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Apocynaceae
Hoya (Wax Flower)
Hoya carnosa
Sweetness, devotion, protection, friendship.
- Family
- Apocynaceae
- Genus
- Hoya
- Native to
- East Asia, Australia
- Bloom season
- Spring, Summer, Fall
- Type
- evergreen vine
- Height
- 1–6 m climbing
- Sunlight
- Bright indirect light
- Soil
- Well-drained, orchid-like mix
- Water
- Moderate; allow drying between
- Hardiness
- 10–12
- Lifespan
- Perennial; very long-lived
Did you know
- Hoya flowers look like they've been crafted from wax or porcelain — the petals have a perfect waxy sheen and geometric symmetry.
- Each cluster (umbel) can contain 20–40 individual star-shaped flowers, often producing visible drops of sweet nectar.
- Hoyas can live for decades and bloom from the same flower spurs ('peduncles') year after year — never cut these off.
- The genus is named after British botanist Thomas Hoy, gardener to the Duke of Northumberland in the 1700s.
- There are over 500 species of Hoya, with new ones still being discovered in Southeast Asian rainforests every year.