I could spare a few small cuttings of Hoya chinghungensis, if you could spare a small cutting of H. pachyclada. I prefer the variegated one, but green is fine, too. But, I'm looking for ones with the red edge only. This spring, I expect to have some rooted H. Maxima (red corona), as I have a ton of runners which should leaf out in spring. Any chance you have a variegated DS-70 in your collection? I have many in your list, so just ask.... Kathy

Yes Hoyas tend to put out long bare vines that look for a place to cling to or twine around and then they fill in with leaves. If you were to let most Hoya plants just grow as they wish their rate of growth would be much better than when we try to train them on trellises. I find that too much manipulation slows the plants down and as GG mentioned it often results in aborted leaves and growing tips. I grow my Hoya loyceandrewsiana in a gritty mix but with added coconut husk chips so that I don't have to water quite so often. This is another species that likes to dry out but remember that when the plants are actively growing vines and leaves then they like to be kept moist, a slight drying between watering is just fine and even preferred. You can fertilize year around if the plant is growing but if it's just sitting there then there is not much need for extra nutrients. I mix fertilizers at about 1/2 strength and apply often. Some of these Hoyas are slow growers so it takes a couple years to get established before they take off. Hoya loyceandresiana is one that loves to put out really long bare vines that seem to do nothing. My plant looks pretty scraggly because of this but I don't want to cut anything just in case. I often wonder if I should water even more often than I do when I see new growth because many times those long vines appear to be developing new leaves only to see them abort very early on, I'm still figuring this one out. When it comes to plants, identification can not rely on leaf size or leaf colour etc, it can rely on leaf characteristics such as leaf shape, leaf margins if they are distinct (serrated), and always on flower morphology. Mike

Mentha, I know what you mean. I think there is a lot of variation in some of these plants. That may be a contributing factor to some of the misidentification that goes on. There are a lot of leaves that look alike, and some on the same plant will be variable, and you have to see the flower to be certain. I also firmly believe after many years of collecting many different types of plants that the same plant can and will look different grown in different conditions and settings. Bromeliads are a prime example. Sometimes when you see photos of bromeliads, especially Neoregelias, from Hawaii, they have a totally different look than the exact same plant grown here in the continental US. They have almost a "stacked leaf" look, like a cabbage rose. Its a very very cool look, an almost perfect form, but they just don't do that here and I have never heard of anyone who can make them achieve that look. They don't keep the short stubby leaves, they develop long strappy leaves. There are also great variations in color sometimes. Must be something about the volcanic soil or the degree of sunlight or a combination of things in Hawaii that just doesn't happen here. I think Hoyas can be the same way.

Hoya diversifolia B being the plant we often see named Hoya loyceandrewsiana and sometimes latifolia. If anyone wants to see more of the mess that is Hoya macrophylla read Christine Burton's response. This is something I was not aware of but because there were two different species named Hoya macrophylla by two different people the first publication takes precedence and the second is in error. It's interesting that so many Hoya species are confused and that more wide spread corrections have not been made. Is there really this little interest in taxonomy of Hoyas that there has not been a revision of the genus done? I tend to keep the names I acquire by plants under unless they are obviously wrong, otherwise I assume that they were properly identified for the most part. Polystachya means many flower spikes although I have seen many sheaths of grain also used to explain the name. The orchid genus Polystachya is one that I am very fond of and they are known for having many branched flower spikes on mature plants. Fingers grossed that my Polystachya paniculata will flower for the first time this fall. The Internet Orchid Photo Encyclopedia mentions that the name Polystachya refers to the capability for this genus to rebloom off of old spikes. Mike Here is a link that might be useful: Hoya macrophylla