I'm the opposite, I'm not hiding back, I'm gonna spill every tiny planty details in the hope that people can give me advice. Every thing I can say I will :D

I'll confess, I sweet talk my plants, I even apologise to them if I accidentally bump them...

Seems like such a game Laura, I don't get it, why does she persist in lying to both of you? Is this a Southern thing? Face saving somehow? I just don't get it.

Ouch. I did not anticipate this being anything other than a little fun, and educational. I apologize if it was in poor judgement. Plus I wrote mouse instead of moose, sorry all.

No need to apologize Laurie :) you did nothing wrong.

Well, that mouse part was pretty whacky. Thanks Lydia.

Lol that's ok. A little chuckle is good now and then.

LOL! I think it was an interesting analogy! I think Aurora made good points. Especially about choosing easy-to-bloom species. For me, light is one of the key ingredients. I don't use any supplemental lighting, so I'm careful to throw open the shades the minute the sun comes up to give them as much sun as possible. I think that a lot of newbies might be inclined to over water just because they're trying too hard to baby them. But I'll add that too little water is just as bad. I suggest that newbies learn the "feel" method to determine if a plant needs water. This takes practice, but once you get in the habit of feeling your soil and figure out ready to water vs. not yet, you will have mastered that part of it, which is important. Because of what I've read, I used to treat my Hoyas like succulents and wait until they were dry to water. Then I read an article several years ago that contradicted the general advice - it said water them BEFORE the become dry, or as they approach dryness. Since I've taken that advice, I've had much happier Hoyas!

Denise in Omaha

I agree! YOU did nothing wrong and I found your analogy kinda funny.

My secret for blooming Hoyas is to buy them (whenever I can) with flowers or peduncles already on them :-)

There are Hoyas I love for the leaves so I'm not upset if they never flower. I personally found that 'bright' light really makes a difference. I have some Hoyas under T5 and/or LED lighting and a few Hoyas have bloomed for me several times already (the ones that we're purchased with peduncles :-))

i also had a stem of a Pubicalyx that wasn't doing that well so I put her outside on my porch (kind of in a shaded north/west spot) and guess what I found on her over the weekend? A budding peduncle! So you never know....

Ive killed too many Hoyas by being an 'over carer' (too much smothering and most likely over watering) it was an expensive learning process lol

I now neglect (slightly) and provide more light (artificial) if I need to and my Hoyas are doing better than ever. Now I just wish I lived in a more tropical area so my Hoyas could be outside all year :-)

Being a total Hoya newbie, and Based on what I have been told about taking care of my other plants is to not mess with them too much. I am trying to not kill them with kindness.

Monica, thank you. I appreciate that. I wish I lived in a more tropical climate too. Seeing posts from Florida and Texas and California where plants double in size in a season makes me green with envy. But I am like you. i adore the plants leaves and graceful growth habits. Thank you for the tips. Kingd, I so know what you mean. After sending so many plants outside for the first summer for me and for them, I was hover

ing too much. concerned they were all going to dry so much faster than I was use to indoors. Excellent reminder.

Aurora! Thank you. It was great to have your input. When I read 5 years for carnosa to bloom, I knew I had better get one of your suggested varieties soon, before I get a complex. Thanks so much for the recommendations. I will look around the web for your plants offered. So nice having you in my own state, sharing your knowledge.

Great subject except I do not agree on a couple things. It's not just the plant variety its your growing environment. In south Florida, the Publicalyx (red button, splash and silver) bloom all the time even small plants less than 1.5 yrs old. The Australia ssp tenipes and Australia ssp Australia bloom well too. We (AdeniumRose Company) even had some Montana, anulata and several others that like high humidity and/or very warm temps bloom this year that are all just over a year old. We grow over 60 different varieties and are always looking for more. I will say getting ones that like less humidity and/or constant warm weather all year long do not bloom as easily (all ours are grown outside between 60% to 70% sunlight). Remember not all Hoyas like the same weather.

Image white flowers Austrialia ssp Tenipes

Image below publicayx red button - leaves light color due to too much sun. We have since moved them and now they have the green leaves with silver flakes

I've gotten a lot of new hoyas in the last year and they are growing quite nicely but I want some blooms on them! I am too cheap to buy plants of blooming size. I was out there the other day looking for signs of blooms but no. My regulars that I have had a while do bloom so that keeps me from getting too crazy over lack of blooms on the newer plants.

It just takes time. If your plants are in good health then you are doing things right...for the most part. I have a publicayx that grows all over the place but never blooms because it just does not get enough light. But I love the way it looks just the way it is.

Good luck and good growing.

Denise, to quote you "I think that a lot of newbies might be inclined to over water just because they're trying too hard to baby them. But I'll add that too little water is just as bad." So, you nailed me. I swear I had a hoya learning disability. I went from one bad behavior directly into the other. Looking back, I am amazed how resilient these plants really are. They may not bloom easily, but any other plant would have straight up died. The help from You and Aurora and other hoya pros here is probably the only thing that saved them back then.

To read you grow with the natural light offered from good old mother nature, amazed me. Don't you keep your plants indoors year round too. Wow, To grow that way, adjusting to the seasons, and how they affect houseplants, and keep them so healthy is just really difficult. Thanks for all the great tips you an Aurora reliably give those of us in need.

I also used to consider myself one of those people who couldn't get a Hoya to bloom, but a week or so ago I noticed a nice cluster of blooms forming on my compacta, which is not more than 3 or 4 years old. It has now opened up, and it's so exciting! Of course, I still like them even if they take a decade to bloom.

And even though many people are strongly against using any peat-containing mix, I use equal parts peat moss, vermiculite, and perlite for all my Hoyas. I learned about this mix when I began wick-watering my African violets, but I've found that my Hoyas and other succulents are quite happy in it as well.

Mine are also all strictly indoor Hoyas, and I really never thought they were getting quite enough light to bloom. Naturally, now that one has bloomed, I'm hoping the others will learn by example. :)