If I were down there, mine would be outside! If you grow them in the ground, you'd be amazed at how huge they'll get. I've seen pics that make me salivate all over my keyboard!...

Anyway, I grow 44 different species of Hoya at the moment, and constantly adding.

Denise in Omaha

i've never seen them growing in the ground around here it could have something to do with the nematodes. You would grow them on a trellis? That could be in interesting experiment.

Laura1,

I live in southern Brevard County and I have one of my hoyas growing in the ground, which means it is growing on the fence, the trees, and anything else it can. I, also, grow a lot of them in baskets hanging in the trees. We had a late frost this past spring and they were not affected.

Susan

At last count I had between 400 - 500, and the sad part is I'm still adding.

ooohh...you have it bad...could I suggest a 12 step program? ;-)

So Awanda,

Do you have a greenhouse to go w/ those 400-500 Hoyas? I hadn't realized you'd gone so far off the deep end (said w/ humor, envy & admiration). Curious minds would like to know please.

Karen

Karen I do have a greenhouse, and I'm looking at getting a larger one. The one I have now is only 8x8, I'm looking at getting at least a 10x12. I also have 2 plant light stands that are FULL with hoyas, as is every window space in the house.

This question made me go back to my list of plants, only to discover that I have 20 hoyas. I'm sure I said I'd stop at 10....

I think I have ten, but half of those are just 3-4 leaf cuttings.

OMG, Awanda, I can't even imagine 400+ Hoyas! I have enough trouble keeping my meer 44 in check, and several of them are young! When I get the itch to get more, I keep telling myself, "what happens when the ones I have are mature??" Keeping that many watered, fed, checked over for bugs would be a full-time job, I bet!

Denise in Omaha

I have 41 hoya and that's enough but......... The problem is I have to bring in all tropical plants for the winter and can't hold more. Having said that if I come across one that is different enough from what I have.........

-Leon

Denise actually its not a big job, especially when you love doing it. I have all of my hoyas potted in the same type soil so it makes watering easy.

Well, I have a measlie 14 Hoyas. All but one have been received cuttings from generous GW folks in trades. (thanks again all for feeding my addiction!)

I'm very excited that my Shepherdii might be about to bloom as it will be my first Hoya bloom of any kind:-)

Diane

Awanda,

400 or 500 Hoyas and only about 35 photos? Hummmm that doesn't sound right to me;-) Nice plants you do have pictures of though.... did some snooping today.

I "only" have about 200 Hoyas :o
Had I lived in a worm place like Florida or Arizona like Awanda, and had a huge back yard, I would probably have couple of hundred more :)
Lack of space is basically what's holding me back...

Diane I deleted my pictures so I coud write my name across them before putting them back on webshots. I found some of my pictures on eBay several times. I won't ever have all of them on webshots:-). Maimiti this is the time of the year I have a lot of my hoyas hanging underneath the orange trees:-)

Thanks for answering Awanda, my goodness indeed, words practically fail me here, I can barely imagine! I will say that I haven't looked at yr. pix in some time, but when I did they showed absolutely beautiful plants, all (don't I recall you grow more than a few Sans. as well?) Everything looked so well grown & all examples to aspire to. I envy yr. circumstances, space, greenhouse and most importantly, yr. growing talent!!!

I've got abt 35 (4 brand new), abt 5 duplicates. Most of mine are smallish as I'm in an apmt: I put up a 3-tiered shelf along the upper wall in my kitchen, perpendicular to my west windows to house the bulk of this collection. Gosh if I could grow outdoors, I'd probably go completely bananas w/ it.

Mine too are mostly cuttings from friends, either here at GW or local Indoor Gardening Society friends. That's the only advantage of cuttings into smallish plants, one can grow LOTS of them ;>). I too echo the sentiment that friends here at GW & specifically when this Hoya Forum began, have been extraordinarily generous both w/ their cuttings & comraderie!

I have had the ocassional bloom, mostly on new cuttings from friends here, once in a while while they're still cuttings rooting in water.

I've got to get a magnifying glass to check & be sure, but think a small Kentiana cutting is putting on 2 spurs, too small to be sure yet -- crossing my fingers! I am experimenting w/ watering them less often as a collector I just bought from in FLA, suggests it's not their age that promotes blooming, but rather letting them go pretty dry btwn watering (more so than I'd been doing). So I've just swtiched from watering 1 x per wk, to once every 2 wks, w/ some misting for those I think might find that too dry -- too early to tell. We shall see what happens ...

(PG) Karen

Karen...be careful when you let them go dry. I wouldn't let them dry out completely for long as you can have the roots die, and then when you water, they rot. Then the plant slowly starts to die also. This has happened to me before, especially in little pots that can get overlooked or missed. Also some thin stemmed ones are more delicate and need to stay moister than some others. The thick leaved ones usually like to dry out more, but again, you don't want the roots to die. I usually use a moisture meter on the ones in the house to see if they are dry to the bottom. When it shows they are in the red zone all the way down, I know it is time to water them quickly. On most of the hoyas, as soon as it shows in the middle zone toward the bottom of the soil, I water then.
Marcy

great advice....i have had that happen with bella more than once....its not very forgiving when it goes dry ....neither is compacta......I too bought a moisture meter for watering...best plant purchase i have made...it really helps......

Sandy

Thanks Mairzy, that's EXACTLY my concern (also, this grower who said this has 2 very different conditions than I. He grows them (1) all (mostly anyway) outdoors & (2) he's in FLA, which is humid to begin w/ (way more tropical than NYC anyway). I don't do moisture meters, but I keep ALL my Hoyas on pebble trays. Am concerned in this regard abt my Lacunosa & Curtisiis, as in my experience, they just don't like it all that dry. So I watered them my regular once a wk, but am letting the others, particuarly the larger leafed ones go drier.

Thanks again Mairzy, what brand moisure meter do you use? I'll have to keep my eyes open for them, maybe I'll gt one to try out.

To add to Marcy & Sandy's comments ... besides the bella and compacta, keep the sp. Tanna Island and multiflora consistently moist as well.

I also agree with Marcy on being careful about letting any hoya get too dry. Plants growing in areas with higher humidity can withstand a little more abuse, but as a general rule hoyas should not get too dry for too long.

Karen...you can find those moisture meters at most box stores like Home Depot or Lowes. They are with the plant stuff and are usually around 5 dollars each. I have them all over the place (one near every grouping of plants in every room, and several outside near the hanging plants and one on the side for the "under the eve" plants). LOL
I got tired of misplacing it, having it always be in the "other" room, etc, and running around trying to find one, so I solved my problem.
Marcy

Thanks Mairzy,

I'll keep an eye out for them (tho' I have no box store in my area that I know of).

Yes, of course, keep Multiflora moist. I'm growing a new one in mix & lucked out into a 2nd one for $1 a month ago so I'm experimenting w/ growing that one in water alone. Am wondering who'll bloom 1st btwn these 2.