Hoya sp. IV From WMZ

This beauty was among our first import group from Thailand. During that order we just went with anything that was pretty and this plant can be an absolute stunner. We bought this plant, researched it and then panicked a little. The accounts that we found about cultivating this plant gave the impression that she has a tendency towards being picky . Luckily we have not found this to be true.

Our mother plant as she currently stuns!

We got this plant to root relatively quickly in a clear tote filled with peralite. While we did lose several leaves during the rooting process, it wasn't as many as we expected. Once it was rooted enough that we felt we could safely, we transferred it into a largely bark mix in a three inch pot. It was only in that pot for a few weeks before we learned that it is a heavy plant that will fall if given the opprotunity. We have since opted to grow it in a hanging 4 in pot, after the transfer we did pin it up to ensure she stayed in this pot. Throughout all of this, this plant has been grown in our greenhouse which does have major temperature fluctuations throughout the year.

Our dust magnet! Her leaves are so thick really making us think she is Latifolia.

To me the most interesting part of this plant is its name, Hoya sp. IV From WMZ is the only plant I know that has a name quite like this. Sp. means species, that really just means that this is a type of Hoya that hasn't been classified into a specific species, I expect that in the future this will be classified as a Latifolia. I am not quite certain what IV means but luckily I do know what 'From WMZ' means. As you would expect it means that it is from WMZ and WMZ stands Welsh Mountain Zoo, a large botanical garden in you guessed it, Wales!

This is one of the original leaves from before we ordered her, the deepness of the red is absolutely incredible!

This beauty appears to be almost definitely from the Latifolia family and presumably will be named as such in the future. We have found it to be a slow grower. After owning it for 2 1/2 years we have never had it fail or attempt to fail we have also never had it grow much at all. We are still working on growing it out as a mother plant. In the meantime she will remain an eye catcher in our greenhouse with her vibrant, veined leaves who we hope will throw out some more flowers!

One of the lightly sun stressed newer leaves, showing off the beautiful veining.

Right around the 2 year mark of growing this Hoya she threw off a peduncle and admittedly we didn't pay it much attention as we rarely have luck actually getting to the blooming stage with peduncles usually we see the plant develop one then shed it. This plant was no exception but this month we finally got to see the flowers. While on the smaller side for medium/large leaved plant flowers, these flowers are gorgeous! It is devastating that they only last a day, but alas beauty is fleeting. They're a light pinkish purple that have a surprisingly wonderful scent. I don't know how to begin to describe it. The scent is definitely on the lighter side, unlike plants like Krohniana it is unlikely you would know that this plant was flowering unless you were in a small space.

This beauties flower pre full bloom. I absolutely love them and regret not seeing or photographing them full bloom! Even here they smelled wonderful!