I had a hoya for a long time that was my only plant. It was in my apartment next to my patio doors. I bought it at Wal-Mart on a whim because I needed something to spice the place up! At that time I wasn't into plants as much as I am now, so I just grabbed one I thought was pretty and unique. It ended up being Hoya Carnosa Crinkle Variegated (of course, it's Wal-Mart we'rd talking about here). I came home from work one day to find the most gorgeous blooms I had ever seen! Not to mention the scent, to me anyway, was glorious. I couldn't believe such a weird looking plant had produced such perfect star looking flowers. I was instantly addicted and haven't gone back since!

That's my little history for y'all!

I only just have started with my first hoya. I'm trying to cure a brown thumb and I was looking up ideas about what would be a good houseplant. I saw the angel rope with it's curled up leaves and those divine umbrellas of star-shaped flowers. Everything I read said they are pretty easy to take care of and I have this southerly bay window in my bedroom and I can just imagine how it will look hanging there blooming in a few years maybe. I'm wet behind the ears but I think they're cool plants. And I like that they can live a really long time. I'm trying to get my kids interested in gardening too, I can pass it down and I think that's neat too.

I was first introduced to a Hoya Carnosa in 1977 that was my grandmothers. My grandmother happened to live in Hungary and I had no idea what the translation was in English. She gave me a cutting to "smuggle" into the United States and needless to say it didn't last very long. I was so sad because hers was stunning. She had it on a 6 foot plant stand and it reached down to the floor. It bled the sweetest smelling nectar at night, but after a while the smell was so strong it would give you a headache. lol

I tried so hard to find this plant for years with no luck. Anytime I described the flowers to a florist or nursery they looked at me like I had 3 heads!

In a bizarre twist of fate, we received a gorgeous dish garden when my father passed away that had THE plant in it. (It was my dads mother that had the Carnosa). I called the florist immediately to find out the name of it and finally learned about the Hoya Carnosa.

I had the traditional Carnosa on and off since 1992! I only discovered ALL the different varieties a short time ago. It's been a hobby of love and there's not a day that goes by that I don't think of my dad and grandmother every time I see my Hoyas. :-))

Around 5 years ago, my grandmother gave me a slip of an unidentified houseplant. I was hesitant and skeptical that I could root it and keep it alive, as I had a notorious record of killing houseplants. Oddly, I have a super green thumb, when it comes to outdoor plants...

So, here I am, with this cutting. I have no clue what to do with it, so I google "star flowers long splotchy leaves"...no matching image results! I then try "star flowers", which led me to many results, including asclepiadaceae. I then looked up "asclepiadaceae houseplant"...HOYAS EVERYWHERE! Eventually, I found out the proper name, Hoya pubicalyx. I believe it to be Pink Silver, but cannot be completely sure. Will have to wait for EPC 157 (silver spread) to bloom, to be certain, as their leaves are quite similar.

After successfully rooting it (in potting soil, of all media!), and keeping it alive for more than 5 months, I was hooked!

I looked up how they grow in the wild, how successful growers grow them, and developed my own growing regimen that works for me.

I went sort of crazy the first year and bought about 100 different types. Most are still living (curse you, lobbii, and, what was I thinking, praetorii...ordering you as my THIRD hoya?). I still order frequently, especially newly discovered specimens and healthy, aesthetically pleasing hybrids. I have recently procured the ones I lost during my first year of growing, and am hoping now that I am more experienced, I can get them to survive.

I feel like a young padawan amongst you Hoya Jedis :)

Those are some great stories. Thanks everyone for sharing!

My first encounter with a Hoya was back in high school. Our home-ec teacher had a huge carnosa hanging in her window (bright, indirect light). Senior year, I was her aide and one of the things I did was water her plants. She gave me a cutting 8 years ago this month, and I joined GW in September of '09. I've never looked back since :). Nikki, as she is called (named after my best friend who died in a car wreck the summer before senior year-this way, she's always around), is my oldest house plant and Hoya I have. Still waiting on her to bloom, but I am keeping my fingers crossed for this year.

Brad AKA Moonwolf

My mother grew hoyas back when I was growing up. They were nice but I wasn't that interested at that time. My oldest sister took up growing hoyas. She had such a hard time finding hoyas back then. she found 'greenhouse works' and got a nice collection going. About 12-13 years ago sister gave me cuttings of several and I have been growing them ever since. About 2 years ago she gave me a cutting that is the grand daughter of one of my mother's carnosas. I think that is pretty cool.

My sister recently moved back to Florida after many years in TN. Since then her hoyas have taken on a new life. She has the perfect place for them in her new home.

It seem like I have too much shade or too much sun!

