THE UNKNOWN HOYA

I haven't blogged about this particular Hoya Vine much at all. I have several other Hoya Vines that are similar to this one, but I have not blogged about them either... because I cannot exactly figure out what type of Hoya this is.

I believe this Hoya vine, that is growing in a 54' tomato cage platform that I built, might be an Australian Hoya, but I just do not know. The roundish leaves on this Hoya are close to the Australian Hoya, but the colors of the leaves and the color and the thickness of the actual vines do not quite match the pictures I have seen.

This Hoya came into my possession a little over twenty years ago. It has never flowered... until this year. As of the time of this missive, it has formed three flower spurs... for the first time. And I am ecstatic at the prospect of having actual flowers in a few months so that I can compare them to the endless pictures of Hoya flowers on the many websites. 

I have this particular Hoya facing a large southern facing window that gets plenty of light all day long. This plant appears to LOVE this position for its slow growth. The green in the leaves is strong. The silver specks are almost metallic cool. And the fact that some of the leaves variegate color with creamy white and light red is cool too, but that confuses me more as to what type of Hoya this is.

So... I will definitely post pictures of this Hoya and its flowers as soon as they completely open... whenever that might be. Perhaps I will then be able to identify this mystery Hoya... a mystery to me, at least.

Here are a few pictures of this Hoya. Do you know exactly what type of Hoya this is?

 

  

 

Below is a picture of one of the flower spurs. There is a brownish/purple coloration to the stem of the leaves and the stem of this flower spur. Will these be white flowers? Or, will I get colored flowers? I wish Hoya Flowers formed faster... but they do not! 

Below is a vine with a spur forming off the tip. 

Also, and again, what confuses me about this Hoya is the coloration and the different potential shapes of the leaves. Most all-green leaves are almost circular. But, as one can see, this variegation happens, too. Below are 2 examples of what I am writing about. 

These are well over twenty year old leaves from the bottom of this Hoya.

So, as soon as this Hoya flowers, I hope I will have a better chance of identifying it. I have several other smaller Hoyas like this one with more color and size differences in the leaves. You can bet that I will post pictures of those plants when they flower.

OK, for now. Until next time, have fun with your awesome ANCIENT HOYAS!

Ron 

HOW BIG CAN YOUR HOYA GROW

What plant is almost like a silent animal pet in your house?
A HOYA VINE:
AN ANCIENT HOYA!

-- RLJ --

HOW BIG CAN YOUR HOYA GROW

 

This example of one of the several over 30 year old Hoya Carnosa plants I own is growing in this platform I invented and built to grow the huge plant in the upright position. Instead of sprawling all over the place and not climbing like a vine wants to do, this platform supports the climbing nature of this Ancient Hoya.

This size platform is 16" wide at the top by 54" from the floor to the top of the cage. The plant is taller, still. So, this is a HUGE set-up and to transport this plant one needs to have a vehicle with a tall interior. 

 

This is my Hoya Pubicalyx that I purchased as a young teenager back in the 1970's. This Hoya is almost 50 years old. I can prove its age by the actual "foot" that has developed at the base of the soil because of its age.

When I purchased the plant in Killeen, Texas back in the mid '70's, it could have been 50 years old then, for all I know!

The Hoya Pubicalyx becomes a MONSTER of a plant as the decades roll by. It becomes a monster in size, not plant attitude. Treat this plant well decade after decade and you will become as attached to its awesomeness as if it were a person you loved.

And, of course, the payoff of grooming and loving this plant is its AWESOME flowers, when it decides to produce them!

And to be sure, the Hoya Pubicalyx is a rare plant. You can see a lot of pictures of it on the internet, but buying them, at times, can be difficult.

 

This is my son's Hoya Variegated. This plant has been in his room by this window for around 15 years! It gets filtered light through this window throughout the day, with a little more intense light in the afternoon. But, never any intense direct light. This plant flowers every few years... with these gorgeous white flowers that smell like rich chocolate!!! 

This is simply an AWESOME plant that demands a low light situation! And, unlike most plants, most Hoya vines do not lose ANY of their color in lower light... because they demand lower light exposure!

And, of course, this plant has NEVER been turned from this position. As you all know, Hoya vines HATE being moved around the house and they do not like being turned around.

 

These are the flower balls of the Hoya Carnosa types that I have. There is simply nothing more to say about what you are looking at... other than to ask you to imagine the chocolate aroma floating out of these flowers!

Here is a SMALL example of a Hoya Pubicalyx leaf. They can grow to almost 10 inches long, perhaps even longer. Observe the silver paint-like splashes on the leaf. Each leaf has its own pattern, which is outrageous. I can spend an hour dusting off my Ancient Hoya Pubicalyx and marveling over the leaves.

This is an example of the smaller Hoya vines I have. This is a Hoya Tricolor. It is in a 12" by 24" platform. This plant was Air Layered from the mother plant about 10 years ago. The HUGE mother plant is about 35 years old... which means that this smaller CLONE of it's mother is actually, in theory, 35 years old, too.

 

This is an example of the mid-size Hoyas I grow. This plant is in a 131/2" by 42" platform. This is an Air Layered Hoya Pubicalyx from the 47 year old Mother plant. This is a 20 year old plant!

Here is another Air Layered Hoya Pubicalyx in a small platform. This plant will outgrow this platform in a few years... and will HAVE to be placed in a larger platform.

And so, the question that launched this blog entry was: How Big Can Your Hoya Grow? The answer, in my opinion is... who knows? Since this plant lives on forever in your household, I suppose it will get as big as you let it. For sure, a Hoya Pubicalyx can, and will, take over a large sized room it you let it. And I am dead serious about that fact! It will literally take over a room as the decades roll by if you build supports to train it where you want it to go. And that would be a monstrously huge, beautiful, heavy plant.

Enjoy the adventure, if you have an Ancient Hoya! 

Ronald L. Jones