I grow most of mine inside because they inevitably get aphids where I live. But I put my "problem children" outside (the ones that aren't prospering) because being outside seems to "pop" them back into good growth. If you put them outside, grow them in a shady place. Inside, they can be grown right against the glass (or very close) east, west, and north, back a bit or with a sheer in a south window.

And most of us grow them "grouped", as you put it, because we have so many, we pack 'em in tight! I'm up to over 110 specis of Hoya, in addition to my 250 or so succulents, so space is an issue. But yes, it does create a "micro environment" to group them together. Holds the humidity around the plants. And I even think that if you put a rooting cutting amongst plants that are prospering, it seems to root and produce new growth faster.

Denise in Omaha

Thank you Denise...Great info for me...I will follow the wisdom...Dalette

I grow mine in a gh during the months of Dec,Jan,Feb, Mar. and part of April. From mid April until late November they are outside under a shade house where they get very bright indirect light, It's indirect because the shade house is built around a group of wild persimmon tress. Parts of it on the outer sides are exposed to full morning sun for a few hours each day so I put the sun loving hoyas in those spots. Right in the center of the SH is where the shade lovers go as it tends to be just a bit dark there.

I live about a mile and a half inland from the Atlantic ocean and have optimum growing conditions for hoyas. Yes as Densie mentioned ,growing outside can,will and often does expose the plants to a variety of insect pests but I keep a pressurized spray bottle full of 70% alcohol with a little dish soap in it on hand at all times just for that!!

I find that I have an issue with 2 pests in particular when growing my plants outside. They are mealy bugs and orange aphids. I'm not sure where the orange ones came from as i've never seen them here before in my 43 years until last summer. At times I have had issues with spider mites but they seem to only gravitate towards the 2 clones of H. chlorantha and a few other very thin leaved varieties and they only seems to invade while the plants are in the gh during the winter months.

Once I move the hoyas back into the gh for the winter,they are just randomly scattered and everyone seems to be happy regardless of light preference.

David

David,

It's those orange aphids that we have that move in around early July. They're a real pain and I have to be very, very careful or I end up bringing them into the GH. And since they fly (I think - or maybe they just jump!), pretty soon, I'm fighting them all over the confines of the GH.

But oh they do love to be outside!

Denise in Omaha