Thanks for posting the links to those pics. GORGEOUS! You have great photography skills! Were you referring to the leaves when you said your vitellina looks just like Xuan's plant? Because I just see no similarity in the flowers. As far as the leaves go, I've noticed in every picture of the leaves (including yours...which by the way is a gorgeous leaf!) that the leaves are more elongated than Xuan's (his are much more round), and not reversed heart-shaped, like his are. Gosh, you just made me SO excited to get my vitellina! I just love the color of the blooms, and I love those succulent veined leaves. Thanks again for posting pics. Gabi

If possible, please post a pic of one of the leaves. The closest I have gotten to an ID for your hoya is sp. AH-0240, but that is based upon the flowers and what I can see of the leaves. Here is a link that might be useful: AH-0240

I think it's a nice photo, Amelia. You certainly have some gorgeous blooms there. I would be super happy to get such charcoal-y flowers out of my publicalyx. :) Your description of the leaves as starting out dark also fits with Mike's RHP postulation. This plant is known for lots of chocolate and wine colored leaves. As Mike says, Black Dragon's leaves are pretty but a very boring flat green. It might not even turn out to be a publicalyx. Also, it doesn't always bloom black either, as some of us have been disappointed to discover. Bloom color can fluctuate wildly depending on the plant's conditions. If you really do have a RHP, it's a very interesting plant in this respect and often shows vivid watercolor splashes of various colors on single flowers, or very different colored blooms right next to each other. Happy growing and thanks for sharing your Hoya story with us!

Yeah, you can let the vines hang down, sure. You can unwind them from stuff you don't want them wrapped around without doing damage. Some of us are constantly doing it. I'm confident they are most efficient with their growth the less you disorient their growing tips and leaves, etc. But you gotta do what you gotta do. I used to have mosquito netting curtains behind my plant shelves and the Hoyas were constantly poking their little grow tips through those tiny holes and then sprouting leaves on the other side before I could stop them. Actually, I swear bella is happier in that stuff lol. I used to keep mine in AV soil and I swear I had the easiest time growing it then. I often think about moving it back. It's because I'm an underwaterer and bella is pretty thirsty. But aside from that, I 100% agree with you that it is preferable to keep your plants in a uniform medium, that you have gotten to know well. The biggest Hoya problem I've ever caused myself was when I decided to put some Hoyas in one mix and other Hoyas in a different mix and a third group of Hoyas in a different type of pot. Maybe they were all in their ideal setups, but their schedules varied too dramatically and well, I just couldn't keep track of it all. Whatever minor advantage they would have experienced from their strategic setup was wrecked my the limitations of their human. Neat that your family has been growing bella for decades. That's an unusual one to start with!