Well, the way I see it is that you know which plants you have, so you decide if you like the way the unnamed ones look and buy the ones you like.

Then, and here's the fun part, you take pictures of all of them and post them on here and we all get to see them and help you figure out what you have!

I've concluded nurseries just don't care otherwise they wouldn't use the idiotic labels that jut say 'tropical foliage' like I can't see that for myself.

Or, here's a nutty idea. Take a camera to the Nurseries, take pix of the Hoyas they have for sale, post them to us here & we'll ID them for you. May be a long sounding trip, but it's doable.

I'm with TD - if you like it, don't have it, buy it. Grow it, enjoy it and with a little luck, at some point, you'll figure out what you have. If it's common, it will happen sooner than later. If not... lucky you! I have a Hoya a kind trader sent me this summer. I have no idea what it is but I LOVE it! I hope to someday know what it is, but in the meantime, I marvel at its beauty and look forward to figuring out what the heck it is. Just buy 'em and enjoy growing 'em!

Denise in Omaha

From what I have heard, most customers at these types of stores don't care to know the botanical names of houseplants. I find it odd that those same stores sell garden perennials in the summer, all properly labeled. Are outdoor gardeners really that different from someone who's gardening experience is limited to their spider plant?
I always look at the plants when I am in a store like Lowe's or Walmart but I don't expect too much. If there is something interesting it's a nice surprise.

Taking photos is a good suggestion. I am sure that we would be able to ID most of the common Hoyas without seeing flowers. Differentiating between cultivars would be much more difficult if there were, for example, multiple Hoya pubicalyx plants.

Mike

Thank you so much Karen, Mike, Denise, and Tigerdawn...

I will do that.
I was shopping for a particular Hoya the other day and was told there might be some at a nurserie 30 miles away.
I wanted that specific one.

When I got there, no one knew what it looked like and I had a chose between 12 different kinds of Hoya.

So I left empty handed. Instead, I ordered one from Joni so I knew what I was getting.

Much appreciated!

Mike

I honestly think that the list of Hoyas that you could find at a local nursery or box store is small enough that someone could basically compile a cheat sheet that you could print out and take with you. You know, with a picture of the leaves up close, a picture of a whole plant, the name, and common "nicknames" or "bad IDs." Maybe you could start a thread and ask everyone to contribute the Hoyas they had obtained locally, and then we could develop something off of the results.

I remember when I first started collecting, for the life of me I couldn't tell the difference between DS-70 and brevialata. It all seems so silly now lol... just as I'm sure my current blind spots will seem silly to me in another 5-10 years.

I believe such a list already exists, I know cause I'm the one who made it called something like "PG's list of correctly named Hoyas" from EA. I did it cause I got tired of trying to decipher their bizarre names (some of which I think they made up, like Stripes which is actually Curtisii).

It made learning Hoya IDs much easier & I shared it here thinking the same thing would be true for others as well. From the feedback I got posted here, many people found it quite helpful. You may too.

My list didn't have pix, just the EA names & then the REAL names.

I think if you do a search here, you'll find it.

Im with the "if you like it, buy it" crowd... I live behind a nursery occasionally sells hoyas - they dont have names other than Hoya sp. If I see one I dont have, or that looks nice, I buy it. I'll find out what it is soon enough.
They had a dischidia nummularia a few weeks ago identified as a button orchid (a common name for them around here) which they thought was dying/dead - I bought it, told them it was just a bit thirsty and that it wasn't an orchid ;)

on the other hand, our local big box hardware/nursery store has hoyas with species names - if theres one there I like but dont have, I buy it.
The obscure stuff gets left for visits up north to the liddle nursery where I buy up big!

I dont mind having duplicates of plants if they are pretty - the more the merrier!

@ PG

I remember your list and it is very useful for connecting EA names to real ones. I just think it might be time for an update. There are probably some new Hoya species bouncing around in local nurseries by now. Plus pictures are necessary as we can't really depend on EA to put even their name on the correct plant. What do you think?

