Blog – Carla’s Hoya Haven
I purchased H. cominsii from Steve’s Leaves in the middle of April. It’s grown quite a bit since then. This plant has been very easy to care for and is quickly becoming one of my favorites. It is a native of the Solomon Islands.
Turns out H. cominsii is a synonym for H. nicholsoniae which is another favorite Hoya. This is good to know. I’m now at the point in my Hoya collecting that I need to check Kew Plants of the World Online
to make sure I’m not purchasing a synonym of a plant already in my collection. See below for comparison. H. nicholsoniae is on the left and H. cominsii is on the right.
To my untrained eye there do seem to be differences between the two plants in leaf shape and venation. H. nicholsoniae has slightly more heart shaped leaves with scalloped venation while H. cominsii has elongated ovate leaves with more linear venation. H. nicholsoniae also has a dark margin and sun stresses a beautiful red bronze color with yellow venation. I’ll have to give H. cominsii more light to see if it develops the same sun stressing. It will be interesting to compare the flowers one day.
Hoya nicholsoniae was repotted and retrellised mid-May and is growing again. It’s a vigorous grower that looks good even when I forget to water.
H. nicholsoniae was published in Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae… Melbourne in 1866 by F. Mueller. It is native to New Caledonia, New Guinea, Queensland, Samoa and Solomon Is.
H. nicholsoniae has 10 heterotypic synonyms (Heterotypic or Taxonomic synonyms are synonyms that refer to different types with which different names are associated, but which the scientist concerned considers to be the same taxon but different type).
I ordered Hoya tomataensis from Steve’s Leaves and it arrived mid-April. It’s been growing well since then. The vine is getting quite long and I think it’s about time for a trellis. There are a couple leaves with yellow tips. Initially, I had this plant in a west facing window and even with a sheer it was probably getting too much sun. I moved it to a shelf in another room. It gets light from a Sansi grow light and some indirect midday sun. It’s growing new leaves and they look healthy so I think I just need to keep it out of direct light.
I have this plant in my regular mix and water when dry. I use 1/4 tsp azalea fertilizer in a gallon of water so it gets a little fertilizer each time. I leave a little water in the tray until the top of the mix is hydrated and then dump the rest in a bowl. I use the discarded water on my HOA approved bushed out front and they’re doing pretty well this year.
I made a quick 1×1 SuperTrellis tower for this plant and it has plenty of room to grow.
Hoya Tomataensis was first published in 2004 in Fraterna by T. Green and Kloppenburg. It’s native range is Sulawesi. The lanceolate leaves are on the small to medium size with a little white veining. It’s an excellent Hoya for a smaller space. Thus far it’s been easy to grow. It seems fairly happy in average household humidity. H. tomataensis does like to be watered once in a while.
H. ciliata is one of the eriostemmas. The eriostemmas are considered part of the Hoya group which are related genera to the Hoya genus. The relationships between Hoya and the Hoya group are not fully resolved. I purchased H. ciliata from Steve’s Leaves in mid-April. It looks much the same as when it arrived.
There is a good post about eriostemmas on The Midwestern Jungle covering similarities and differences between Hoya and eriostemmas as well as growing and propagating. Eriostemma has different nutritional needs so maybe some crushed oyster shell or lime is needed to make mine grow.
There is a good post on Vermont Hoyas by Doug Chamberlain titled, “Why I don’t grow Hoya Lauterbachii.”
Hoya lauterbachii is in the Eriostemma group of Hoyas that require extremely bright and very warm conditions to begin to grow well – conditions that I simply don’t have.
Well, he lives in Vermont and I live in Iowa and it goes without saying I had to give the eriostemmas a try anyway. As luck would have it we’ve had a rather moderately warm, dry spring. I keep it cool in the house at night when I sleep and humidity has been below 40%. I’ve had this plant under a GE grow light. The tip and new leaves turned a bit yellow. I wasn’t sure if it needed more shade or more water. I think I over-watered and it needs more sunlight and definitely more humidity.
