Hoya Species, Wax Plant, Porcelain Flower

Hoyacarnosa

Family
Apocynaceae (a-pos-ih-NAY-see-ee)
Genus
Hoya (HOY-a)
Species
carnosa (kar-NO-suh)
Synonym
Asclepias carnosa
Cynanchum carnosum
Hoya chinensis
Hoya intermedia
Schollia carnosa
Other Details
Water Requirements
Foliage Color
Medium Green
Where to Grow
Bloom Characteristics
Bloom Size
Other details
Soil pH requirements
Patent Information
Propagation Methods
Seed Collecting
Regional

This plant is said to grow outdoors in the following regions:

Anniston, Alabama

Two Rivers, Alaska

Dewey, Arizona

Phoenix, Arizona

Carlsbad, California

Hayward, California

Huntington Beach, California

Lemon Grove, California

Napa, California

Oakland, California

Oceanside, California

Perris, California

Rancho Palos Verdes, California

San Diego, California

San Francisco, California

Santa Barbara, California

Gypsum, Colorado

Wilmington, Delaware

Bartow, Florida

Deland, Florida

Jacksonville, Florida

Keystone Heights, Florida

Lakeland, Florida

Miami, Florida(2 reports)

Middleburg, Florida

Oldsmar, Florida

Panama City Beach, Florida

Pompano Beach, Florida

Saint Petersburg, Florida

Venice, Florida

Wellborn, Florida

West Palm Beach, Florida

Winter Springs, Florida

Decatur, Georgia

Ellabell, Georgia

Ainaloa, Hawaii

Hawaiian Beaches, Hawaii

Leilani Estates, Hawaii

Nanawale Estates, Hawaii

Pahoa, Hawaii

Fairview, Illinois

Altoona, Iowa

Prospect, Kentucky

Geismar, Louisiana

Homer, Louisiana

Lake Charles, Louisiana

Wiscasset, Maine

Bellaire, Michigan

Stephenson, Michigan

Thompsonville, Michigan

Canton, Mississippi

Elkland, Missouri

Claremont, New Hampshire

Dunellen, New Jersey

Whiting, New Jersey

La Luz, New Mexico

Forest Hills, New York

Dublin, Ohio

Toledo, Ohio

Westerville, Ohio

Hulbert, Oklahoma

Bend, Oregon

Klamath Falls, Oregon

La Grande, Oregon

Coatesville, Pennsylvania

Summerville, South Carolina

Fulton, Texas

Grand Prairie, Texas

Houston, Texas

Lancaster, Texas

Missouri City, Texas

Pipe Creek, Texas

Spring, Texas

Weslaco, Texas

Everett, Washington

Kalama, Washington

Gillette, Wyoming

show all

Featured Videos

Gardener's Notes:

44
positives
4
neutrals
0
negative
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S
Winter Springs, FL (Zone 9b) | April 2016 | positive

Grows outside in hanging basket under tree canopy, gets mostly filtered sun, bright late sun. Took mine two years before it flowered. Mos...Read More

C
Fulton, TX | August 2015 | positive

I have 5 varieties of hoya but there are many more. The carnosa is the best blooming one and the variegated leaf carnosa has a slightly d...Read More

D
D
white oak, PA (Zone 6b) | August 2015 | positive

Do not cut runners - wrap them around a hoop or around the pot if in a hanging pot. Morning sun, roots kept in tight pot, and do not rem...Read More

N
Forest Hills, NY | June 2013 | positive

My experience growing this plant has been remarkably similar to Sinny's. My mom retired around the same time I moved into a new home, and...Read More

G
Spring, TX | December 2012 | positive

I have had my Hoya Carnosa for about 10 yrs. and just recently it has exploded in growth! It has bloomed only once in the 10 yrs. but I ...Read More

A
A
| November 2012 | positive

I was given this plant by a friend,some six yrs ago.I was ready to cut it back and replant it,then one morning i saw it was starting to f...Read More

T
T
| July 2012 | positive

Ive had the same Hoya for 19 years. It blooms but not frequently. I thought it was dying so I bought a tiny start & cut back the other on...Read More

P
| November 2011 | positive

An entire year ago a friend gave me a cutting (with three leaves) of hoya carnosa. It's in a 4" pot. The leaves are green and healthy, ...Read More

