Is “rare” Hoya pricing just a grift? I have thoughts 

My purchase from you was PERFECT, and have nods growing, best quality purchase ever, and well worth every penny. Thank-you

Well said! People do not always take into account the time, money and materials invested into growing plants ethically and with care. For example - I bake & sell sourdough bread from home. It has taken me years to hone my craft and I'm still learning. It takes 3 days to make a loaf of bread. The process is lengthy. I sell a regular loaf of bread for $10 CAD. Some people have stated it's too expensive. 🙄 The flour I use is organic GMO free etc. plus my time committment and equipment needed for the process. Said people would rather buy a $2.99 loaf from the grocery store where quality of ingredients are way less, the process is rushed, chemicals added and made within hours. And then the same people don't mind spending $9 for a cup of coffee that took less than 5 minutes to make. It just doesn't compare. Some people are aware and appreciate what it takes. People like yourself who put the care, sweat and tears into their plants .... It shows. Just look at your beautiful plants.... No comparison. Artisanal people are a rare gem, and if you can purchase from said artist... You are so lucky.

👍👍👍 We moved to a small country town just before I retired (my husband already had) & I decided to work in the local garden centre for my last couple of years. We always had people complaining of the plants prices but when I walked them through all the stages & hands that little shrub had been through before getting in their trolley they then realised it wasn’t that expensive. It was great for you to explain the process first hand to people so they understand what is involved from reputable growers to at least make it worth their while to have these beautiful plants available for us.

Thinking about cutting and selling cuttings/plants all the time for me would take part of the fun out of growing for me… But yes when plants get too large, selling the overgrowth is a good idea. If I don’t see my plants as an investment I also care less about the amount of money that I get for the cuttings… I feel that is a win-win situation for everyone 😊 I do however understand that other people want to make money out of their hobby, it is an expensive hobby, maintenance alone …. Soil, pots, trelisses, electricity. It can add up to a lot! Also I like having a few variegated Hoya and a few silver Hoya (I think a lot of the new silver ones are also somehow created) it looks fun in between the shades of green! Just a few is enough.. Like with the green ones, no need to have them all

Hi Dave, you really made some very valid points. As someone who is newer to hoya and slowly learning the different types, buying from untrustworthy sellers on Etsy and eBay can have us spending copious amounts of money for something we think is a high value plant. It’s really up to us to make sure we do our research

Once again Dave's integrity is his Hallmark.. Well done.

When I first started collecting hoyas I purchased from online nurseries. Then I came across Etsy which made it easier to compare different sellers' same type hoyas. I've been getting frustrated with the amount of money these greedy sellers want for 1 or 2 leaves especially of common hoyas. Have u ever heard of word synchronization? I was thinking about a hoya I saw on Etsy priced at $4000 and you said $4000 at the exact same time when mentioning your friend. Happens to me all the time. Anyway, it's a learning experience and we have to pay close attention to what a particular seller wants and compare, google nurseries that sell Hoya, get familiar with them. Plus the hoyas at big box stores are almost always misnamed. My local box stores hardly have hoyas and our local nursery is expennnsive! Thanks for the insight👍🏽Dee, NY

Good morning Dave,thank you for your time and good points.

Yes I agree with your last paragraph, we must be careful with these unscrupulous people. Me , I stick with my sober guy!! Great video Dave

I was recently looking up Canadian sites that sold hoyas and there is one that had an Argentea Princess for $1500. While the one pictured (and 'sold out', of course) has 5-6 leaves and maybe 3 nodes, I damn near choke on the bite of apple I had going. Outright, I say...outrageous! 🇨🇦

The big growers, like Costa Farms, are also notorious for re-naming plants that are already known to the public. Some sellers that import plants also incur costs for licenses, etc., so that also adds to the overall price of plants. Then there's supply and demand. There will always be those that have to have what others do not.

Haven’t heard this perspective and commentary before. Great info to know. Thanks.

Been watching all of your videos and I absolutely love them . I love hoyas so I've learned so much from you. Where am i able ro purchase some of your Hoya cuttings? Thank you

I’ve begun watching your videos at least twice 😊 Thank you! Love letting you do all the research and then reaping the benefits! 😂

Yep another fantastic video! Thank you for sharing!

Given what I know now and my respect for you, Dave, can I just tell you what I like and give you my budget? I'd be HAPPY to take any of those "pesky" slow movers off your hands!😮😊

I don't even mind the invented names that much. Anybody who dives a bit deeper into that topic will eventually easily spot the ridiculous names. What bothers me extremely are the douches that sell rooted leaves without nodes and call them cuttings. Those are really evil. With succulents you can grow a plant from leaves only, so an inexperienced person might buy the trash thinking they could grow a plant out of it. I wish there was an option to flag those sellers. In my experience, there is a reason why "boring" plants like Carnosa, Australis, Bella, Mathilde etc are so widespread. Because they grow well and flower reliably once they've started to do so. It's a joy to watch them grow. Fancy plants usually are finnicky and a pain in the tuches. But it's fine as long as you set a budget and don't go over it. My most expensive cutting was 35€ +6€ shipping. It still hasn't grown a bit, looks the same as a year or two ago and kills off any semblance of growth the moment you spot it. A frustrating plant. Second most expensive cutting was 25€ plus shipping, also a pain. Everybody else cost me less than 20€ in total. So a loss is not so dramatic. Most of them are doing well, but they are also almost exclusively non fancy, non variegated guys.

excellent information. thank you for this video and ur time.

