It seems like that to me, too, Randy. Bella leaves are so reactive. It kind of reminds me of something that I read about Streptocarpus once. That you can forget to water it once and the leaves will bounce back, but if you do it again they'll never fully recover. I don't think bella is as bad as Streps, but it does seem really hard to get the vines to plump back up again. I can only imagine what it would be like to deal with it in heat on top of my own human errors.

It's an interesting idea though. Are you thinking about giving it a go?

I'm not very good at grafting but I do like this plant. I was thinking about it in the Spring but I would need to get a cutting now and grow it through the winter, i guess. I'm not sure what root stock to use. Kloppenberg recommended H. imperialis but I would have to root a cutting and fall/winter isn't a goood time. I do have some small plants of diversifolia that might be good.
Randy

What I don't understand, is how these Thai nurseries are able to grow H. bella. It's hot there.

Hoya bella grows just fine here in Florida, so I'm not sure why you would want to go through the trouble of grafting it?

Renee

It does? All I hear is people having problems with it. Maybe there are certain clones that handle high temperatures better. Where did you get your plant?
Do you grow linearis, serpens, and polyneura as well? I hear chinghungensis is not that difficult.

Randy

Randy, yeah if you do a search on bella, then serpens, then polyneura I've posted before showing that they bloom and grow well here.

Renee

I think as long as you can keep up with the moisture requirments then Hoya lanceolata is not difficult. Growing in areas with hot summers with low humidity would be difficult and allowing the plant to dry out is asking for problems. This is one of the few Hyas that I grow in sphagnum moss as it's easier to keep moist but repotting is needed more often than conventional potting mixes.
I also grow Hoya chinghungensis but it is still fairly small and is kept in my orchid case in high light. The leaves are actually blushed with red and the plant does very well. I believe that humidity is the key with this group of Hoyas. Another thing to think about is root systems. Hoya lanceolata seems to have a smaller or shallower root system than many other Hoyas and so it is more sensitive to dryness, especially as a newly established plant. I don't grow Hoya lanceolata as well as many other forum members but after switiching to moss I can keep it happy which never happened while in a more open bark based mix. This Hoya is a mite magnet if it is stressed so it's best to keep a close eye on moistire levels etc.

I have never heard of grafting Hoyas and it seems like the only reason to do so would be to increase the chances of success with tempermental species. Randy I woud say that Hoya diversifolia would be a perfect grafting stock as it is such a resilient species. Hoya imperalis can be difficult for some people and it is much less adaptable than so many other species that I would think it a poor choice for grafting stock. Hoya carnosa would be another good choice as it is able to deal with a wide range of temperatures as well as dryness which can be a problem for so many other species. Maybe we should do a grafting trial just to see what sort of outcome is possible. There are so many slow growing Hoyas that just might benefit from this. That is if growth rate would be one of the factors that could be improved on.

Mike

Thanks Mike and Renee. I think I will order some cuttings and see how they grow for me first. Then in Spring I will consider grafting again.
Randy

Definitely search for Renee's bella threads. I find them very interesting as well and she gets into the specifics of her growing conditions/strategy. This thread is a good example. (Or this one for polyneura.) (And here's serpens.

I think Mike's right, and it's more about water than temperature. It's just when you grow cool, it dries out slightly slower and there's a little more give built in. It sounds to me like Renee really stays on top of the plants that require frequent watering. Which is more than I can say for my own capabilities.

I agree that a grafting trial would be informative. I'll have to think of a species that would be a compelling candidate for it, for me. Maybe in the spring we can have a graft off.

When I get home thus weekend, I'll attach pics showing how well they can grow even in Florida summers.

GG yes watering during the heat seems to be the key. I even started cuttings of both bella and polyneura in S/H. The Bella has bloomed in it, the polyneura not yet, but it is growing well.

Renee