I’m going to put this plant out on the porch this week (week of June 20th). Current humidity is up to 60% which is the highest it’s been all spring. We have a very hot sunny week ahead of us. If that doesn’t make this plant happy I don’t know what will.
One last note about the eriostemmas is that they need to be big before they will even consider flowering. By big I mean 50′ in length or more. I only have three eriostemmas: ciliata, madulidii and ‘chocolate flower’. So, I’m not fully invested in this group at this point.
Hoya ciliata was first published in 1988 in Hoyan by Elmer ex C.M. Burton. It’s native range is the Philippines.
I purchased H. heuschkeliana (pink) as cuttings from Garden of Hayden and on the left I purchased Hoya heuschkeliana (variegated) from Land of Alice. It arrived in coconut husk and I’ve kept in that mix. I water when the mix is dry on top. I keep it on a shelf under a Boost Gro grow light.
This plant does get some indirect midday sun. It grows well in normal household humidity. This is an easy care plant. I just have to watch the watering as I do love to water. I leave a little water in the tray to hydrate the coconut husk.
However, the tray must be emptied once the coconut husk is moist on top. Otherwise, it gets too moist and I’ve noticed a little leaf damage that could be from overwatering or from having the plant too close to the grow light. I moved it to a lower shelf and now it’s about 18″ from the light. I’m letting it dry out before the next watering. It will be fine.
H. heuschkeliana is a small leafed hoya and the variegated leaves are quite pretty. It’s a nice addition to my collection and I look forward to getting flowers off this one.
Hoya cv. jennifer is a cross between Hoya incrassata x Hoya finlaysonii. This was in the box with my Fifth Hoya Haul from Land of Alice. Since it’s arrival in early May this plant has grown one new leaf and a longer stem. There are tiny leaves forming along the stem. This plant arrived in coconut husk and I kept it that way. I only water when it’s dry.
I purchased this plant for the beautiful leaves. There is a stunning specimen on the Vermont Hoyas website. I keep H. cv. Jennifer up on a shelf under a Sansi 15W grow light. It does get some indirect midday sun from a west facing window.
This is a fantastic Hoya with beautiful leaves and veining. It can tolerate a little drought and normal household humidity which is 43% at the moment. My two H. finlaysonii’s are on a shady shelf. H. cv. Jennifer tolerates grow lights and sun as well as H. incrassata. H. incrassata has to be in a sunny window. Thus far it’s been very easy to care for and I look forward to seeing it produce more of those beautiful leaves.
Hoya parasitica is one of many plants recently renamed Hoya verticillata. There seems to be a growing number of Hoya verticillatas so to keep them straight I’ll keep the old name or I’m not going to know which H. verticillata I’m talking about. I have two of them now and they look nothing alike. I purchased this particular specimen from Land of Alice in my Fifth Hoya Haul from early May.
I was trying to make a hoop out of Super Trellis hexes and added a center row for stability. It was still wobbly. In the end I stabilized the structure with a plant stake in the back.
I keep this plant in a west facing window with a sheer. No tree outside for added shade so it is a fairly sunny window especially in the summer. This plant seems to be easy to grow even when I forget to water it and follow up with a bit of overwatering. It has grown more leaves and larger leaves in the time I’ve had it.
With all that splashiness H. verticillata (parasitica splash) is a very attractive plant to grow and an excellent plant for a sunny window.
There’s a nice little chart on Hoya verticillata on A Hoya Study Corner by SC Plants on Facebook. Until mine flowers I can’t be sure where mine fits into the verticillata complex. Maybe when it flowers I’ll have a better idea. There’s just too much information out there on plants that don’t look like mine. I think it was a mistake to lump so many together under one species. That’s just my opinion which doesn’t count for diddly in the botany world.
These Hoya incurvula cuttings are the final cuttings from the batch of 9 Hoya species I ordered from Garden of Hayden and they remained in the stratum long enough for one cutting to push out new growth.