Hi all! New here but have a great love of hoyas and generally just plants and flowers. My grandmother was an AVID gardener and had many different beautiful plants, including hoyas. Always loved the smell, and that wonderful scent is forever burned into my memory. I have always had houseplants around but my hoya craze was revived when I got this rubra plant some time ago:

Recently it grew a peduncle but it came off. Here's hoping it will bloom soon in my east kitchen window. I am also picking up cuttings and starters all the time to really test my "green thumb." I've been lurking for weeks and glad to have come across such a great community of informed hoya lovers. :o)

That's a beautiful rubra! And hey, at least you know it's in the mood to produce :)

I thought I had already chimed in, but do not see my post. My mother recieved cuttings of an unidentified plant from my stepgrandmother who had kept it for some 40 years, or so. I am guessing on how long but all her "kids" remembered it from their early childhoods and many of the daughters grew it as well. Ot was given to my mom as a welcome to the family, and we called it "the grandma plant". Years later, I identified it as Hoya bella and became enchanted by all the species I found, but I had a notorious black thumb in those days. I tried a carnosa compacta and promptly killed it, and gave up on them for a long time.

Then mom came to live with me for a littlewhile, and brough a fistful of cuttings with her. When she moved out of state I was left with the plant, and a few other houseplants I very nearly killed that winter. Determined to save my plants, I found this site. I was able to save my other three plants, and loved bella even more for surviving the abuse I had put her through... and then jumped on a chance to buy some cuttings from a user here, and a random 5 pack from violet barn and they just kept growing.

Now, I can't get enough. I love the large leaves kinds, the small leaved ones, the ones that climb and the ones that hang, the ones that grow like bushes and the ones that bloom early and bloomers that take their time. This site and the wonderful people on it helped me turned my blackthumb green and have been the catalyst behind my addiction.

My beloved bella this morning:

Wow Kim, your Hoya Bella is bella (beautiful)! I forget, is Bella one that likes to be moist? I just got my first one last week and want to treat it well :-)

Thank you Monica, your little baby has such a nice growth form already, it will be amazing all grown up. I have made my share of mistakes with this one, and yes it likes to be a bit moist. I try to water just as the soil starts to be sort of but not quite dry, and mist nearly everyday. It also loves the occasional trip to the shower. If yours ever starts dropping leaves, it is almost certainly wanting more water. Keep yours in sheltered light, and if it starts looking bad in the summer get it somewhere cooler. I believe this is a high elevation type that loves things cool, moist, and relatively shaded. If you ever have questions about yours, feel free to message me.

Beautiful story Kim, and beautiful hoya!! Thank you for sharing!

I'm going to have to look into Bella. Definitely sounds like my kind of hoya. Does it a kook ways bloom at the bottom of the vines like yours, Kim? Gorgeous!

Usually, occasionally it will bloom on the side, or get 2 peduncles near the end. Where do you live? If you are in the Northern lattitudes I highly recomend this plant.

Nice thing about this plant is that it is forever setting out new peduncles, I am not sure if it reblooms from them, the others blasted after the blooms were spent and I never thought to pay attention as a kid. But no need to fear cutting vines, it will always form more. My plan is to whack it back, root the cuttings, and get it further away from the window somehow for a fuller plant. I was having issues with bud blasting due to a phosphorous deficiency, and this is my first time blooming it, but clearly have that resolved now. :) Now that it is blooming, it will bloom pretty regularly.

I live in Colorado, higher elevation, and cooler is our specialty here lol. What fertilizer did you use to correct your phosphorous issue? If you decide to chop and are willing to sell some of your cuttings I'd be interested!

Oh, perfect climate! Bella would be in Hoya heaven there.

And well, as for fertilizer... I used Miracle Grow Bloom Booster, then learned this isn't a great choice as over time it can build up toxic amounts of nutrient. I plan to switch to MG Tomato Food, and will let you know how it works. I also use Tappin' Roots as a foliar feed, my plants seem to like it very much. But it was not enough to get the blooms to sit tight.

And I would be happy to share, maybe we could trade later on or something. Sure we could work something out. I spotted some stupid mites last week and am currently in blast mode on their little arachno hides... I just want to be sure they are gone.

I would definitely be open to trade :) aw man spider mites are terrible! We have all been there though I believe! I've had issues with mealy bugs in the past, before I finally went to repot an orchid and found a giant nest of them just below the base of the plant. We happened to have the fire pit going that night, I tossed the whole plant in. Was sad to lose it, but was at the end of my rope and just wanted to be done with it!!

Ugghh, can't say I blame you. Some are worth saving, and for them alone its worth tossing out other plants to prevent the spread.

Definitely seem to have it on the run now though. I hate using the Bayer 3 in 1, makes me sneeze. Once the bloom cycle is done I am going to dunk the entire plant in a 5 gallon bucket of water, but with 13 peduncles open and 6 more to pop any day... will enjoy the show. And continue to border on the excessive with bug control.