Thanks Dave. Good points.

I’m quite willing to wait.

Love your videos! My wish list plant right now is the Obscura Silver but I am not paying anything over $30-$40 a node and it’s still above that so I’m going to wait for a few months 😅

Can you tell us your plant selling link? Congratulations on sober living and growing beautiful Hoyas!

Hi Dave, do you have a website for your plants? Thanks!

I know I have spent a small fortune on my collection of plants, Hoya and orchids and some leafy greens. I am in California where importing is not an option. The state will confiscate anything coming from outside the US and destroy it. So Etsy is one of the few options I have to acquire plants that aren't readily available in typical nurseries. I don't mind paying more for plants, but I am also wary of one node, 1-2 leaf plants that are priced at $50.00+ depending on what it is. I have always attributed the higher prices to rarity, but you raised some points that I had not considered. I do try to find reasonably priced plants with more than two leaves, because in my growing conditions those seem to be more viable. And no, I don't sell. For me this is purely a hobby. Soooo... where is the link to your shop? I looked but I couldn't find it.

I love hoyas and keep looking for more, but for me (not interested in blooms, they're a bonus) there seems to be just an endless supply of look alike hoyas. The first 3-4 plants you showed (up to the Silver Dollar at 10:11) all look alike, green veining with a yellow-ish leaf. I'm sure there are differences, but I don't get why anyone wants to collect the same basic looking plant over and over? And this is 'not' about your plants.

Interesting. I took your advice and went to Costa Farms website. The ONLY Hoya they have is kerrii.

Hi Dave, thank you for this interesting video and for the time and effort you put in to its content. You made some very good points. I don’t order a lot of plants on line but so far my experiences have all been good. I would feel very comfortable ordering from you on line and when the weather cools down some I have plans to do so. Hopefully you will still have some inventory available and I look forward to supporting your efforts to provide healthy Hoyas to our Hoya community. Take care and happy growing! 👌🪴🥰

And here I am wondering if all my pothos are going to revert😂😂. I have made a vow. If I dont kill the 2 hoya i have by spring 2025, I can buy one more. Until then i will soak up your knowledge. Thank you for your videos!❤

What do you use to prevent the pest outbreak? I want to start a tent. Would love a tour of equipment you use. Thanks for all your education!

Interesting video! Do you have an online shop?

Hey, interesting subject. I buy shoots with roots and mix my own earth to them and they grow well. I was given a big hoya, potted it on, and have cut it down, propogated some of the shots and I have noticed improvement in the mother plant. I bought a vari carnosa, lovely little pkant, and the seller gave med a little carnosa compacta as a gift. They are growing and thriving. Have my plants for fun and love of everything green. Live in Sweden and the summers are so short. So my plants keep me going through the winter here.

Svetlana is on my wishlist ❤

Why do we spend so much? I have no clue I spent $45. For 2 leaves on a pink Thomsonii. Because of the name I had to have it to put with my 38 hoya collection Love your vids

Just sent a new to Hoya loving person your way! I sold her a cutting and made her take 4 others for free.

I think as long as we can wait, the price of rare hoya will come down, because hoya is easy to propagate, and with so many hoya lovers, cheap cuttings of rare hoya become quickly available for sale. So we just need patience. Take hoya polyneura albomarginata for example, when it came out, a node costed 100 euro here but now I got one at the price of 18 euro from a hoya lover.

Not the Hoya sunrise sunset stardust lol😂 - it really is like that though.

Dave, how do we buy plants from you?

I’ve taken a little time off. And have lost a couple of to dry rot. My fault.

Very interesting video, like away.

I understand that you can't take a whole month off, but given the time commitment, how do you take a vacation? I'm making a 4-5 day trip to Florida (touring some nurseries!) but don't trust my house-sitter to water properly.

Hi! Do you have a plant store I can purchase from?

And I thought that 8! Was a lot of lights

I love Hoya but never going to hole buying a one cutting for 50 dollar that is ridiculous. It’s over price it because people are buying over price plants not juts Hoya but any plants rare plants.

When you say they are "making up names that don't exist," it makes me wonder... is there a master horticultural institution that registers new Hoya species/varieties?

$35-50 is quite reasonable price for a hod Hoya. At least to me.

Did you know if it's true that if I fill up my Amazon cart with whatever I'm going to buy, click on one of your Amazon links, them purchase that cart within 15 minutes of clicking your link that you will get a commission on the entire purchase? I've done that in the past for you but keep forgetting to do it every time. So, is it true that it works that way?

Where do you sell from?

I do worry about having the correct name for my Hoyas.

Do you. Have an Etsy shop

At 8:36...Did I just hear you refer to your wife's heart as a propagation box?

Hello Dave from Puerto Rico!! Very informative video. First timer on your channel. Just subscribed. I recently started my English speaking channel and would appreciate your support. Thank you!!🙋🏼‍♀️🪴