Lack of humidity and not enough water. Keep misting and bump your watering regimen up. If needed, if you have the room, and if you have a few bucks to spare, go to your local hardware/home improvement store and pick up some clear 6 mil. plastic vapor barrier (around $20 here in the US for 10 x 25 ft). Wrap your shelving unit in the vapor barrier (see my indoor greenhouse photos in my hoya plant album on Facebook, to get the idea), stapling or tying it to the shelving unit. Leave a flap unsecured, for misting/watering purposes. It holds the humidity and will help hold heat in, as well.

I can't set up a plastic vapor barrier here.

That's it, I've lost too many plants. :( Everything is dying. Today I noticed my lovely well grown pot of Ds-70 has decided to rot? Leaves are turning mushy and yellow and falling off. I haven't overwatered it and it's the best spot for warmth and sunlight. I give up. I have lost a bunch of my long term Aloes and haworthias as well thanks to this Winter. I'm just throwing my hands up int the air and saying, anything alive next Spring, please call me.

There are a few hoyas doing well but I've probably just killed them by printing that out in public...

I would change your soil mixture for all your hoyas and cactus. Also, give them a nutrient boost because over time the nutrients in the soil are leached out due to watering and used up by the plant/. Lack of proper nutrients will make your plants WEAK and more prone to problems. A great nutrient boost is Dyna-Gro Grow once a month. Your aloes and haworthias need very porous soil with plenty of air (use plenty of perlite about 60% in the mix, core about 20%, rock 10%, soil 10%). Your hoyas like a bit more moisture so I would use about 50% perlite, 30% coir (NOT MOSS), and 20% other material (soil/rock) depending upon your growing environment. Do not use regualr sand or moss because they tend to block air flow. Check your soil - if its crusty or water floats on top before it goes down its not good. It should be loose and airy!

Thanks but it's not the soil. All are already in good well draining soil and get frequent doses of nutrients. Right now the problem is lots of long dark wet days on end and dry air.

My house is fairly dry in winter and I don't have these problems. Can you describe the mix you use? Soil is one of those things that every grower tweaks over years to get the perfect mix that works for your environment, your watering habits, heat/humidity, etc. I use only coir and perlite, and for me and my environment and watering habits, it's perfect. For someone who lives in AZ where it's dry and hot, it would surly mean death to their plants. For someone with a heavy hand in watering, it wouldn't be loose enough. Some people add orchid bark to basically what I use. I find that makes the mix too loose and forces me to water more than is my habit.

How long have you been growing Hoyas? If for several years, I'd guess you are right and it's probably the weird year you're experiencing, and there's probably little you can do about it. I don't know what kind of winters you have there, but ours are very harsh and I inevitably have a few casualties. But most of my Hoyas come through with flying colors. And I grow a lot of succulents as well... I don't have much trouble with them in winter, either, as long as I'm careful not to over-water.

Denise in Omaha

Is there a possibility it could be some sort of pest? Maybe if you could post a photo or two- sounds similar to mites. I'm not saying it is, just asking the question.

You're just going to have to go back to Millner ;)

I live in buffalo so we have bad winters and the shriveld papery thing happened to my rope plant. what i did was cut off anything brown, and move it to my Bathroom for two weeks. instead of watering the soil as much i focused on misting the plant equaly when i watered (because i heard hoya can absorb through leaves) in two weeks it perked up just fine

Well, I've upped the watering and I'm misting the crap out of these things. I lost one of my tsangiis from overwatering and may have lost dischorensis as well, whoops! It's early days but I might have stopped the papery dried up leaves on the others.

It's not all bad news, I discovered my serpens has started regrowing (three new growth points!) and bella is going off it's fluffy hoya chops and has at least 20 peduncles (don't think all will mature) and 31 (31!!!!!??) new growth points. It's sprouting shoots of it's shoots's shoots. Nut job.