Julie the most likely cause of the change in leaf form would be a change in growing conditions. A new leaf that is thinner/larger makes me think that you are growing the plant under less light than it had when the older leaves were developing. Is the colour of the new leaf a deeper or darker green when compared to the older leaves?
Plants often develop a form due to environmental cues or conditions and if taken out of those conditions they can totally change. A good example would be a dwarfed pine growing in a crack on a cliff face, if this tree were planted in the ground under less harsh conditions it would have a much higher growth rate. When it comes to Hoyas there are species, subspecies of Hoya australis for example that are non twining and more shrub like when they grow in bright light but when grown in the shade they develop a twining/climbing habit in search of light so that they can flower.

Mike

I haven't noticed this kind of thing with the new leaves on my obovata, but I can think of several others where the leaves start out looking very different from the final result. It seems to happen a lot with the middleweight leaves - those that are between thin and thick, and sometimes it takes a whole season for the leaf to fully mature and take on its final form.

I do agree with Mike that growing conditions can produce dramatic differences in leaves. For a good example of this, read back to David's thread about DS-70.

So, I guess what I'm saying here is that Mike's probably right, but I have had it happen before that the leaf ended up looking like the others in the end. So you'll just have to wait and find out!

Thank you both for the input. This is very interesting... I'm pretty sure it's in higher light than what it was before I got it because it suffered a bit of sunburn when I first got it. I have all my plants on a shelving system under a grow light because of the climate I live in. The lack of sunshine in the winter almost kills people, much less plants.

The coloring of the leaves is really hard to compare. It doesn't seem significantly lighter than the older leaves, but it's so much shinier and thinner; and without any of the callus-like splotches.

An interesting comparison that I just put all together: My kerrii is actively growing as well (gonna bloom soon! :), and it's new leaf started growing in in a very similar way - kind of bending backwards from the middle. Very odd! Well, with the kerrii, I just turned the plant so that the leaf would have to adjust itself to a straighter position in order to get the best lighting, and boom, it corrected itself in two days. I can't do that with the obovata, because it is growing with the open face of the leaf exactly perpendicular to the light rays, but I can't help but wonder if they are trying to grow *away* from the light? A really odd idea, but the way the they both did the exact same thing, and the way the kerrii reacted when I turned it.....

Sooo, I moved the obovata further from the light today. Just for experiments sake? LOL I will let you know if it works. :)

Thanks,
Julie

That's actually not an insane idea. Or if it is, I've had it too.

When I had some of my warmth loving plants in the aquariums over the winter, some of them exuberantly grew too high too fast until their new leaves were right beneath the bulbs. The leaves first grew distorted, almost like a cartoon character sucking its stomach in from the knife. Convex, as you describe it. Then they would burn shortly after.

Definitely let us know how things go.

Well; Moving it away from the light didn't do anything, but I suspect that maybe the leaf was already too far developed to change shape significantly. Anyway, it is healthy as can be - I dare say it seems healthier than the older foliage - so I'm not too concerned. If it gets a bunch more similar foliage, I'll start cutting and rooting the new sections separately.

I'm curious how others obovata leaves grow? Convex or concave? Or maybe even flat?

Thanks all,
Julie

I have the Obovata (silver or white spots (forgot the correct name) and it has put out 2 humonguous leaves that are not at all thick and look like a different plant altogether. When I can get enough growth so I can root them, I am definitely going to see if they hold true.

Susan

Hello Julie,
my obovata's new leaf grows flat. The new leaf is very shiny, flat, and flexible and the stem to the main branch is dark green. But once the new leaf is "done" growing, the leaf turns rigid and the edge turns down, and the stem turns light silvery green. I Hope this helps. I bought mine last April, and seems to be healthy, it had added few new leaves. But there is NO sign of flowers :-(
My question is how long does it take to have flowers?
Thank you.

Chungsue,
I guess as with all hoyas what blooms fast and easy for one grower may be difficult for other. I got mine as small rooted plant 6 month ago, now there is 4 feet of it wrapped around bamboo trellis and multiple peduncles at different stages. It has more blooms than carnosa!

That's a true and perfect response, Aggie.

Chungsue, most Hoyas take between 1 and 3 years to bloom, but some are stubborn and take much longer, for reasons that aren't always clear. Growing in zone 10, especially if you are growing outdoors, you have better odds of a faster blooming time. Still, it is too early to be concerned about a lack of blooms. When an established Hoya is moved from its nursery environment to a new one, even in the same state, it often takes its time getting acclimated before it really takes off. Also, if you repotted it at the time, it may have spent some of those months just filling out the new pot with roots.

If you are giving it good light and feeding it regularly, then I'm sure you're on schedule to see blooms when it's ready.

p's. Your notes about the development of new leaves and stems are very well put.

Thank you for the response. I've been getting lots of great info from the forum including about feeding with Elenor's VF-11. My plants are in my house on whichever windowsill there's is space. Obovata is in a little square plastic container I bought it in and it's about 2' long on a south facing window sill. Should I repot it into a bigger pot? and what months should I repot it? Thank you.

Thank you for the response. I've been getting lots of great info from the forum including about feeding with Elenor's VF-11. My plants are in my house on whichever windowsill there's is space. Obovata is in a little square plastic container I bought it in and it's about 2' long on a south facing window sill. Should I repot it into a bigger pot? and what months should I repot it? Thank you.