What's most appealing about Hoyas is that most of them don't require a lot of fussing to grow. Succulents have always been my other passion for the same reason - if you can give them enough light, everything else is pretty easy. (I'll qualify that with "MOST" succulents!)

And I agree with Pug - the diversity is a huge plus. In what genus can you find two plants more different than H. kerrii and H. linearis? Who would have ever guessed that those two plants were in the same genus without seeing the flowers?

Denise in Omaha

GG, that is a good question, I am looking forward to hearing what others have to say. I'm relatively new to hoyas of course but I think that my "style" of caring for plants is the style that most hoyas like. I tend to grow plants dry, and then I give them a nice shower, and then let them grow a little dry etc... I do this for all my plants (anthurium, jasmines, etc) and some don't like it very much!!! But the hoyas do!!!

As others have said, once you start collecting hoyas it becomes difficult to stop.

Another reason why I've come to love hoyas is because I love plants with the wild look. It's like a mini-jungle in my dining room's east windows and it just looks SO cool -- if you know what i mean! And another bonus? Hoyas will actually bloom, even though they are growing indoors in a place like Minnesota. What amazing plants!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I've been told. I have grown orchids for years and found them to be so stunning and still do. Then when I traveled to visit my sister in Denmark two years ago, I got my first look at a hoya, carnosa and compacta. I found them to be so striking on so many levels. I really can't quantify it. I really love the built-in anticipation you get with them as the peduncles grow larger and you have to wait with breath that is baited for them to open. I can't tell you how frequently I will go over to my newly acquired 'bella' to see if one has open. I am amazed at all you can do to sculpt it if you want to. The way that some of them vine yet have succulent leaves, it shouldn't go together yet it does in such an unusually pleasing way. Then when I returned home and came to find it very difficult to acquire them, playing hard to get was how it felt, it made me want one even more. As I have started to see them more frequently in the nursery I wonder if that the fascination will last... naw I think that I will be long time collector of these hoyas.

In what genus can you find two plants more different than H. kerrii and H. linearis?

The Senecio genus? ;-) Hey, you asked.

I've recently gotten into Hoyas because of the beautiful leaves of a lot of species. I love getting flowers (and Hoya blooms are certainly pretty), but I'm a foliage lover at heart.

I don't think they'll ever out compete my succulents and other plants, though, if only because I'm incapable of limiting myself like that.

Excellent question! I agree with the above! There's just something so interesting about them and to watch them grow and grow :) . Like everyone says, the flowers are the real treasure . I am limited as to what I can grow, but someday when I have a greenhouse, who knows how many plants I'll have (not including the hoyas!) lol.

Brad AKA Moonwolf

Good point, Citosa! I used to grow S. crassissimus, which was my all-time favorite Senecio. You'd never know it was related to S. stapeliaeformis! Now that I think about it, Euphorbias range from leafy (the milliis, which I favor) to globular (E. obesa...) This is probably why I grow so many different succulents - it's hard to settle on just one group of plants with so much variety out there.

Denise in Omaha

Hmph. Now I need to find some Senecios...and that Euphorbia obesa...

They have white flowered Desert Roses at Wal Mart right now. I may have to go ahead and fork over $14 for one.

I think I stumbled on GW while looking for more care info on my carnosa. As soon as I realized there were other hoyas I was smitten. I love the way they all are so robust and kinda do their own thing but also make delicate looking blooms. I love how each one has such a distinct personality but is also distinctly 'hoya'.

Why Hoyas?
I grew Brugmansia for fragrance. I then found out what a hoya was when researching fragrant plants after realizing I could not handle a big Brug collection here in VA. I originally heard of Obscura and it was rumored to smell like Fruit Loops. Then I found out about Lacunosa and found that it was carried in the big box stores. I picked up my first hoya shortly after which was Lacunosa 'Ruby Sue'. She was easy to bring to bloom and one summer night I was walking into the house and noticed an amazing fragrance. I searched high and low for it but did not find its source. About 3 days later during the day I noticed the flower on 'Ruby Sue' and did not notice any fragrance. Later on that night I went outside and determined that 'Ruby Sue' was the source of the fragrance and I had to have more. This 'Ruby Sue' has been since gifted to another member on this forum. I then heard of DS-70 smelling like butterscotch, Carnosa smelling like chocolate(I don't quite agree), Serpens smelling like menthol(idk), others smelling citrusy, and some smelling like perfume.

I am a big fan of fragrants. I have been growing some fragrants for many years now, but most of them are not hardy in my zone. I love Gardenia, Lilac, Jasmine, Honeysuckle, Hyacinth, Brugmansia, Datura, Ginger, various fragrant herbs, and I am sure I forgot about some. I just got a Meyers Lemon which has fragrant flowers too.
Can anyone else suggest some easy fragrants for me?