I think it’s important to note that when rooting these smaller leaved Hoyas it’s better to have a cutting with two or three nodes to start. I cut mine up too small a lost a couple cuttings from both H. incurvula and H. heuschkeliana.
I potted these up in my regular mix and they’ve been sitting on a shelf under a Boost Gro grow light with a bit of indirect afternoon sun. One cutting is pushing out new leaves and the other is well rooted but no new growth at this point.
Hoya incurvula was first published in 1916 by Schlecter in Beihefte zum Botanischen Centralblatt. I won’t be checking that one out of the library anytime soon. H. incurvula is endemic to Sulawesi, an Indonesian island east of Borneo.
Hoya heuschkeliana (pink) was one of my cuttings from Garden of Hayden. I rooted these cuttings in stratum and they are among the last to be potted up.
I let these root so long the roots were growing across the surface of the stratum and two of the cuttings had new growth.
I soaked my regular potting mix in Bio Root mixed with water for about 30 minutes. Once the potting mix was hydrated I potted up the cuttings. I over-watered a bit this last time and left water sitting in the saucer too long. I see a yellow leaf. But, all three cuttings are growing new leaves.
I have this plant on a shelf under a Boost Gro grow light and it does get some indirect afternoon sun from a west facing window. I look forward to seeing this plant progress over the summer.
Hoya heuschkeliana was first published in 1989 by Kloppenburg in Hoyan. It’s native range is the Philippines. It is named for Dexter Heuschkel, a collector of Hoyas.
H. Fungii was the third plant that arrived in a box from The Planted Veteran in mid-April. It arrived in great condition with a few thick green leaves and a stem that was growing…and growing…and growing. This plant has thick leaves with beautiful veining, a little splash and a wee bit of fuzziness on the new leaves. It is a vigorous grower. It has thick stems that thicken as the new leaves grow and harden off. It’s not easy to weave the older portion of stem through the hexes.
Already I had to trellis this up and I expanded my trellis recently. I’ll put another picture at the end. My goal is to weave the vine across each row and then up or down a row. Once the existing portion is covered in leaves I can add more pieces going up. I might have to add two more sides to make a tower and find a way to support the bottom until this plant needs a bigger pot. This is going to be a large plant.
H. fungii was first published in 1924 by E.D. Merrill in Lingnan Science Journal. Canton [Guangzhou]. The native range of this plant is China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Laos and Vietnam. It’s a low maintenance plant that prefers bright indirect light. It does well in a west facing window with a sheer to keep the leaves from burning in direct sunlight. I have this plant in a well draining mix and water when the mix is dry. I leave a little water in the tray to hydrate the coconut husk in the mix. Hoya fungii is proving to be a beautiful, easy to care for houseplant. It is quickly becoming one of my favorites.
H. meliflua is another plant purchased from The Planted Veteran in mid-April of this year. All the vines were clipped. I potted it up in my regular mix and placed it in a west facing window with a sheer and a shady tree outside. I kept the mix a bit moist at first. Now I let it dry out between waterings with lightly fertilized water. I leave a little water in the tray to help hydrate the coconut chips.
This plant likes bright indirect light and has grown leaves mostly in higher temperatures. In the day I turn the central air off. If I’m home I open the windows and turn on the ceiling fans. It warms up quite a bit in here, especially in the afternoons when indoor temperatures can range from 77°F downstairs to 84°F upstairs. A number Hoyas have been pushing out new leaves in the warmer temperatures.
H. meliflua has a native range of Borneo (Sabah) and the Philippines. It was first published in 1918 by E.D. Merrill in Sp. Blancoanae. Stapelia meliflua is considered a synonym for H. Meliflua. There are several subspecies of H. meliflua including Hoya meliflua subsp. breviora, Hoya meliflua subsp. escobinae, Hoya meliflua subsp. taytayensis, Hoya meliflua subsp. fraterna, Hoya meliflua subsp. meliflua (Hoya treubiana, Hoya luzonica, Hoya davaoensis).
It’s a great addition to my Hoya collection. I really look forward to seeing this one bloom. The blooms are supposed to smell like chocolate.