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lightning96

Which of these would you buy? Help me narrow down my list!

lightning96
12 years ago

I have decided to get only 4 of these... I would LOVE to hear other's input on which of these I should go for! I love cool foliage. Blooming is just an extra that I'm not sure I would ever see. Are any of these to die for? Are any of these especially difficult? Are any of these just rather ordinary? These are the seven:

Hoya sp. Thailand IML 1423

Hoya rubida 0170

Hoya rigida IML 1424

Hoya lamingtoniae PNG

Hoya sp. Bicolor

Hoya lobbii IML 1427

Hoya blashernaezii

Comments (8)

  • Denise
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I only have an opinion about a couple since they're the only ones I have. Rigida is a nice speces - great leaves, nice grower. Can't say much about flowers, though, since I'm still flowerless.

    I've tried to grow lamingtoniae and just lost mine for the second time. It might just be me, though...

    Lobbii is a great, easy to grow, early blooming species. It takes some room because it's a rambler, but it's worth the space.

    Denise in Omaha

  • lightning96
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    What you say is very helpful, Denise. I'm not sure about lamingtoniae now! And lobbii sounds like one I should go with since foliage is such a plus for me.

  • quinnfyre
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The flowers on blashernaezii are lovely! I think Mike posted a pic or two of his when it bloomed. I think the leaves are pretty nice, but I can't say for certain, I only have two so far. I'm hoping this two ft long vine it shot out this year will fill out with leaves over the summer.

    Rigida is great with its huge huge leaves. Mine hasn't bloomed yet either. I think it needs more growing time, in my case. As for the rest, I have no experience with them. Not to be a total enabler, but as far as cool foliage goes, have you checked out fitchii? It has very veined leaves but is on the smaller side, so it's easy to find a spot for it. And it doesn't seem to be fussy at all.

  • greedygh0st
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Oooo fun! This is the part that Kelly calculates in her REM sleep, I believe.

    Well, I have all of these plants except sp. Bicolor and sp. Thailand (and the latter is on my Liddle order). I have that exact rubida and rigida, but my lamingtoniae, lobbii, and blashernaezii come from a different source.

    Definitely go with the rigida! It's leaves are like giant weapons. Soooo kickass!

    I think the blashernaezii leaves are nice. Like those of siariae, they always look fresh and springlike. You definitely need at least one Hoya of this type in your collection. I haven't had mine for very long, but I can tell you it rooted really easily for me (even after a long trip from Thailand), and has seemed pretty durable so far, so that's a blessing. I don't think this group of Hoyas is the most hardy, but they aren't unpredictably spastic either, like some troublemakers.

    I like lamingtoniae. It grows pretty steadily for me and it has beautiful unusually delicate leaves. I guess there is some debate over whether what is sold as lamingtoniae is the real lamingtoniae or not. Also, whether it might be rubida. I'm not sure what lamingtoniae Joni sells. I know the leaves of mine very much resemble those of PNG-1 described in this article, and I like it VERY much. It hasn't bloomed yet for me, but it's the one pictured here.

    The lamingtoniae that I have and the rubida that I have would not be confused for one another, but they are pretty similar overall. I think I prefer the lamingtoniae, but I like them both a lot. I think the rubida is a little heartier.

    Hoya lobbii is really easy and it has a different look than the typical Hoya too. I think it's so great I just acquired a second one! (Thanks Dee!) You've seen Kelly's plant, so you know what you're getting yourself into with this one.

    If it were me, I would get:

    rigida
    sp. Thailand
    blashernaezii
    lamingtoniae

    but it's pretty much a toss up for lamingtoniae/rubida/lobbii.

    I think bicolor is spectacular but it's big and I always tell myself: you can have bicolor, or you can have a big one with showy leaves. And then I choose the latter.

    "The following messages has been paid for The Committee for Mindorensis Appreciation.>

    Seriously, though. When Joni puts up mindorensis 0768 for sale, buy it. /shakes her fist! ALL OF YOU! For a long time, I couldn't understand why everyone ignored me when I recommended mindorensis leaves. And then I realized that it's because you all thought I was crazy. Because the typical mindorensis has pretty boring verging on bleh leaves. BUT NOT THIS ONE. If you're only going to get one mindorensis/erythrostemma type (and that Thai sp. falls into this category), this is the one to get. It's the magical combination of special leaves and special blooms. And Joni's picture doesn't really do the leaves credit because some of them are almost jade-like succulent.

  • lightning96
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow GG --- such great info you give here, thanks!!!

    I have a mindorensis and I bought it for the blooms (which I'm not sure I'll ever see), and as you say the leaves are rather boring and almost a little spindly.

    I admit, now I'm not sure I'm leaning towards lamingtoniae anymore b/c not sure if I'd manage to lose it. Maybe I should get a little more experience under my belt first. I also had no idea that rubida and lamingtoniae are that similar. that is good to know.

    This is what I would die for: could you imagine having the chance to see every hoya in person, all in one place? Like a great big hoya zoo? or greenhouse, i guess ... lol how fantastic would it be to see them all inperson before deciding which one to buy. I bet there are others out there that I would love and I just will never know about them *sigh* because pictures just never do them justice.

  • greedygh0st
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Totally understand about leaning away from lamingtoniae if Denise has had trouble with it, Beth. I would probably feel the same way since she's awesome and all.

    I think it's so true that it's hard to judge what you like without seeing it in person. As far as experience has shown, what I THINK I can't live without and what I actually end up loving, aren't that highly correlated. A lot of the time my favorites end up being things I just threw onto an order as a whim or for reasons that have nothing to do with why I end up liking them.

    It sure would be nice to be able to have all the type specimens in this zoo of yours, too. And a teleportation shuttle there.

  • kellyknits
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Have you decided yet? After sleeping on it for two nights - here's what I'd recommend:

    Hoya sp. Thailand IML 1423
    Hoya rigida IML 1424
    Hoya sp. Bicolor
    Hoya lobbii IML 1427
    Hoya blashernaezii

    Can you get five, because that's the best I can do!

    Good luck!

    Kelly

  • lightning96
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow, Kelly, you're right on! Except that I only got four of those:
    Hoya sp. Thailand IML 1423
    Hoya sp. Bicolor
    Hoya lobbii IML 1427
    Hoya blashernaezii

    I decided to wait on the rigida although trust me, it is at the TOP of my list for next time! And seeing how things are going for me this year, "next time" might be very soon!

    Thanks everyone for your awesome comments. I referenced them as I made up my mind. All of you helped lean me towards lobbii, and helped me decide not to do lamingtoniae this time. And that I really do need to find rigida sometime soon!

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