About

Hoya is a genus of over 500 species of plants in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae, commonly known as waxflowers. Plants in the genus Hoya are mostly epiphytic or lithophytic vines, rarely subshrubs, with leathery, fleshy or succulent leaves, shortly tube-shaped or bell-shaped flowers with five horizontally spreading lobes, the flowers in umbels or racemes, and spindle-shaped or cylindrical to oval follicles containing flattened egg-shaped to oblong seeds.

How to grow it

Many species of Hoya are popular houseplants in temperate areas (especially H. carnosa), grown for their attractive foliage and strongly scented flowers. Numerous cultivars have been selected for different leaf forms or flower colours. Hoyas grow well indoors, preferring bright light, but will tolerate fairly low light levels, although they may not flower without bright light. Hoyas commonly sold in nurseries as houseplants include cultivars of H. carnosa ('Tricolor', 'Rubra' & 'Compacta'), H. pubicalyx (often mislabelled as H. carnosa or H. purpurea-fusca), and H. kerrii. Hoyas are easy to propagate, and are commonly grown as a hanging basket or as a potted plant.

Hoya carnosa has been shown in recent studies at the University of Georgia to be an excellent remover of pollutants in the indoor environment.

Other Hoya plants

Wax Plants · Hoya acanthominima · Hoya acicularis · Hoya acuminata · Hoya aeschynanthoides · Hoya agusanensis · Hoya alagensis · Hoya albida · Hoya albiflora · Christmas Island Waxvine · Konkan Wax Flower · Hoya alwitriana