Hi Gabi, it's nice to hear you say something to me! Me, too, I've found this one hoya different from Callistophylla in terms of leave form and bloom. But, anyway, isn't it more thrilling with a bit of uncertainty? You know my biggest trouble in 'Nam is I can never have name tags attached to the plants I buy, whether it's an amaryllis bulb, an AV, an orchid or a hoya!!! But then everybody else here is on the same boat, so ... Anyway, many thanks for your reply here. Xuan

Denise, thanks for a quick reply. I just read one of the old posts on hoya bilobata and you (yes, you) have helped differentiate between hoya tsangii and bilobata: "Posted by denise 5 (My Page) on Wed, Mar 1, 06 at 16:11 Ok, I finally got the "skinny" on bilobata vs. tsangii. I e-mailed Maggie, the webmaster of www.hoyer.net, to ask her to describe in detail the difference between the two, because it's very hard to see the difference in a pic. This is what she had to say: "...tsangii feels a bit like velvet when you touch the leaves while bilobata is smooth and glossy (all Hoyas have tiny, tiny hairs but in many species they are so small they aren't visble unless you have a lens to bring the sight close enough). In photos they look quite alike and I haven't been able to get pictures good enough to show them as they really look like. H. tsangii is also a bit darker in color than bilobata. The latter is quite light green while tsangii is very dark. Both turn redish when exposed to sunlight. H. bilobata does twine a bit while tsangii just hangs straight down. Tsangii can grow upwards a bit but after a while it hangs from the weight of the leaves. Although I find bilobata easier to grow in a haning basket it is possible to let it grow up trellis as it can climb a bit (though not so good as most Hoyas). Hoya tsangii would need constant help up the trellis as it doesn't climb at all." I think this clears it up for me - what I have is tsangii for sure. Denise in Omaha" So I guess mine is bilobata all right because the leaves don't feel like velvet! Xuan Here is a link that might be useful: Hoya bilobata

I have a crappy little KQ that had several new vines of plain white leaves, but no green new growth. Some people suggest removing them to help the plant put it's energy into growing (as the white ones don't produce chlorophyll so don't really do anything but look pretty) I liked the white leaves so I left them on. I realised a few months back that the plant hadn't grown for ages and generally looked poor. I checked it's roots (all good) so, feeling like a murderer, I removed almost all the white leaves (I left one, I couldn't help it :D) Wouldn't you know, it has suddenly started growing again from all the points I chopped off, and all strong normal KQ leaves. So, in my totally just made up scientific theory, if the plant is big and healthy, a few white leaves are fine. If the plant is small and struggling, remove them and cross your fingers... lol.

It is a carnosa and it will do just fine in that West window! The leaves will lighten, but more light does encourage blooming (however, carnosa is one of those that likes to take it's sweet time to bloom...it could take a couple of years).