Hi grandmere,

I found this website that has some Hoya books, I have never ordered from them or know anything about them. Just thought I would post it if you're interested. I am very new to Hoyas myself and just recently started getting interested in them, thanks to this forum. LOL... I have been looking for one like you have. So far no one in my area has that variety. I love the leaves and the flowers. The pictures that I have seen that is.

Click on the link below: I think they are in Arizona?

Here is a link that might be useful: Hoya book site

Yes, that is about the only place that you can find a Hoya book. Mind you, the World of Hoyas has been recently revised. But it is nowhere near worth the $75 they are charging for it. Not worth it.

I agree paulahawaii, $75 is very steep, I wouldn't pay that much for it myself. For me $20 or less is more my budget, LOL...

Here are some links to good Hoya sites if you are looking for photos of leaves, flowers and some info on growing different species.

http://www.myhoyas.com/

http://www.hoyor.net/en/showspecies.php?id=225

There is also an online Hoya magazine called STEMMA that is worth looking into and the International Hoya Society publishes a magazine and is based in the U.S.A.

Mike

Bob Smoley has (I count) 4 Hoya books, AND he sells Hoyas, too. So you could order a book and a couple Hoyas - get your collection started... I'll put the link to the book page below. A couple of the books are pretty cheap.

Denise in Omaha

Here is a link that might be useful: Bob Smoley's

Just be careful if you order hoyas from him - I've heard horror stories.

Gabi

Gabi,
So can you tell me what kind of horror stories you've herd? Just curious b/c I wanted to order two hoyas from him. Thanks

Shanna,
If you are a member of Epiforums, there is an entire thread on there about him. Almost everyone who bought from him had a problem. Actually, I think every forum has a thread (or more) on him. There is a thread on Dave's Garden forum called "Bob Smoley - Never Again".

Anyway, to answer your question, the most common issues that I read about are: mislabeled plants, having to wait months upon months for an order, and/or never getting the order at all. I also heard that he is very nasty if you address an issue with him (even if you are nice as can be).

Honestly, there are many people to buy hoyas from (both cuttings and plants) that are reliable. From what I've heard, it's very risky to buy from Bob Smoley.

Gabi

Gabi,

I've bought from Bob more than a few times over the years and other than him being a bit slow, I've been very happy with doing business with him. Maybe I've been lucky. I know a lot of people complain about how slow he can be to ship, but he states clearly on his site that not all plants are necessarily available in rooted form at the same time. So what happens is he holds the order until all the plants are available, which can hold it up awhile. But I find the quality of his plants are worth the wait, and when I've had to wait, he's always included a "bonus" that I've been very pleased with. Once, I got a huge beautiful Thai Crown of Thorns. On another occasion, I got my Hoya rubra, a plant I probably wouldn't have bothered to order by his description, but I'm so glad I have it. It's one of my most prolific bloomers...

So if you're in a hurry to get plants, I wouldn't order from Bob. But if you're patient, his plants are well worth the wait. As for the mislabling issue, I've gotten mislabled plants from every reputable seller I've bought from at some time. Some of the problem there is that there is so much disagreement about IDs in the world of Hoyas...

Denise in Omaha

Everyone has their own experiences. That's great that you've had good experiences with Bob. I was initially just sending a little warning, and then I answered Shanna's question.

I agree that mislabeling happens often, even from reputable sellers. But those 3 reasons I gave (which are actually complaints from many different people) are more than enough for me to never order from him. Also, his reasons for delayed shipping (or no shipping at all!) is because he is a "one man operation" (that's what he told several people in emails when they complained)...and he even has the delay when unrooted cuttings are purchased.

I wish we had a rating system on here for hoya sellers (or maybe we do?) - that would help a lot when people are deciding who to buy from.

By the way, isn't H. rubra another name for KP? I have one from EA, and it's a great bloomer for me too (I just wish my KQ would bloom!).

Gabi

Here is a link that might be useful: Hoya

Sorry, the above link should've said "Hoya Rubra" - not sure why the second word didn't come out.

Gabi

Gabi,

Yes, and I've seen the complaints, too. And he IS a one-man operation, and he's often off traveling. I really think he needs to get some help and that would resolve some of the problems. I just chimed in because I want to offset some of the negative things I hear about him when I have been very satisified... It seems like human nature that people SHOUT when they're dissatisfied, and w-h-i-s-p-e-r (if they speak up at all...) when they're satisfied. My mom always says, "Do me right and I'll tell 10 people; do me wrong and I'll tell 100..."

