Hoya kerrii (Sweetheart Hoya)

Scientific Name

Hoya kerrii Craib

Common Names

Wax Hearts, Wax Plant, Sweetheart Hoya, Sweetheart Plant, Valentine Hoya, Porcelain Flower, Heart Leaf, Lucky Hearts

Synonyms 

Hoya obovata var. kerrii

Scientific Classification

Family: Apocynaceae
Subfamily: Asclepiadoideae
Tribe: Marsdenieae
Genus: Hoya

Description

Hoya kerrii is a climbing plant that can grow up to 13 feet (4 m) tall. The stems are up to 0.3 inch (7 mm) in diameter. The leaves are up to 2.4 inches (6 cm) wide and up 0.2 inch (5 mm) thick. Adult plants show inflorescences of up to 2 inches (5 cm) diameter and up to 25 small, star-shaped flowers, creamy-white with pink to rose-purple centers. They produce small balls of nectar, colored red to brown.

How to Grow and Care

Hoyas don’t ask for much, beyond the well-draining soil and the warm humid conditions that many tropical flowers crave. They don’t like wet feet or heavy soil and as many grow as epiphytes in nature. Give them at least a half day of sunshine, and bring them indoors when temperatures drop below 50 °F (10 °C).

Hoya finishes blooming, leave the flower stalk, as it may produce new flowers. Removing the stalk forces the plant to produce a new stalk, which delays blooming and wastes the plant’s energy. They are light feeders and a monthly drink of compost tea or dilute fish emulsion provides all the nutrition these tropicals need. Hoyas like the security of a snug pot and plants that are a bit root bound will flower more prolifically than those that are swimming around in a giant pot.

Propagate Hoyas by cuttings of top growth or by leaf cuttings. The average cutting or leaf start will produce a blooming plant in 2 years or less. The easiest method of propagation is by layering… – See more at: How to Grow and Care for Hoya

Origin

Native to the south-east of Asia.

Links

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