Are substitutions from Hoya nurseries common practice?

I purchase a tremendous amount of plants on line. Vast majority of same being species indigenous to my region. I do have an insatiable taste for carnivorous species that aren't native to my state but more so native to southeastern states. Most native plant nurseries (carnivorous plant nurseries included) would never even consider trying to substitute plants for the simple reason that cultural requirements can vary wildly and well... some of their buyers are diehard collectors growing literally hundreds of different species, naturally occurring hybrids, and cultivars and who wants to pay for a duplication. There is only one Carnivorous Plant nursery I know of that will try to slip substitutions in and he now has a reputation for not maintaining his website and tracking inventory that precedes him so people are very careful to spell it out for him when ordering... myself included. Bottom line is that I know what I want and am generally purchasing plants for a specific site on my property or location within my home and substitutions are not welcome. I am very careful to always note that I am not interested in substitutions.

Thanks to you "enablers" over here who have posted all these wonderful photos of Hoya, I now have a taste for Hoya. I tried to place an order for a few. I liked some of the pink flowering species as well as a Hoya that was called Shooting Star. I think that might have been multiflora. I thought they would look nice in and amongst some of my Orchids and Nepenthes. When placing my order, I noted on the order form that this particular nursery provided a special place where buyers were encouraged to list substitutions and stated that "free plants" added to orders would be selected from any substitutions listed. Clever. I typed " I don't want substitutes for what I have ordered" into that area.

Long and short is that I received a partially automated response to my order indicating my order total and that my total "may be less than this amount should we be unable to send all of the items you ordered (and no substitutes were listed)." You know how you just get this little voice that tells you there probably is a reason why a nursery pushes substitutions as in... they might not be updating their website regularly or they might be trying to unload overstock??? Well, I don't want substitutions and I definitely don't want to pay shipping on half of an order so I had specifically indicated that the order was to be shipped in its entirety or held until all plants could be shipped at once but evidently they hadn't picked up on that so I replied and cut and pasted what I had typed in my original order. I received a reply in which they indicated spring would be the best time for my order to be placed. Bummer, I wanted a Hoya fix now! I have ordered "ingredients" to create a potting mix and pots and I have made space for new plants and even have a new hook in the ceiling for one of the Hoyas that was viney and now I am all dressed up with no where to go!

I realize cultural requirements for Hoya don't seem to have the wild variations of Drosera or Pinguicula so I'm thinking substitutions might be common practice for those selling Hoya? Once again, I mostly purchase native plants on line. The few AVs I have were purchased at Home Depot off an end cap. The Orchids I have are all hand selected for me by a nursery in Hawaii that I visit when we vacation there. I have a relationship with them and they know what I like and they send me an e-mail with a photo and ask me what I think and so far their taste has been impeccable so I will continue to allow them to pick all of my orchids. Ordering tropicals other than Orchids from a trusted nursery is all new to me. Was I being unreasonable in not being willing to accept substitutions from that online Hoya nursery? It's ok to tell me if I was as I do realize that practices vary based on plant types.

Barring the substituion concerns, I have now read some of the feedback on this particular nursery over at Garden WatchDog and I read one particular comment that makes me very nervous regarding some sort of fungal or bacterial infection as well as an insect pest issue so I am thinking that I am glad they did not have all of of the plants I wanted to order because I would be fit to be tied if I ended up with plants infested with anything in by my Orchids or Nepenthes.

That being said, I found LOTS of mail order nurseries at the top of the forum with very good feedback and two of them have the plants I had tried to order and the plants are in stock and... they're right around the same price. Logee's and Gardinos both have the plants I had wanted to order from the other place. Which nursery should I order from? And, I don't want substitutions ;)

Only with permission from the buyer, I would hope. I know it is common practice...but not on that should be...unless they are listed by the buyer. Who is in control here? The seller or the buyer? Seems to me......?