Anyway, as for the rubra, no, it's not the same as KP. I thought Bob had the ID wrong because I see "rubra" used for KP a lot. Which never made sense to me because shouldn't it be "rubra variegata" since it's variegated?? I always assumed the ID was wrong, but a year or so ago, I sent a pic to Carol you-know-who from you-know-where and asked for her opinion. Viewing the photo, she thought at first glance that it was fungii, but I knew that wasn't right because I have fungii and they differ in many ways. Then she thought it might be another clone of carnosa, and I thought she could be right because the flowers are very similar. So I sent her an actual cutting and she said that David Liddle said it is H. carnosa 'Rubra', so technically, it is another form of carnosa. It's leaves are quite variable in size, flowers carnosa-like and very fragrant. Here's a pic...

{{gwi:937628}}

I can't exactly say that KP looks like it could be a variegated form of this because the leaves are very different. But sometimes variegates do differ quite a bit from their green counterparts, so who knows??

Denise in Omaha

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!

Denise,

That's interesting about Rubra being a different carnosa cultivar. Unfortunately, I can't see the pic from my work computer...but I'm really eager to see it when I get home.

Gabi

I wanted to chime in about my experience about ordering hoyas. I have bought many of my hoyas from CBFM. My last experience was not the best I've had with him. I bought 9 plants from him and 2 out of the 9 were very small cuttings that were barley rooted, they both died. The others I got from him were good sized and are still doing well.

shanna

Thanks to all of you for your replys. I will be looking
into these books this weekend. I hope to discover what the name is of the hoya I have. I thought it might be Hoya Rubra. but I think it may be a different variety. the Rubra just have more red in them. This summer my plant was full of flower clusters. If I get a good camera I will take some pictures. My verigated hoya is blooming now out under the trees here in central Florida.

Thanks again for all your help

Shanna,

I just got my order from CBFM yesterday and a couple of them were as you described - barely rooted cuttings. I wish he would be really clear in his ads about this. I call those "rooting cuttings". To me, his ads should specify "rooted cuttings", "rooting cuttings", or "established plant(s)". I don't mind getting any of these, it's just that I'd like to be clear on what to expect. What annoys me even more, though, is he shows them and sends them in 4" pots. Of the 6 I ordered, I potted up 3 in 2.5" pots.

Now I'm not saying I won't order from him again. His plants (and rooted/rooting cuttings) are always heathy and they do well for me, and the price is pretty reasonable. I just wish they were a little more forthcoming in their ads.

Denise in Omaha

I heard that Chris Burton's book should be out sometime in the near or not-so-near future. Now I already know what everyone thinks if her, I am just saying her book may be ready soon and I, for one, want it. It will be a good book, I am sure, and not overpriced. At least I hope it won't be overpriced.

As for new hoyas, I don't have too much to say since most of what I have are grown from cuttings, I have bought very few plants from online. I have been lucky with the ones I got from Asiatica last year. The prices range from around $10 to very high, but the plants were well rooted and have all done great, even the ones that I have dropped or knocked over or forgot to water - they are in those basket pots and dry out very quickly. One plant I got was mislabeled, but it really didn't bother me and the owner is working on finding out the correct name, it turns out to be a plant that is not that popular here in the US, but is more so in Thailand.

Anyway, it was a pleasant experience buying from them.

Denise,

I was finally able to look at the pic you posted of H. Rubra. It looks so similar to H. motoskei! Both the foliage and the blooms look like motoskei. But I got mine from Carol, so if she and David Liddle didn't think it was that, they are the experts! My KP blooms are pinkish, and my motoskei blooms are white. Just out of curiosity, are the backs of the leaves pubescent?

Here are my motoskei blooms:
{{gwi:937630}}

And my KP blooms:

And here are some of the leaves on H. motoskei (they are also very variable in shape and size...some are small and some are HUGE!):
{{gwi:937634}}

Just goes to show that pictures (even with blooms) don't always give a positive ID.

Gabi

Denise, yep same expierence with me. As you said I will probably order from him again but him being clear on what his is selling would be nice. When I left feed back for the plants I said something like good rooted cutting and he left feedback (or a response whatever it's called) and said he didn't sell cuttings, which I thought was contradictory to what I had received in the mail from him, but whatever..

shanna