As someone else above mentioned Hoyas are hard to get and the chase is sometimes most the fun. Anyone want to trade :) lol

-David

With few exceptions, I have great success with houseplants. All plants for that matter. Not being conceited, it's just true. Always had a green thumb. Used to plant things in my sand box when other kids were making sandcastles. You'd be amazed what can grow in sand. Years later I found out my Dad was fertilizing my plants at night. He had a green thumb too, although I say plant whisperer. Then I met hoyas. They challenge me. Sometimes more than I would like. They've humbled me quite a bit as well. When I see some of your photos, I am in awe of what you all can do. Now I know how my friends feel when they come over (and see everything but my hoyas). Such variability! Too true when I look at linearis and, say, erthrina, and realize they are from the genus. Then add curtisii to the mix...God has such a sense of humor...

I got started with Hoyas is a strange way. During my mid to late teens I became very interested in epiphytic plants and started to keep bromeliads and Philodendrons.
A few years later I moved on to orchids and that developed into what some might call an obsession. I moved from grocery store Phalaenopsis to a mixed collection and then on to a specialized collection of species orchids. I kept a couple hundred Bulbophyllums and about fifteen or twenty Aeriagis and Angraecum species.
One day while trying to figure out how to grow my plants better I decided to use a mycorrhizal fungi inoculant to see if it would help some of my more difficult orchids to develop stronger growth. I had heard of success using mycorrhizal tablets in water so I ordered some spores. I learned a difficult lesson soon after as I watched my orchid collection turn brown, plants I had grown from seedling to large blooming plants over the span of ten years turned to mush. After that extremely painful event I felt completely crushed and I wondered if I could bring myself to start over.
I was very active in online orchid forums but after the loss of the majority of my collection I pretty much dropped off the radar. I did not buy another orchid for well over a year and in that time I discovered that there were other Hoyas beyond the Hoya carnosa that everyone is familiar with. Hoyas are a perfect fit for me because they are epiphytes, have diverse and beautiful foliage/flowers and who can resist a fragrant flower? Hoyas are also easy to share with other people vs orchids which can for the most part only be divided vs shared as cuttings.

On the topic of the most diverse plant family, well that goes to the orchids hands down. The genus Bulbophyllum has at least 1500 species alone and it still comes in second to Pleurothallis in the number of species per genera. The link below has info on 12,887 orchid species and that's not even touching on the hybrids of which there are probably about one hundred thousand or so. The genus Hoya has closer to two hundred species and flower form is quite limited in comparison to orchids but Hoyas are still amazing plants.
I have to admit that Senecio is a pretty neat genus of plants as well with so many strange plant forms.

David if you are interested there are many very fragrant orchids that I am sure you would love. An easy to grow and find species being Brassavola nodosa which has a sweet smoky/musk fragrance at night.

Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: Internet Orchid Photo Encyclopedia

Hmmm, I didn't choose hoyas over anything else I like to grow, exactly. My first hoya was a carnosa, Krimson Queen, in retrospect, that I found at a church sale while I was a college student in Iowa. Then I quit growing most plants for a number of years, due to having a boyfriend who didn't like sunshine and wanted to keep the apartment dark all the time. Also, it was just easier for me at the time. But all these years later, it stuck out in my mind as a plant I would like to grow again. Then I realized that it actually bloomed! I had assumed it was purely a foliage plant.

So why hoyas? I love the variety of leaf shapes, especially the more sculptural looking ones. I love the fact that they are plants you can grow indoors that will not only bloom for you, but have all sorts of interesting shaped flowers with all sorts of different colors. How often does one see a lime green and burgundy flower, for instance? Additionally, they are often fragrant. All these traits aren't the easiest to find in a plant you can grow indoors.

I love my orchids too (the fact that almost all are minis helps a lot!) and my African violets, for the most part, but the hoyas have captured my interest and are here to stay. I'm just hoping I don't find another obsession. I don't have any more room!

Oh, I just thought I'd add: I'm charmed by the fact that hoyas are actually willing to bloom fairly readily, a lot of the time. Orchids can get fussy and choose not to bloom, and often times, it's just once a year. The kinds I grow mainly don't have the flowers that last months, maybe a week to ten days at most. And there's a narrow season when they'll bloom. But lots of hoyas? Whenever they want to, and as often as they feel like it. How rewarding is that?

Why Hoyas?
That is a question I've asked myself many times. I love the different leaf variety in the plants. Love the little upside-down unbrella like flowers (unbrels) and when sitting on the patio at night, I love the scent. I got started collecting when I received a cutting of carnosa Krimson Queen in a plant trade. Then I found Hoya on GW. I didn't realize that there were so many different types. Now, I'm addicted.
My main passion is Orchids, followed by African Violets.
The past two winters have been devastating for me. Due to family emergencies in the North, we had to travel for a few weeks each winter. My orchids and hoya grow outside, under the lanai roof. I never thought we would have freezing temps for a long period of time. This past winter I lost close to 100 orchids and all of my larger leaved hoya. They froze from the 20 degree temps. I told myself 'That's it'--no more orchids or hoya for me. But temptation got me back. Now I'm back into trying to replace the ones I lost.
peanut01---email me and maybe we can trade.