Well, GG, I hate to break it to you, but deykeae has been easy-peezy for me. A painfully slow grower, admittedly, but I've had no problems with it. So you're makin' me nervous, girl! LOL! Because I, too, am madly in love with it. If it was my man, I'd hate to even THINK what I might do to keep him! Oh dear - and we might be fighting over him! LOL!

My ex is like multiflora - easy to please, but kind of boring. I'd be just as happy without it (ah, this explains a lot!)...

Current hubby - well, he's like Hoya pubicalyx. A real social butterfly (pub is into everything in the GH, growing hither and dither), easy to live with, keeps me amused, but at times, I just wanna kick his butt. (My pub in the dining room wants to crawl across the ceiling... GRRR!)

Denise in Omaha

LOL Denise. What a hilarious set of answers!

Well, deykeae is easy for you and multiflora is extraordinary to me. Just goes to show, one woman's trash is another woman's treasure... well that's not quite right... <_ ...>_> ... but you know what I mean. ;P

I think I've decided my SO is like cagayanensis. Eccentric and fine featured, but actually not fragile at all. Tough, lively, stubborn, and easily maintained. Most people feel a little confusion and wrong-footedness about its name. And you have to get close to see what makes it special because its interesting qualities are perfectly invisible from a distance.

My publicalyx just grew through my net curtains again. It certainly does need some butt kicking sometimes. :P

Ok first of all I love the title of this thread. Hoya deykeae is also a serious pain in the butt for me to grow. I just let it do its thing and expect that one day I will just give up and pitch it.

The first question had me stumped because I never find any of my Hoyas playing computer games while ignoring the dishes in the sink. Ha ha
It then occurred to me that I am the type of person who is always stressing out about everything. My bf is cool as a cucumber and that reminds me of my strong and steady Hoya meliflua. That Hoya is so easy to grow, tough as nails, never has a bug on it ever, and once it starts producing flower peduncles they show up everywhere. Hoya meliflua was so plain looking that I thought it was on the verge of being boring but now I couldn't do without it. I love you Hoya meliflua.

The Hoya that is most like my ideal person, hummmmmmmmmmm.
Grow all the time, impervious to pests, knows how to dress (think fancy leaves), blooms often, smells fantastic, and can deal with running dry every so often without throwing a fit. High maintenance Hoyas can stress me out. lol
Now for me to come up with the Hoya that meets these standards, not sure I can do it. Hoya sp Estrella Waterfall is pretty close although it's not always growing it does flower often and it smells great. There have been a few pests but noting like poor Hoya cagayanensis (sorry GG but mine is a mealy magnet). Those tough leaves give it a strong character and allow it to stand up to less than perfect conditions.

Mike

GG, you describe cagayensis perfectly. It's not at all as you would expect - with it's relatively thin leaves, you would think it would be a little fragile, but not at all! I remember when I got a cutting of it in the mail, my first thought was "well, this one's a goner!" But it rooted fast and has grown into a large plant (large considering it's a smallish Hoya) in the 3 years since. But it's also a tidy little grower, which is nice. But I have to ask - has yours bloomed yet? Considering it's size, I'm surprised mine hasn't bloomed yet. If anyone knows if there is a trick to getting this one to bloom, please educate me!

Mike, be sure to let me know when you find that Hoya you describe. I thought of macrophylla when you described it, but not quite - it would meet the criteria if it would just grow more of the year and if the flowers lasted longer. Please show us a photo of this Estrella you mention!

Denise in Omaha

Hmmm. This is a great thread. I'll play.

My darling man is probably carnosa.
Reliable, and tough. Easy going & easy to live with, but kinda boring and predictable.
(I SWEAR I do LOVE HIM and carnosa, too!)

One ex comes to mind, probably most like my leucorhoda. Would prefer it if I just left him alone, and if I tried to change his behavior, I met with strong reststance & backlash. Akin to leucorhoda blasting all new leaves when a new vine is redirected around its support.

Another ex, reminds me of some cutings that have sat around for a year doing nothing, and requiring a good deal of my attention, offering little in return. Sitting at home waiting for me to get in from work...

You guys are such a riot. It turns out you can be as funny about your honeys as you are about your exes. Although my favorite line has to be "The first question had me stumped because I never find any of my Hoyas playing computer games while ignoring the dishes in the sink." LOL I do have Hoyas that drop their leaves wherever its convenient, instead of putting them in the laundry basket, or even the same room as the laundry basket. And Hoyas that are very thirsty... very... thirsty. And Hoyas that won't tell me what they are mad about, but won't just drop it.

I have to say, tough and easy has to be one of the nicest things you can say about a person. I love that we have all the toughest Hoyas covered in this group of partners. I hope one day I will be described this way, but I kind of doubt it >_>

This conversation makes me think of another ex, who had to be multiflora. Strong and laid back, sunny disposition, way more generous than necessary, and this is key: no hidden problems or landmines. So generally perfect, in fact, that you start taking it for granted and dump it for no reason but youth and and a curiosity about the world and other Hoyas. You don't realize you're going to end up loving a Hoya very much like it in the end, and feeling very lucky to have found the exact characteristics you once thought common, just because you'd lucked into them so easily.