I get to get a nice big o hoya dripping with vines, in a pot as big as can be, with out the constriction of sticker shock. It's my birthday, DH is taking me to nurseries to find a nice hoya. Will you guys please recommend your favorites, as well as supplies I should have on hand. Fert, soil,etc.

No 4 inch pots today!!! Yipeeeeeeeeee

Thanks for helping me out, guys.
Laurie

♫ ♪ ♭ ♩ ♬ Happy Birthday Laurie, hope you've had a wonderful day!

What a sweet hubby, to get you a big plant for your birthday present! I always tell my family they can never go wrong when they buy me a plant for a gift!

I don't see Hoyas offered at nurseries down here much anymore, a real shame! A few years ago I'd see them at Walmart, Home Depot and Lowes garden centers and even at the grocery store now I rarely see them.

Most Hoyas prefer a well draining potting soil and I guess it's just best to figure out what works for your climate and growing conditions. I use a mixture of potting soil and orchid bark mix for everything that I grow, including Hoyas. I used to have a bad habit of over-watering plants and killing them because the soil I used was very heavy and water retentive. I've been mixing lots of orchid bark into my potting soil since the late 1980's; it makes for a light, chunky, fast draining mixture. My Hoyas stay outside year round and I sometime have to water more often during drought conditions. Hoyas love humidity which we have a lot of all year round here in Florida; an airy potting mix with chunky stuff in the soil also allows for good air circulation around the roots. I don't have many Hoyas anymore ... lost some really large plants to winter freezes a few years back and gave others away when I decided to downsize.

As for Favorites ... gee, that's a tough one! I love em' all! but I guess I'd have to say my favorites are the few that I still have, that seem the easiest for me and are quite forgiving of my lack of care. Wax Plant (Hoya australis subsp. tenuipes) which blooms for me in winter and is extremely fragrant! Wax Plant (Hoya pubicalyx) has pretty blooms and usually blooms in the summer but I don't detect much fragrance on that one (which may just be my sense of smell. I also like Wax Plant (Hoya cumingiana) another fragrant one but my plant that I've had for almost ten years is just hanging on by a thread, I almost lost it when we moved because it got stuck out in the yard in full sun and no water for a month; it's recuperating but in dire need of re-potting into fresh soil.

I'm really bad about fertilizing and my plants would likely bloom more often if I'd just feed them! When I do remember to fertilize I use the bloom booster fertilizer that I use for orchids.

Can't wait to hear which Hoya you get for your birthday; don't forget to post lots of pictures! I hope others who grow Hoyas will come along and share advice and tips.

Happy birthday! I want a Hoya but have never grown one. Good luck!

Hi MIssy:
Hoya Bella! Of all the plants I have grown over the years, This little plant holds a special place in my heart. It is impressive, but dainty. A friend had one, I had no idea it was even a hoya, until it bloomed. I never would have guessed. The surprise of seeing normal sized hoya blooms on such a petite little plant made it all the cuter. Pictures on the puter do not do this plant justice, because you don't see the scale, and assume it's size is much larger than she really is. Leaves are an inch maybe. I just had 5 stems in a 5 inch pot, from a friend, around a year ago. Now it has many stems and most of the time, it is blooming. It has never dropped on leaf or complained while I figured out it's care, at work even. For me this plant is easy as Asparagus fern. Go for it. You will love it.

Miniature Wax Plant (Hoya bella) is a real cutie: http://vermonthoyas.com/hoya-s...

I received a cutting of H. bella in trade once and it rooted nicely but didn't live long under my care. I seem to have better luck with the large leaf Hoyas.

Hey Lin: How are you. I would think the little belle would be less able to take the Florida heat as her leaves are so thin and tiny. I do think just one vine in what ever size pot, would tough to care for. I am really really hoping I am not going to find I am only good with the bella, and not the standard hoyas. I hope the water was calm and something is blooming in your world today. Laurie!