Hi GG,

I'd welcome you using my old list as a base from which to do an update & add pix. You or anybody else is welcome to do so.

An example of newer Hoyas EA has added since then would include the Lacunosa varieties (Snow Cap, Ruby Sue, etc.) I remember finding some of it during a March snowstorm several yrs. ago & calling it Speckled Lacunosa for lack of a better name.

You know, I appreciate you all here and you Karen for doing that list. Once I get a chance, I shall have to take look at it.

I have faith that you all can help me here and it means a lot. I have seen this crew identify other plants here and even Josh's in the past. You all don't skip a beat.

Again, once I get mine or if a Hoya fairy should visit me, I will need your support.

You are all very kind!

Greedyghost and Karen you are greatly appreciated on my thread and thank you again along with all the other folks here. This is a wonderful forum one always comes back to one time or another.

Mike

If I'm breeding a plant, then I'm very interested in having a correct name, but I'm aware that some plants bought at bargain prices simply won't be labeled properly... and that's okay. Some are just grown for enjoyment.

Mike Adams, I think it's probably more critical for outdoor plants that will
be exposed to the elements to be labeled accurately...though it doesn't always happen.

Mike, I know what you mean. Now that you've become a collector,
you want to know how to fill the holes in your collection. But you have limited space,
and so choosing the right plants is important.

I'm trying to think of an example, but for the life of me I can't recall purchasing
a plant that I didn't know.

Josh

I'm surprised the hoya was even labeled as a hoya. Most hoyas I've seen sold, especially at box stores, just come with a grower's label stating that it is a "tropical plant". I got my favorite hoya, a huge obovata for $13 at a Home Depot in SoCal with NO IDEA what it was. Only one they ever got too although they had some really rare selections as I later found out when I tried to replace what I thought must be common starter plants (what plants I didn't lose during a difficult pregnancy and a major illness after were tossed immediately after that during a move out of state because I had no energy to deal with them).

I finally replaced what turned out to be a nifty miniature non-vining philodendron species with heart shaped leaves from a seller in Brazil because Home Depot stopped carrying hundreds of 2 inch potted starter plants including that one. Home Depot price: $2.50, from the Brazilian's collection :$25. Never have replaced the obovata though because I know there are slight differences between the clones and I just haven't been willing to pay the money to find out it's just slightly different (mine had really thick leaves - much thicker than the ones on Ebay look to be).

Strangely enough, my husband years ago occasionally was assigned to work in the plant department of K-Mart. When he was asked what sort of plant the customers were holding he would tell them "It's a plant; don't be silly" before finding someone who might be able to distinguish a pansy from a petunia.

My hoya ID story is less annoying and more amusing. I bought 2 hoyas in hanging baskets from Exotic Angel Plants in a small flower store a few days ago. Amazingly, both had plastic labels with what looked like botanical names - except BOTH were misspelled. Google went "Um. Did you mean...?" Hilarious. I thought about the guy who typed that - and the guy who was supposed to check before it went to the printer to be printed by the millions. "You had ONE job!" phrase comes to mind.

My best bloomer has been a noid h.pub. As far as named varieties, I look for them based on the flower umbels I desire to bloom out. These I get from ordering from specific growers and trades, which has worked the best. I will take a hoya of any kind, named or not and find the room for it I do not have to begin with!! LOL!
~ Mary

When I go shpping for succs it says cacti, of course it is, can I know what type it is please!!!!!!!!!!???????

@ greentoe

Hahahaha. As a person who actually has the job of creating and proofing commercial labels, I have to say it's easier to screw up than you'd think. :P

Sometimes I think EA is a blessing in disguise. They are a convenient scapegoat, but almost every vendor/trader has at some point passed along an incorrectly labeled plant. It's good if sincere collectors learn early on to distrust and double check and triple check... and then research some more and still not be sure they have their plants labeled correctly.

:P