicy at the same time. The scent is a combination of vanilla and spice,maybe cloves or cinnamon,I haven't quite figured that part out yet!! The leaves are also a favorite of mine as there is no other hoya with foliage like that of hoya lambii! 4. What's the weirdest grounds you've ever had for buying a Hoya? I buy a lot of hoyas from a friend in Thailand who goes into the Thai jungle and collects hoyas. I try to buy from him each spring when he has gone into the jungle and found new hoyas. The plant is new and hasn't made it's way around the block yet!!!

Awesome! Glad to see it thriving in your care! I keep forgetting to photograph mine, as it is kept in my super high humidity tent with other divas. I tend to ignore them, only looking when I water/check for bugs. Terrified to open the tent much, might lose the micro-climate, lol!