I'm in Oklahoma and my plants stay outside from about a week ago until October-ish. I bring them in at night if the temps get too low. They absolutely love it. I put them on my covered west-facing back porch and they get sun from about 4:00 until sunset. They grow like mad and flower all summer long. I have trouble with aphids in the early fall but I don't really notice any other problems. I seem to have more pest trouble (spider mites mostly) in the winter when the plants have less light and really dry air.

If I were you I would go ahead and put them outside but treat them with pest control, and definitely do a thoughough treatment before they come back inside.

I grow most of my hoyas outside. This winter I brought them inside for almost 3 months(Dec. thru Feb.) just because it was easier to leave them in the house instead of bringing them in and out every day. The rest of the months I grow almost all of them outside with a few exceptions. I definitely notice the difference in growth and health...I think the fresh air and the occasional rains that it received does a world of good...Like nature's fertilizer.

But, I think its definitely a personal choice of growing them inside or out...also whether you can put them outside depending on where you live too...
I've also noticed for me least I have a lot less bug problems when I grow mine outside...thank goodness for Bayer (BATS) on those few occasions that bugs are a nuisance.

Debbie,

I live in Minnesota and like you, I'm on the fence. I usually bring my other (non-hoya) plants outside for the summer and then hose them off really well before I bring them back in. However, what I have learned from doing this is that some of my plants experience the shock of going from outside to in and drop leaves. To avoid this, the last few years I've been hauling them back in the first week of September instead of trying to beat the first frost - usually in October - and the subsequent 'blast' of drying forced air heat. This seems to give them a few weeks to acclimate before I turn on the furnace.

Up until nine months ago, carnosa was the only hoya I had and its about 10 years old. I used to haul it in and out with the rest of the herd. As I recall, it would drop a few leaves when I brought it back in. It has gotten huge despite many trims and a couple of years ago, I stopped hauling it outside. Since then, it has bloomed profusely. I am not sure if its because it stays inside or because it is getting older. I haven't decided what I'll do with the other 30 hoyas I've managed to collect over the past nine months but it looks like, based on the six inches of snow and ice we received yesterday, that I have a couple more months to think about it...

Lisa

Hi! You know, some good points are raised above....the fresh air and summer rain does a world of good....I'm wondering now if the dry winter air indoors contributes more to the pest problem (mealies and scale) than anything else....I remember reading somewhere that good air circulation is key...hmmmm......Maybe treating with a good insecticide before returning them indoors in the fall is the trick. Does anyone use anything that works well? The BATS works well, but is a pain when you have a lot of plants....