Hi Tish...SRQ Hoyas is great...prices are reasonable, shipping is fast and reasonable, heat packs are available and Joni is very kind. I've been pleased with everything from Joni...other than two "rooted" cuttings that died almost immediately. She was kind enough to root several plants for me...only the two died. Most of her hoyas are nice sized plants...on her "ready to buy" page, she mentions the size of the plants that you're buying...so you know if it's small, medium or big...that's a nice thing to know. She's great at putting your name on a "waiting" list for a plant you really want and she'll start cuttings for you and ship when they're fully rooted...look at her "My collection" to see plants that she's willing to start cuttings of. Most of the plants I've received from her have been very large...no one does it better, other than Carol Noel. Gardino's would be my 2nd choice so far as hoyas are concerned...other plants from Gardino's are fabulous!! I purchased a Cestrum Nocturnum from Gardino's...the size of a shrub...and full of buds. Their hoyas tend to be smaller than Joni's for the most part...but huge compared to Asiatica. Joni has many plants in her collection....some of the "hard to find" ones....she's willing to grow cuttings for you if you ask her...and she'll put you on her "wish list"...which you can check 24 hrs. a day...and she updates the wish list when the plants are nearing the point of being ready to sell. The prices are high, but typical, for very large plants, very reasonable for small and medium size, shipping cost is exactly what she has to pay...she always refunds any over payment that you make...she also often includes a free plant with your order. Next to Carol, Joni is the very best...in my humble opinion. Fondly, Patrick

Well Patrick, you scared me by the second sentence. Did she replace the two that died? If she starts rooted cuttings, then they have to be small. Small is fine (even better), I just don't want to pay a large price for a rooted cutting and then it dies to boot. I totally trust Gardino's and I'm finding it hard to buy from anywhere else, but they don't have some of the more unusual hoyas I'm looking for. She only has three of the five (no Sigillatis or sp. Square), but that's better than none.

Is Carol the lady that is no longer selling hoyas?

Thanks Patrick!

Tish

I got variegated macrophylla, pottsii 'Cooper's Creek', buotii, subcalva, and sp. Tanna Island from her. All of these are doing well to really well, with the exception of pottsii, which I killed by not realizing it didn't really want to dry out at all. She rooted buotii and pottsii for me, and they were both a nice size. She pots them in these squarish translucent containers (often used for orchids) that I like because it lets me see how the medium and the root system is doing. I can also tell if it is moist all the way down, or if I missed some spots. She has mainly shipped them with their own small green wire U shaped trellis, and a couple of plant clips to get them started.

I've been happy with SRQ. If I had more money and more space, I would have ordered many more. The hoyas I got were healthy, clean, pest free, and took off growing after only a short adjustment period. You get them really fast too. I think one time I placed an order on a Monday morning and received it by Wednesday. Almost as good as getting a hoya from the store, as far as instant gratification goes. Except that I am hesitant to get a hoya from HD or Lowe's because I have a small growing space, and really really don't want pests. Fungus gnats are especially annoying, mainly because they like to dive bomb your face. Blech.

Hi Tish,

I have to jump in here and rave about Joni as well. As far as an on-line business, you couldn't ask for anything better. Her customer service, to me anyway, is second to none. Not only does she ALWAYS discount shipping, she answers e-mails faster than any other company I've dealt with on the net. And not just hoyas. I can't say the same about CN. (Patrick, I'm surprised you got away with typing her name in your post, it usually spits her name out like it was poison. . . lol) The last order I recieved from Joni she threw in a bag of dragonfly clips, and the one before that she gave me a 5" hanging pot, which in my opinion goes a long way.

As far as her hoyas, I agree with Patrick, I think her size is comparable to Gardinos, maybe a little bigger. But I like her potting mix better. I never have to re-pot when I order from her.

The hoyas I've ordered from her are fungi (doubled in size), limoniaca (growing great guns)carnosa 'chelsea' (a huge plant when I got it and still growing good) chlorantha (growing very well) and 2 collections of pubicalyx (all potted in their own pots now and looking like they are going to be paying rent here if they keep growing like they have been). Granted, all of these are easy to grow hoyas, but they were all healthy from the beginning.

I would recommend Joni to anyone who wants a good hoya for a good price. Which reminds me, I'm going to start a wish list soon.

Unfortunatley, I can't say the same for CN on any accounts :(

Maid~

I wouldn't hesitate to order from Joni! She's great to deal with and her plants are equally as great!

Kelly

First of all, I chuckled when quinnfyre talked about the fungus gnats dive bombing her face. For some reason, they want to try and fly up my nose and I have a little nose. Then I about busted a gut when maid said "...spits her name out like it was poison"!!! Ya'll are just so funny!!!

I am so thankful for your responses. I now feel totally confident to order from Joni. I'm pretty certain this will be my last order of hoyas, as they will take up the rest of available space (though I am still holding a spot for Lacunosa 'Royal Flush').

Sincerely,

Tish

Tish...sorry, I didn't mean to scare you with the fact that the two rooted cuttings died...I never even mentioned it to Joni...these things happen. I fear I gave you the wrong impression...SRQ and Joni are the best (other than Carol, who's no longer "in the business, per se). Don't have any qualms about ordering from Joni...search her "collection"...there may be a few dozen hoyas that you really want...and she'll root them for you. I believe strongly that the two cuttings that died were due to her rushing things to get them to me before the weather got bad. All of the rest that she's rooted for me are doing splendidly...all of the plants from her are wonderful, nice size, and good prices. I cannot say enough about her hoyas. BTW...go for H. meliflua sp. fraterna....mine has grown alot and has had zero leaf drop...it's a gorgeous plant and the leaves continue to get longer and longer. Yours should do as well as we're in the same general yucky climate!! LOL Patrick

I almost wish the fungus gnats would try to fly up my nose. No, instead, they try to fly into my EYE! At least I can see them coming, but just barely. Those things are small and light. At least they're usually easy to catch; they don't fly so well. Fruit flies, on the other hand, fly very well and are even more annoying. My office (back when I still working in one) had a fruit fly explosion, and that was horrible.

Anyway, have fun ordering from Joni, she's great! Villosa and cagayanensis are next on my list, I think. Not getting too excited about that yet, seeing as how we've been blasted by about 3ft of snow. I shouldn't have been telling everyone that Philly almost never gets much snow. Now I look like a liar ; )

You just made me nervous Patrick, but I'm fine now. Funny you mentioned H. meliflua ssp. fraterna. My "Wish List" is: H. Australis ssp. tenuipes ÂLisaÂ, H. Bordenii, H. Sigillatis, H. Villosa, H. sp. Square, H. Merrillii, H. meliflua and H. meliflua ssp. fraterna. I'm going to try very hard to find H. lacunosa 'Royal Flush' locally. And that's it. There will be no more room at the Inn.

Quinnfyre, we only got 13+ inches yesterday, but that's plenty on top of what we already had. I feel for you, 3 feet, ughhh!!! I'm just doing the wish list with Joni. Doesn't it take a while to get a nicely rooted plant? A few months, at least?

Ah Tish...believe me, there's always more room at the Inn!!! I love your wish list...I have most of them...and one I don't I'm going to ask Joni to root for me. Keep in mind that she's in Florida...so, cuttings root much faster there than up here in the north...but, the cuttings she rooted for me took around 2 months, give or take a week. Best wishes to you and Quinnfyre for dealing with all of that snow...so far, we've been very lucky...rarely more than 2 inches at a time. But,there's still a lot of time left...we've had some huge blizzards in April. Fondly, Patrick