Hills, that is good information. One thing I want to add, when it blooms it tends to set bunches all at one time, and open up within days of each other to be gone in a short while. In my experience, this wants seasonal differences in care. But that could have been inattention or other cultural influences on my part. When I first started growing bella, it was in a SW pot and it did GREAT that summer. It didn't make it through Winter though. Okay, you can see that it was in bloom for two months at least, even with all these open blooms there were new ones forming! Self Water Pot I hope everyone has great success with this one, because it is well worth the effort. I've been told it has a slight scent but I've never noted it. To end on a more upbeat note, my replacement made it through winter outside, no problems!

Sorry Ines, I didn't realize that this had happened before on this forum. Not too often I hope. USPS priority does come most of the time within 2-3 days, but there are times that it doesn't (USPS doesn't guarantee the 2-3 day delivery - it's essentially first class mail for packages larger than an envelope). For example, a nice lady that lives quite literally 2 hours away sent me some cuttings priority mail, but tomorrow will be day 4 of my wait for what I hope will be cuttings that are still alive. I typically read the shipping and handling charges before I order. For example, there is an online nursery that has spectacular hoyas for sale, but I don't purchase from them because they have a minimum shipping and handling charge of $20.00 and each additional plant adds more cost to that S&H charge. I have a feeling (and I am NOT suggesting that this is anyone on this forum) that a lot of people don't pay attention to these charges until they have already commited to buy, then its often too late (especially on ebay). Nonetheless, the point of the people who started this thread is valid - there are certain expectations that we have that should be met when we make a purchase. Like you said before, we are dealing with live plants and all sorts of things can go wrong. So, as long as the dealer refunds the purchase price or provides a replacement if it was his/her fault, then everything is fair - regardless of future decisions to buy or sell to a particular person. My local tropical plant store has a three-day only return policy - if the plant drops dead on day four, I'm SOL. This three-day time limit came about because people would purchase a plant, not take care of it (or improperly care for it), then try and return it saying something was wrong with the plant two weeks later. The owners got tired of this and said "after three days its yours good bad ugly or dead". I do hope dealers take these kinds of discussions to heart, because it is people like us on these forums that purchase their product. It's always good to reassess costs and charges in an effort to find a way to reduce the cost to the consumer whenever possible. Ann

One thing about Kartuz...make sure to call them and check if a plant is out of stock...they don't keep their website updated constantly. I.E., I wanted H. Obscura "Major" ( I know some might say this is not a real name/ cultivar...but it is the one I wanted due to the leaves strong tendency towards red...soooo...What Michael Kartuz told me to do is to order another hoya...then put a note TO HIM in that says in the ordering notes "Substitute H. Lacunosa etc. etc. for H. Obscura Major" I was nervous the whole time, waiting, since they never confirmed they got that notation...but it did arrive accurately!) I also ordered H. Nicholsoniae from them. Both plants were perfectly packed and healthy. eBays "theHoyan" ...CB.... (Yes I know the history...) packed very professionally also. Very satisfied with the quality of all these orders!

Hi Josh! Wow...your RHP has grown a lot in 4 months. You're growing it well. That truly is one of the fastest growing hoya I have. Thanks for the update. Ima, I get my large bag of Pine Bark "small pieces" at WM. I've read that sometimes HD and Lowe's carry them too depending on location and availability...but I've never been able to find them anywhere here in my small town except Walmart and a small local nursery. Its appx. $3 for the large bag. And yes, Pine bark is safe for plants...the mulch is way too big for potted plants so try to fine the "finer" pieces. Here's what mine looks like...I sift it to remove the fine dust so it doesn't retain too much water.