Hey everyone, I was checking out raffle vendor's sites and went to SRQ Hoya's site, wondering if I might be daring enough to try hoyas soon. I love SRQ Hoya's site and there is a lot of good information there, but I wanted to bring my questions here, too...

What Hoya's would you recommend that meet the following:
1) good for beginners
2) fragrant blooms
3) doesn't need direct sunlight

I already have a bunch of amaryllis that I need to move in and out...I really don't want to have to add to my plant hauling load It'd be nice if it stayed put indoors and was okay with medium-bright lighting conditions in the house.

If, by some chance, there are a lot of hoyas that fit those three objectives, I'd love to hear about the ones that are RED, WHITE, or other NON-PINK cultivars. Pink is okay, but I prefer bolder colors.

Also...just HOW messy are hoyas? I recall reading that they can get pretty messy with their sugary sap (?), is this true? You're probably thinking 'wow, clearly a newbie'...and you'd be right. Any help for this greenie (with the semi-brown thumb) would be appreciated!

I only have a few Hoyas, but there is one I grow indoors year round, blooms intermittently through out the year. My Hoya shooting star, but of your three requirements, it does not have any fragrance. It certainly enjoys cooler conditions, likes to be in standing water.

As to the sugary sap, yes it does become a bit messy, so I have an oversized tray under the plant to start catching the sticky droplets and to catch the blooms when it starts spitting it out as the blooms fade.





My other hoyas seem to prefer the part-shade warmth outdoors to be able to bloom.

@Tarev, thank you for the recommendation. I'm so glad you provided pictures--thank you!!! How pretty they are! And I love the name of that cultivar, too. I think I'm going to give that one some serious consideration. It's unfortunate that it doesn't have fragrance, but if I find other hoys that do, maybe it won't matter, it'll just be the nice contrast against the other hoya plants.

Any other hoya suggestions?

Does anyone here grow davidcumminii? Wax Plant (Hoya davidcummingii)

I don't love pink, but I do love butterscotch, and this one is listed as smelling like butterscotch.

Hi ya DogsNDaylilies
I just recently ordered a few from SRQ and I almost got that one just for the butterscotch but I didn't--got some other ones instead

I am no hoya aficionado--I really only have one very expansive hoya carnosa and its progeny, to speak of (besides the new ones I just got).
But, I do live in the north and I can tell you that I do not move madame carnosa in and out because she is just too big, and I don't move the smaller ones either because they are all entwined where they are.
Anyway, I can recommend that one for a beginner It's got a wonderful fragrance, at night and into the early morning. It does not need 'direct sun' to bloom but it does need bright light.
As far as the mess--ha, all my plants make a mess, and so do my animals, and so do I really, my life is like perpetual camping so all I can say is my hoyas make a little more of a mess than some of my other plants, and a whole lot less of a mess than the critters.

Go for it, try one or a few!

dirtdorphins, thank you for the recommendation(s)!

I went to look up the one you were talking about and I think I'm having trouble knowing the difference between the class (?) of hoya and the specific cultivar. When I looked up "carnosa" on SRQ Hoya's website, it yielded an entire list, most of which didn't appear to have "carnosa" in the name.

I did find one, however, Hoya carnosa 'Chelsea' Cutting:
https://srqhoyas.com/index.php...

Was that the one that you have? Or does SRQ Hoya not have that particular one that you do?

Mine is just the generic species of Hoya carnosa (obtained from my grandmother's plant some 40 years ago) not a specific cultivar that I can identify
Wax Plant (Hoya carnosa)

There are several specific cultivars of H. carnosa, of which, 'Chelsea' is one that appears to be available from SRQ
here you can see what's in the ATP database
http://garden.org/plants/searc...

and then, of course, there are all those other species of hoya--oh that I had room for one or more of each

I am SO EXCITED for the raffle this month! I can't wait to see if I happen to win something from SRQ Hoyas. I'm pretty sure that is my top pick at the moment--although there are really some great options this month, it's hard to decide on a resolute favorite!--and I'm looking forward to seeing if I could win a Hoya and maybe purchase one or two extra hoyas to ship along with whatever the one that's being offered is.

Any other suggestions for this newbie northern hoya-grower-wannabe? (Please don't feel like you have to limit your suggestions to what SRQ might have, though...she might get more cultivars in the future or I know of another place that carries a giant selection of hoyas, if need be.)

Raffle--thanks for the reminder. I've got to get posting. I need acorns badly.