Wow it would be nice to find some favorites!

FWIW, I know that EA sometimes makes up its own names for hoya plants. For instance, I've heard they sell hoya curtisii under the name Hoya Stripes. It could mean anything. I just googled it and I got nothing except pix of Oscar de la Hoya. LOL

gloria

I did the same thing gloria! lol

Back when EA was produced by the Herman Engelmann nursery, they had a great website that showed all their plants, a page of just Hoyas. I wish Costa Farms would do the same. I'm curious about this new one, too. Is it something common, or maybe it's something interesting... Why don't you ask Justin to send you a photo you can share with the rest of us?

Denise in Omaha

I asked him about it but he may not be able to get a photo from their grower.

Im not sure.

Dang... It would be interesting to see what it is.

Denise in Omaha

Thanks Justin! I hope the Lowes in my area (Raleigh) will carry them all.

Quick question for you- I've purchased the EA Chelsea that doesn't look like the typical Chelsea that other vendors offer, could this be the Chelsea Purple (which is a great description as it does look more purple than green)?

Typical Hoya Chelsea

EA - Hoya Chelsea (darker leaves and vines and no dimples)

Thanks so much.

Hey Monica bf:

Our growers tell me that 'Chelsea Purple' was a sport of 'Chelsea', and the coloration is really the only difference. There shouldn't be any appreciable difference in growth habit or overall performance.

Hope this helps!

---Justin

If you have time justin, maybe you can find out some info about the mystery "Golden Dream". :)

Hi Justin,

It's good to have a rep here from Costa Farms! Can you get some corrections on names made? I understand the marketing concept of giving a plant an interesting name other than the botanical name. I do this myself. Hoya finlaysonii is "fin" to me. Macrophylla is "Big Mac" and macgillivrayii is "MacG". It's easier and I like that they sound like real names since they ARE my buddies!

But I digress! An example: first one is Bilobata Wax Plant. Bilobata is an actual species, and not that one. And tsangii is (for some reason) what that one used to be incorrectly labeled. It is actually DS-70. I'd market it as something that plays off the botanical name, like "Darn Sweet Hoya" and then list the DS-70 as the species.

The kentiana (if it's the same as the old EA one) is really wayetti. And all the curly leaf species are compacta, not carnosa. Compacta, I'm sure, is a sport of carnosa, and I think at one time it was listed as carnosa compacta, but I haven't seen it written that way for years. So it would be Hoya compacta 'Crispa' (though I'm not sure that's a valid cultivar.) Here is a link to a file I uploaded with a list of cultivars according to Christine Burton. It should be helpful.

Denise in Omaha

Oh, I meant to comment on Monica's photos of Chelsea. I got the EA Chelsea a few years ago and I was disappointed it did not look like the photos of Chelsea I've seen. That first photo is what I was hoping for. Well, just recently, Marco sent me what LOOKS like Chelsea, and he said it was actually (correct me if I'm wrong Marco) cuttings from a reverted 'Krimson Queen'!! First of all, I've never had a problem with 'KQ' reverting like 'KP', but for it to get the dimply leaves is fascinating. Maybe that's where Chelsea came from!

Denise in Omaha

Hey guys,

Bad news on name changes: We're too late. We've already submitted the tag orders and now we'll have to wait until we do our next order (when tag inventories run low).

I know this is disappointing. That said, I can make the updated changes to our tag spreadsheet so that this is cleared up with the next round. Also, Denise, do you have sources I can refer to as backup for these changes?

Thanks!

---Justin

Hi Justin,

Just do some research and I think you'll find everything you need. For example, here is a photo of the true tsangii...

Very, VERY different from the DS-70. I resisted the change from the name tsangii to DS-70 because... well, DS-70 sounds so clinical, whereas tsangii at least sounds INTERESTING. Then I got the TRUE tsangii... kentiana vs. wayetti - since I don't grow the true kentiana, I can't say for sure, but from photos, I think the difference is that in high sun, wayetti gets the black-ish edges on the leaves. It's one of the most appealing qualities of that species!

If they're open to making the changes on the next go-around, I'm having really positive feelings! I'll see if I can't track down a contact for Chris Burton, who is probably your best authority on IDs...

Denise in Omaha