Hoya subcalva
I bought this hoya in May 1998 and it flowered after only a year when it wasn’t very big. It stopped growing for a while, something I have noticed with several other hoyas. Once they start flowering it seems as if they are too busy to grow. As always it was just one short stem with a peduncle at the top but in the end I decided to take a cutting in order to get it growing again. It worked just fine and the stem branched out nicely.
The leaves are solid green with no silver spots at all. It is a bit of a disappointment since, to me, that is one of nicest things with the hoya leaves. They measure about 15 cm long and 5 cm wide.
Since the plant really started growing again it has produced loads of peduncles and have been very willing to flower. It usually flowers between October and April which is a nice treat when other hoya flowers are scarce. The peduncles usually have 10-12 flowers and occasionally up to 17 flowers. Since each flower measure 2.5 cm across the whole cluster is rather big.
The flowers are just gorgeous. They are deep pink with a lighter apricot streak on the corolla. The fragrance is absolutely delicious. It’s a sweet mix of candy and exotic fruits. I don’t really need to check for buds, because when the flowers open I can smell them as I enter the room. The flowers last nearly a week and I have been known to put the plant on the kitchen table to really enjoy it.
