Interesting Q abt the H rubra. I'd only ever seen it here in NYC as an EA plant. Foliage looked like KP, except the stems were consistently red (whether I kept the plant in strong sun or not). I had one for a while, don't remember what happened, but I no longer have it. I've been w/ plant societies now abt 14 yrs. or so (10 w/ Cactus & Succulents & more w/ Indoor Gardening). While I myself rarely ordered from nurseries (unless there in person), I have heard of Bob Smoleys this whole time. I have to think that if he's been in business all these yrs., he's doing something right. Personally, the bad experience I had was buying Hoyas in Sept. 06 down in Florida while there visiting my ailing Dad. I won't say the name except that the man & his wife seemed very nice (she drove me back to Dad's saving me $17 on taxi which I could spend on Hoyas instead). Seemed a hobby grower rather than a professional. Seemed crazed for all kinds of Hoyas, they were small & a bit pricy & he couldn't seem to understand that growing outside in Ft. Lauderdale humidity was decidedly different than indoors in NYC w/ heated homes. He said to keep them much drier (he grew outside & didn't seem to realize that FLA's humidity kept his plants moist w/out watering). Anyway, when he sent me a replacement of a plant that had died, I asked him to mark top from bottom which he pointedly did not do. I couldn't get it to root, cause I couldn't tell top from bottom (event tho' he'd said most leaves point down. It was such a simple request & he didn't comply, said I was the only person he had this problem w/, I told him I would NOT be regalling the Hoya forum w/ rave reviews of his Hoyas. He also got me wondering when he showed me what looked like a H. Shepardhii w/ bright red, tiny blooms in the middle which were decidedly Discidia blooms not Hoya blooms, yet he didn't see the diff., weird. Said he'd spent hundred of dollars on Ted Gelding's Hoyas only to have all of them die. I lost all 5 that I bought from him & the 6th bonus one too, bummer! CBFM sounds like a better idea for sure, I'm guessing he'll come thru one way or another!

Hello~ I personally love 'The Hoya Handbook' for newbies and the newly revised 'World of Hoyas'. If you would like information on buying these books directly from the publisher, email me directly~ Take care~Gusterbunny

The newest and best Hoya book is The Genus Hoya from Botanova Press. You have to buy right from the Botanova website and have the book shipped from Sweden. Hoya books are not numerous and for the most part they are fairly expensive. The older books have far too many misnamed plants to be useful and they can cause confusion by matching the wrong photos with the plant descriptions etc. I have quite a few Hoya books and The Genus Hoya is probably the best if you are looking for a general Hoya book. There are more scientific or in-depth Hoya publications but they are full of botanic terminology and are generally only for the very serious grower. Now having said all that everything you will find in most books is available on the web for free. Sites like Hoyor.net and GrowingHoyas.com, or My Hoyas will give you all the info you will find in those expensive books. Often times the websites have more photos, photos of flower parts and pollinia etc. which you will not find in the books. Check out Rainbow Gardens Books as well but generally the Kloppenburg books seem to be not worth the price. The Hoyas of Australia and The Hoyas of North Eastern New Guinea are much more scientific in scope and are not easy reading. There are botanical drawings in black ink and many botanical terms so they are not good for beginners. If you ever do want to dive into the world of botanical publications I would highly recommend Botanical Latin by William T Stearn as a fantastic book to help you learn botanical terminology and about the meanings of all those Latin and Greek names you see used in Botany. Mike Here is a link that might be useful: The Genus Hoya

For you Hoya growers worldwide. There is a very nice book about Hoyas just published. 118 species described with nice photos!! Have a look at www.freewebs.com/botanova