GG:

Most people on this site know that my favorite non hoya plant is...
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E.millii
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If I was a hoya I would be a Carnosa so it would be hard for my owner to kill me.

-David

opps I read that one wrong.

I don't think so... did you? O_O

I'm seriously curious about how E. millii became your favorite! It's so crazy intimidating! Like it would kick your *ss if you forgot to water it.

Favorite non hoya, hmm......I don't have too many plants that aren't hoyas but I think I have to say my Epi. oxypetalum aka Queen Of The Night. It's grown like mad since I got the cuttings last summer and maybe I'll get to see it bloom this year.

If it was a hoya, I would probably compare it to carnosa or pubicalyx. I hear the fragrance is astounding!

Brad AKA Moonwolf

Oooo...that's a tough one! I have over 75 houseplants and maybe 20% of them are hoyas. I am especially fond of several.

I suppose I'll have to go with Monstera deliciosa. THe leaves are huge. I love having it around! If it were a hoya, it would be...probably latifolia or maybe excavata because it is such a large and impressive plant.

There is no way I can choose a single plant. I have many orchids that I really love although many of them have not bloomed for me yet and I always seem to favor those newest ones. Over the last few years I have been collecting terete (round in cross section) leafed species and my favorites are my Paraphalaenopsis labukensis, Cleisostoma arietinum, Seidenfadenia mitrata and well a bunch of others I won't list. LOL
There is a really impressive Catasetum species opening it's flowers tonight so that means more Orchid photos.

I have gotten into Gesneriads so I have some very interesting species seedlings at the moment and I am sure that I will really enjoy growing them. I have three Monophyllaea species that I am excited about and some little Columnea orientandina seedlings as well.

If I had to keep just one or two Hoyas they would be Hoya lambii and Hoya polystachya or latifolia. These are all very impressive looking plants and in the case of lambii both in plant and flowers.

Mike

Tough question, GG, but I would have to go with my 38-year old Jade....sorta like Aus. oramicola....or my two 20+ year old Burro's Tails....obviously like H. linearis. Truthfully, with over 500 houseplants, it's tough to select a single one or even top 15, as I haven't even mentioned my begonia collection or all of my cacti-succulents. Fondly, Patrick

My favorite non-Hoya is my Dendrobium moniliforme. If it was a Hoya it would be lacunosa, grows like a weed, easy to bloom, pure white flowers and the scent is a strong rose/jasmine.

Here's a pic from a week ago.

My favorite non hoya would be my Desert Rose and Jades. They don't need much watering or care. I prune them occasionally and get little attention for the most part. But I still really love them...maybe more because they don't require much of my time,lol...

My most neglected hoyas are my KQ and Pubicalyx.

Beautiful pictures guys!!

I love hanging plants and I appreciate those that can handle some neglect. I think my favorite non-Hoya would be Aeschynanthus radicans for these reasons. Mine hasn't even bloomed yet, but I love its leaves. What hoya would it be? I don't know. Carnosa? Because it can take some neglect? Others might have a better comparison.

I love my pomegranate which has grown like crazy ALL winter! I also love Nancy's desert rose from which I have a cutting! Or maybe my Dischidia vidalii...hmmmm...

As for my hoyas, it probably changes every week as they grow and bloom. Bella Luis Bois is always a favorite, as is elliptica. Really like fitchii since it's such a good grower.

I LOVE them all!

Patrick, you have over 500 house plants? Have you been testing out your camera? We need pictures!

Heck...for the internship question from the other thread maybe I'll just go to Patrick's house!

Kelly

Well I love all of my hoyas, though none of them are blooming right now, but one is getting ready to. My favorite non-hoyas would have to be my african violets.

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And this one opened this morning:
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Abi:
I can see myself getting involved with AVs in the future. Maybe they will be my plants through my 40's. 9 more years to go. I especially love AVs when they start to "trunk" up. Your pics are very nice.

Pug:
If I could grow my Desert Rose to look like yours then that would be all I would grow... 10 of them. Please share a pic of the big one soon. If mine has 1 flower now then yours probably has 1000 :)

GG:
E.millii is my favorite non hoya because... It is very hard to kill. It is almost impossible to stop this one from blooming. The leaves have the nicest texture. It cleans easily. The thorns aren't that bad... They never penetrate my hands which break them easily. It is the only plant that I have that is alway in bloom. Lacunosa is in bloom about 10 months of the year for me so that is a close second.

-David

David,

Where did you get your E. millii? It's a very cool plant!

Kelly

Thanks David...I severely pruned my Desert Rose several months ago. I mean I "whacked" it! I didn't leave a single leaf on the plant...Its finally leafing out and getting a few blooms. I will post before and after pictures in a few weeks once it fills in.

Beautiful AV's Abigail! I better not get started on those,lol...

Is E.millii the same as crown of thorns? I was given this one a few years ago...is this E. milli or COT? Thanks!
Sorry its blurry...
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/Brad & Tigerdawn Too funny that when I saw your answers I went: Oh, so pretty, but I could never grow something so large. And then I keep collecting large leaf Hoyas...

/Mike Haha. I know exactly what you're saying with always favoring the newest one. Love the rich warm hues of the Paraphalaenopsis labukensis. The leaves of the Cleisostoma arietinum, are so cool. Is this one of those experts only varieties?

