Hoya (Wax Plants)

• Light: Bright filtered daylight encourages healthy leaves and flowering.
• Flowering: Short flower stalks can bloom again in later seasons.
• Watering: Use an open mix and allow partial drying; needs vary with leaf thickness.
• Pet safety: Common cultivated Hoyas are generally listed as non-toxic; check individual species.

Many Hoyas grow on tree trunks and branches in tropical Asian and western Pacific forests. Their stems travel over bark, and roots formed along the vines help them attach to the tree. Rain can reach those roots freely, then drain away.

Hoya flowers appear in rounded clusters of small, wax-like blooms. Their colours and fragrance differ among species.

Hoya plants

Hoya kerrii has distinctive heart-shaped leaves, while Hoya carnosa ‘Tricolor’ combines green, cream and pink. Small-leaved ‘Mathilde’ trails in neat strands, and Hoya linearis forms longer hanging stems with fine foliage. Each has a recognisable look, even before its first flowers appear.

Twining varieties can follow a hoop or trellis, and naturally hanging stems show their leaves well from a raised planter. Many Hoyas grow in bright, filtered light and open mixes that leave air around the roots. Thick-leaved varieties generally tolerate a longer drying period than finer-leaved forms. Our Hoya care guide covers flowering and care for different species.