Rope hoyas are under appreciated in my eyes. very easy to grow and look so cool in a nice 6 inch basket! I have had a hard time with the variegated one though.....i am on my 2ed plant and only one stem left.....not sure why the growing conditions would differ but the variegated one hates me =( I think it may be a tri color it is light dark green and some pink on it. Also the ds 70 is a nice fast growing hoya that is easy as pie to care for it will bounce back if you over water it which is good for me because once in a while my hubby tries to help me water......lol

I have a few ideas on some good beginner ones...

densifolia - shrubby and fast growing

cummingiana - also shrubby and fast growing

pauciflora - I find new leaves on mine almost every day - I keep it indoors in my office and only water it when its dry.

potsii - This one grows like a weed for me - I keep it outside all year round

australis - another one that grows like a weed that i keep outside all year round - it is native to the area so i would expect it to do well - love the big thick round leaves :)

cv. Gold Star - This one was my best grower until it suddenly went into decline - grew about 1.5m in 12 months outside from 20cm cutting - I hope i can save it!!

I think one of my favourites though is linearis - it is not hard to grow by any means and is one of the better cold weather ones, grows a bit slowly - some people dont like the look of it (its like spanish moss/old mans beard)

For me the easy grower are all pubicalyx and all eriostemas!!!!!!!!

Okay, here is my list of less common Hoyas fit for a beginner.

acuta
amoena
australis ssp. rupicola
australis ssp. sanae
balaensis
benvergarai
bicknellii
bilobata
camphorifolia
chlorantha
chunii
crassicaulis
cv. Joy
diptera
dischorensis
diversifolia
dolichosparte
fitchii f/n/a/ CMF-8
fungii
globulosa
graveolens
heuschkeliana
incrassata
ischnopus
juannguoiana
kastbergii
kenejiana
limoniaca
litoralis
lobbii
loherii
lucardenasiana
meiflua
merrillii
micrantha
nervosa
nicholsoniae
obscura (white form)
oreogena
pallilimba
panchoi
parviflora
paziae
picta
plicata
pottsii
revoluta

I actually think, if I had it to do all over again, I would just start with 5 acutas and 5 pottsiis and learn on them.

Eriostemmas are a great suggestion because they give you a lot of courage because they grow so fast and always shine with health and vigor. That's the plant you want to point to and take credit for growing.

gg thank you so much for starting this!!! if ever i want to go purchase any more (which im sure to do at some point) this is the list im going to go to... THANK YOU!!! its so hard being a beginner and not really knowing anything about any of the bizzilion different hoyas, and as im reading stuff i see phrases like, as easy as carnosa or something like that and im like, well i have a carnosa but have only had it for like a month so i dont know how easy it truly is...

GG, don't eriostemmas need lots of light and heat?

Otherwise, I love that list. Fitchii REALLY is an easy grower. Got rained on a couple of times and was wetter than it would probably have liked, but it is now sprouting like crazy. Gorgeous leaves, too.

I may need to copy the list for when I order again. ^_^

ok, now im in love with Eriostemmas, was just messing around and refound this post... decided to look up pics to see what they look like and DAMN! they are so cool!

One Hoya always pops into my mind when I think about tough and easy to grow species is Hoya sp Haruku. This plant grows at an amazing pace and a single cutting can be a nice small plant in only a year. The vines eventually hang heavy with leaves and make a beautiful plant.

Mike

Tough question, G.G....some hoyas are easy, but they dislike intense heat, such as carnosa. I find the easiest of the hoyas are those in the finlaysonii/callistophylla section...gorgeous foliage, handles cool and intense heat, blooms frequently in moderate light, can't be over-watered easily, handles periods of dryness, fills in nicely...what more could you ask for?! Many are "easy", but beware of letting them get too wet, or beware of letting them dry out, some can't handle intense heat. Some easy ones and gorgeous ones are: H. glabra, polystachya, macrophylla, nervosa, albiflora, caudata, vitellinoides, rigida,incrassata, tjadasmalangensis, deykeae, etc. Some are easy once "established", i.e., davidcummingii, chlorantha, fitchii...but, they may give you fits until they're established. I won't even get into the "tough" ones..but, the #1 toughest on my list: H. sigillatis. Fondly, Patrick