I have ordered from Logee's, they are excellent. However, if alohahoya or AcsAgape plants have what you are looking for, order from there, their plants are much larger. These two ladies are very reliable! Hth.
Heather

Mine is a mixed response.. I received healthy, albeit small, plants from Logee's in a timely manner and extremely well packed. They were both, however, mislabeled. I have heard that this is somewhat the norm for them, so you might want to stress correct ID if you order from them. I still have both plants to this day and they are large, robust specimens.

Barb

Logee's plants are OK if you don't mind starting with small/tiny pots & plants. However if you want some nice sized, well growing, lovely plants already on their way to being full sized specimins....order some from Carol (AlohaHoya).
Marcy

I will gladly second Heather and Marcy's suggestion to order from Carol or Awanda. I've not yet had to opportunity to take advantage of Awanda's offerings, but I have on more than one occasion ordered from Carol at Aloha Hoya. The plants were, in every single case, larger than expected; shipping charges plainly stated and reasonable; all were well packed and arrived in excellent condition; plus a heads-up sent and tracking number provided. That adds up to superior customer service in my book! The only problem you will have ~ and it's a biggie ~ is picking out which one you want, because you will want them ALL!!

Barb

Hey... is AlohaHoya member the same person as the person who owns AlohaHoya? Does AlohaHoya = Carol?

For right now I sort of felt the Hoya DTs (deep tremors from not being able to buy a few) coming on so I didn't want to go with cuttings but actual plants. It was that instant gratification deal of getting a plant ready to pot. I will try cuttings in the future after I get a little experience with the 4 I just ordered.

Here's the deal on the substitutions, I was made to feel guilty about not wanting a substitution. Then when I started looking back at the website and the automated responses and my original order, I realized I had picked up on substitutions being somewhat common place for this particular nursery so I had been quite clear in indicating substitutions would not be acceptable yet the individual basically sort of held free plants (could care less about free plants) as well as shipping the order out over my head because they "ship fast". Well, I hate to say it but they had also asked me which day I wanted the plants shipped on and then after I stated which day I wanted them to go out, they indicated they did not ship on that day. So why ask me then? All I have to say is I should have gone to the Garden WatchDog before I placed that order. I won't make that mistake again.

I placed an order with Gardinos because Logees was out of stock on one plant I wanted. It came down to which nursery had all that I wanted and I do try real hard to keep plants together because of shipping costs. Splitting an order to two nurseries generally means I could have bought another whole plant and I sort of am a little cheap.

Another pet peeve of mine is mislabeled plants. Thanks for mentioning that.

Yes, Aloha Hoya = Carol, and I add my positive feedback to the others above. Go to Garden Watchdog on DG, and check out the feedback for her - you can buy with confidence! I've not YET ordered from Awanda at ACsAgape, but I will - soon! (Just need to ask her about shipping in the winter to Illinois!) Karen

I second Heather, Marcy, Barb, and Karen's assessment of AlohaHoya's and ACsAgape. While I have not ordered from her yet, the pictures she has shown throughout this forum show beautiful, healthy, and large plants. The feedback she gets is 100% positive for sending exceptional plants. As for Aloha Hoya I have ordered from her many times and have always received absolutely incredible plants and cuttings - she is not stingy and her plants are beautifully full and lush. So, I say ordering from either of them would guarantee you get what you ordered and what you paid for.
Ann

Sorry (hanging head in shame), I was too dense to put two and two together. Unfortunately, I found the link above after I had placed the other order which fell through but before I made the connection of who was who. I actually looked at Carol and Awanda's feedback and both were stellar. Shoulda coulda woulda- the story of my life. Impatience and the need for a quick plant fix took over and well... I did have that credit card in my hand and I was in front of the computer and that combination usually spells disaster for me. My husband calls it typing while impaired. Forgive me.

No worries, mate!!! We are all family here - and the only thing that really matters is that you (anyone) get what they want and that it is happy experience.