Very exciting that you're growing C. orientandina from seed. Will you let me know how that goes? I did love that they recommended this one to you over in the G. forum in lieu of a giant growing medicinalis and you were like: nope! I need to be able to cure snake bites with my plants! LOL

/Patrick & Pug I have to admit I'm quite fond of Jade, too. This is one that, as common as it is, is so easy on the eyes I never get tired of it.

/Rennfl Very cute! I love it!

/Kelly Is it a miniature pomegranate? I saw Gardino has Punica granatum 'Nana' on sale and I was really considering it. B/c I have so much room to put such a plant! (see above)

/Abigail Love that first one. AVs are what led me down the Hoya rabbithole, actually. My favorites are the ones with green in the blooms.

/David I know what you mean about the leaf texture. I also have a thing about nice feeling leaves. I am very upset that I killed my Pearcea schimpfii this winter because it had some of the best soft leaves known to man.

MY favorite is my Dwarf Meyer Lemon, which I proceed to annoy every winter. I seriously need to prioritize its winter growing space because I treasure this little guy and it deserves better from me. /shakes head at herself

It lost 1/3 of those leaves this winter and then magically has quadrupled in size leafwise over the last... week. w00t!

Edit:

Oh, and its Hoya equivalent... probably pachyclada, because it's classically beautiful and mostly effortless. However, extremely particular about its seasonal needs and inclined to punish me mercilessly when I do not obey. They both actually remind me of my sister. She too is gorgeous and easy to get along with, unless you violate her short list of laws, in which case she is absolutely unforgiving!

David if you like African Violets take a look at the Gesneriad family in general, some really cool plants and they are easy to get if you join the Gesneriad Society. Check out Gesneriads.ca and click the Genera tab to see lots of photos.

GG that Cleisostoma arietinum is not difficult to grow but in all the years I have wanted it I could never find it. Last year I imported it from Thailand with a bunch of other orchid growers from Ontario. My plant is actually three and they are growing up a cork tube in my orchid case, still no blooms.
That Columnea medicinalis will be mine! I swear I don't know where I will put that one but I am seriously in love with that plant.

Mike

Kelly/Pug:
The E.millii in the pic is a hand me down from my mom. I received it about 3 years ago. It was getting too big for her to move it around and too tall for most of her sunny spots in her house. She gave me a cutting which I have grown to about 18 inches and also coaxed it into branching. It is also known as Crown of Thorns or Christ Rose. Some believe this is what could of been used as the "Crown of thorns". This plant is native to Madagascar as was imported to the Middle East a very long time ago. They thrive in Thailand and many hybrids have been developed there. Some of the hybrids have more flower than leaves. The flowers are truly cyanthia and are a little tacky/sticky(I do not know what purpose in nature, maybe help in pollination). I have 19 varieties at this time.
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The first one is a group photo. Hard to see the details. The other 3 are my newest COT additions. One of the actually has reddish green leaves. And E.millii siegfriedii which is one of my older cot that has leaves which are completely red on the bottom and green on the top of the leave. My large one is most likely a E.millii splendens. Denise from Omaha grows a lot of these as well and I am pretty sure has a blog setup where she mentions these plants. Out of Africa is a good place to find some of the cot varieties. I am currently on the look out for a variegated COT. There is a cultivar named 'Fireworks' which is currently for sale on ebay that I may pick up.

I think I will start a mini lemon tree too. When i go south for vacation the end of next month I will be sure to pick up something that I do not see around here often. All this talk is making me want to visit a nursery.

Also one of my favorite plants Dorstenia Lavrani. Their is a male and a female form. The female form with age looks similar to a mini grove of palms. This plant is super easy to grow and care for. The flowers look like mini stars that explode to eject their seeds.

-David

Actually stopped by nursery on break. No Meyer's Lemon Trees there. They said that there is a quarantine placed on all citrus. They will not be getting any and suggested Logee's. I did see some nice sambac. I resisted because if I brought that home then I would of had to of brought some Gardenia home too. They had about 5 baskets of 'Rope' on sale with buds galore. They were $28.99 a piece. Maybe they originally got these from Logee's and are trying to recoup their cost. Beautiful nonetheless. Also they actually had one plant on the wishlist... Aechmea 'del mar'... I almost splurged but $42.99 was more than I planned on spending on my lunch break. I would have to work an extra hour to make that one up. Maybe later in the week :)

I did pickup a pot of Thai Giant Elephant Ears though and some rooting powder for 14.98 +tax. Also I was surprised to see some plants being locally offered now that I had to mail order for about 5 years ago including Lycoris radiata, 2 types of Crinum, as well as Gloriosa rothschildiana. It is nice to see the expansion of the local offerings. Maybe one day the owners will let me sell some of my plants out of this shop. I offered them Trachycarpus fortunei seedlings for cheap 2 years ago and they never call back :(

-David

Citrus quarantine!

That's too bad. You should definitely keep it on your list, though. It fills the winter air with the exact perfect amount of fragrance. And the lemons are so cute. Now, if my Hoyas would just start bearing fruit...

I am envisioning a berry version of the starfruit...

Favorite non-hoya for me is amaryllis.

Xuan