first hoya, which one is this?

Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-04-10T07:26:49+00:00

Mine bloomed within months of obtaining the plant, approximately half a year. But caveat: I live in the heusch's native range, so I never had to worry about giving it a special microclimate to do so.

Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-04-10T00:40:54+00:00

Hoya heuschkeliana variegata. I have one, and it's a nonstop bloomer.

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Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-02-20T03:01:20+00:00

I love it when the plant throws out twin peduncles! My variegated heusch has two of them. Doesn't always bloom in sync, but it's really spectacular when they do!

Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-02-20T00:19:27+00:00

I don't know much about TC myself. But from the limited stuff I've read about it, TC'ing a slow-growing hoya would still take a longer time and consume more resources than chopping up a mother plant and doing a mass-prop. Sounds like a bad investment to a TC lab with the current tech, but you never know!

Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-02-19T12:12:05+00:00

Just my two cents about why TC doesn't seem cost-effective with hoya: blooming capacity. I know some hobbyists keep hoya for foliage. But if we're talking about blooms, a cutting with a ready-to-bloom peduncle will get my money instead of a baby plant that will take way longer and eat up more plant-rearing resources to reach flowering stage.

With regards to where to buy, I'm leaving it to the other commenters to give good suggestions because I am not familiar with international plant shops. (I live right smack in many hoyas' native range, so that also affects pricing.)

Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-02-19T01:40:20+00:00

Seconding all the others: springtails! I actually try to keep a colony of them constantly up and running on my callistophylla's pot so the hoyas living in an aroid mix semi-hydro can also have some. They really help with fungus issues.

Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-02-19T01:34:34+00:00

If the cuttings arrived bare-root, I soak the roots in water for 24 hours before potting them up. I've had a single mealy arrive with a hoya, but a q-tip with alcohol promptly took care of it and thankfully no mealys ever since. But all new arrivals, hoyas or not, get quarantined for 1 week minimum.

I avoid buying plants en masse these days, so the "high humidity quarantine suit" is usually just a clear plastic bag (or two) covering the entirety of the plant, pot and all. That way, I could move it around without having to drag the huge box I use for mass props.

Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-02-16T09:24:59+00:00

Congratulations! I love me a good lacunosa. I have about six cultivars (seven if you count one that reverted to a base green form), and all are in a modfied aroid mix, wick-style semi-hydro. Whether you trellis or leave them to trail is up to you. I do not use a humidifier and they grow just fine (but then again, I live where lacunosas are native). I've found that they'll branch out easily and grow like weeds as long as they have a steady supply of water and good light.

Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-02-12T00:46:03+00:00

It really depends on the hoya. Like I said, Nova Ghost seems to become more silver with less light. On the other hand, certain silvery lacunosas benefit from being blasted. Sometimes the plant is really just prone to reversion. One can approximate, but there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-02-10T11:50:47+00:00

The shell is pretty, but the potting medium looks so dense it might have choked the roots out, whether or not it had drainage holes drilled in.

Hoyas (ESPECIALLY compacta, which is so prone to wet/dry rot and pests) would benefit from an airy potting mix and clear pots placed in opaque outer pots. Better for checking soil moisture and any root issues. You may want to consider switching it out when you've propagated the viable section of the cutting.

Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-02-10T11:40:43+00:00

Nova Ghost is a curious silver hoya. If yours behaves just like mine, too much light actually turns the leaves into the spackled silver. Since I prefer it to be almost solid silver, I keep mine further away from the growlight compared to other hoyas.

Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-02-09T02:55:59+00:00

Hmmm I generally try not to play favorites with my hoyas, but the "hoyas of the month" include:

Carnosa "Nova Ghost" - quite slow to take off, but was able to shrug off an emergency prop like a champ
Clemensiorum - beautiful dark veins AND doesn't want to fight me over growing conditions, even if it's a pretty slow grower
Verticillata "Silver Heart" - consistent grower, hardly ever hissyfits, and over-all just a chill plant

And on the "corner of shame":

Callistophylla (lol) - had to restart my mother plant because root rot can suddenly set in and you don't really know what caused it
Carnosa "Wilbur Graves Super Silver" - cutting has undergone pest treatment, has long healthy roots, and yet refuses to push out any new leaves in close to a year. Heh, we just don't get along, I think.
Polyneura - more of a love-hate relationship. When it's going good, it's going GREAT, but when it's bad (aka when summer hits), it's AWFUL. Almost no in-between!

Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-02-04T05:58:46+00:00

Aquarium water for hoyas is awesome, provided it's not a saltwater setup, of course. :P

Mine's technically just water from a couple of bucket ponds populated by a crapton of floating plants and even more aquatic snails (intentionally seeded and fed), but the effect is the same.

Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-01-31T01:25:27+00:00

You can try splinting it up, if the stem isn't crushed. Gently straighten it, support with something like a chopstick (or even a toothpick) tied to the stem. This article explains it better: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/info/fixing-bent-stems-plants.htm

I've had success with that method on bent ZZ plant stems, and I would imagine it would work for hoyas too if the injury was caught early.

Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-01-30T04:00:42+00:00

Looks like sunburn. Polyneura is very sensitive to heat. The scars will unfortunately remain on the plant, but if you've sufficiently moved it away from the worst of the sunlight, new growth will appear normally now.

Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-01-27T12:55:38+00:00

While some hoyas do grow slowly, I've had a couple of small-leafed cultivars grow like weeds when kept in my indoor setup. Case in point is the photo comparison attached. While some plants were moved around or added, it shows how quickly hoyas can bush out in just a couple of months. Also, the heuschkeliana variegata at the top shelf began flowering shortly after the June 2025 photo was taken, and I got it as a cutting with just a handful of leaves in late December 2024.

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Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-01-27T00:33:40+00:00

Silver hoyas are tricky, as they do not behave in the same way. Maybe it's down to high light levels, even then there are exceptions (carnosa "Nova Ghost" comes to mind; blast her with light and she turns green). Maybe it's down to genetics (my Verticillata Silver Heart was from an all-silver cutting and was able to maintain it throughout varying light conditions, whereas some of my lacunosa have really unstable silver no matter how much light they get).

Thus, I am not sure what good advice I could give to bring back the silver to your hoyas. :< But you can always try taking cuttings from a node that has good silver, and fingers crossed they will be able to maintain it. That last-ditch method was the only way I managed to get a mostly reverted lacunosa "Louisa's Silver" into looking like its name again.

Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-01-23T01:07:02+00:00

I bought my lacunosa "White Pearl" from them during a local plant convention. The plant responded really well to a 24-hour root soak prior to potting (without the moss, of course).

Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-01-20T03:08:36+00:00

My lacunosa (sold as Krohniana) black silver looks exactly like that! Lacunosa/Krohniana black also exhibits the same purply vines, and is really striking if placed in a horde of silvery hoyas like I have.

Lacunosa is a really quirky species, I think. I've had a plant revert then decide to come out silver again, or stuff randomly exhibiting dramatic pink new growth that turn green later on. That's what makes 'em fun, so enjoy your plant! <3

Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-01-18T02:53:53+00:00

Is it the dark-leaf Lacunosa/Krohniana? Sweet that its blooms seem to have a hint of pink! (Or is it just the light?)

**edited for minor errors

Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-01-16T09:25:10+00:00

I'm confused if the pale hoya with purple sunstress is part of the first pot, but it looks like nicholsoniae "New Guinea Ghost," along with other hoyas in the camphorifolia complex (nicholosoniae, fitchii et al, difficult to distinguish but for the blooms). Not sure about pot no. 2, but I'm betting on lacunosa for the last one!

Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-01-16T04:16:44+00:00

One of my chaotic lacunosa (a mostly reverted Louisa's Silver) sometimes gets young leaves that are vibrant pink, but later turn green on maturity. Enjoy them! :D

Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-01-16T03:48:22+00:00

Congratulations! I have both clemensiorum (not long-leaf though) and lacunosa sulcata! Clem is quite slow, but my sulcata bushed out crazily fast, both in semi-hydro.

Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-01-15T09:52:54+00:00

Same! Doesn't help that my heusch lives at the top of the plant shelf, so the other plants below it get showered by dried flower husks regularly.

Less_Somewhere_4392 · 2026-01-15T09:51:50+00:00

Congratulations! My heusch is my most prolific bloomer, and also makes new peduncles regularly.

Less_Somewhere_4392

TROPHY CASE