S
| November 2011 | positive

Hi, I live in Mallorca Spain and the Hoya grows here outside all year round without any problem. It grows in shaded areas as well as in f...Read More

B
B
Pahoa, HI | November 2011 | positive

I am heartened by the outpouring of love for this vine. A friend gave me 2 cuttings and I put them in two rock wall planters on each sid...Read More

R
Pikesville, MD (Zone 7a) | July 2011 | positive

Lo, after nine years mine has bloomed. It has "ropes" over a yard long and summers outdoors in central almost-coastal NJ (Zone 6-7), and ...Read More

W
Coatesville, PA | June 2011 | positive

I read somewhere that the vine should be at least 3 feet long before it blooms- I tend to think this is true as I had my hoya for 4 years...Read More

S
| October 2010 | positive

This species has been growing in southeastern Norway for years. My daughter has given cuttings to many and it is found in many homes. It ...Read More

A
Whitehall, PA (Zone 6a) | June 2010 | positive

A carefree plant with the most interesting flowers! The flowers smell kind of like chocolate, you definitely know when it's blooming! It...Read More

T
Columbia, TN | January 2010 | positive

I currently live in Tennessee and brought my Porcelain plant (her name is Iris after my grandmother) across country from California in 19...Read More

W
Gillette, WY | July 2009 | positive

living in zone 4 of course we grow our two carnosa's indoors all year long. With winds, hail or tornadoes a threat, we do not want to los...Read More

K
Pipe Creek, TX | March 2009 | positive

I grow this plant outside in the dappled sunlight under a few trees. The blooms are very interesting and my husband always asks me if th...Read More

M
Gypsum, CO | June 2008 | positive

Three years ago I given a shoot of this plant. It was basically a stick with two leaves on it. It has since grown to about 30 inches and ...Read More

M
La Grande, OR (Zone 4b) | March 2008 | positive

I have been growing Hoya on each side of my corner window for 15 years. One 8 foot window is facing East the other (also 8 foot) faces So...Read More

S
Two Rivers, AK (Zone 1) | June 2007 | positive

I was given a stem of this plant by an elderly woman who'd had it for at least 40 years. She said it was her grandmother's. It was just a...Read More

P
Dewey, AZ | December 2006 | positive

My mother received as a gift a hoya carnosa when I was born. I am now 61. My mother has passed on, but the plant is still going strong....Read More

S
S
Dublin, OH (Zone 5b) | December 2006 | positive

I have had a Hoya for years with great success.
Does anyone know of a source for Hoya carnosa 'Sweetheart'? There is a large one g...Read More

W
W
Hulbert, OK (Zone 7a) | December 2006 | positive

The Hoya is new to my little greenhouse, but I'm
very excited about it after reading the posts above.

I'm happy it ...Read More

A
Fairview, IL | September 2006 | positive

I just inherited a Wax Plant that belonged to my grandmother. She passed away in 1964, 21 years before I was born. I have very little of...Read More

S
Saint Petersburg, FL (Zone 9b) | July 2005 | positive

I obtained some Hoya cuttings growing in the branches of a Jacaranda tree here in St. Pete, FL (Zone 9b), in the back yard of a vacant ho...Read More

A
A
Washington, DC | August 2004 | positive

We have a Porcelain Flower vine frmaing a window (4'x5') with southeastern exposure in Washington DC. We have had it for two years. It'...Read More

D
D
Lancaster, TX (Zone 8a) | July 2004 | positive

Mine never stop blooming, they are placed in a shaded area during summer and in my greenhouse in the winter.
Mine grow so fast I j...Read More

N
Anniston, AL | May 2004 | positive

I have three different kinds of this plant. I have the solid green leaf, the green and white leaf and the curly leaf. I put them on my po...Read More

F
Bend, OR | May 2004 | positive

This plant was a gift, one plant that I knew nothing about. I had mentioned it's uniqueness and all of the sudden I had small vine in my...Read More

R
| May 2004 | positive

I have a hoya carnosa that has bloomed once since I got it and I have had it for about 20 years. Someone told me that if you pick the fl...Read More

P
P
Summerville, SC (Zone 8a) | April 2004 | positive

Take heart, teachaholic, this little beauty is worth waiting for. It might take a long time before it develops roots and puts forth grow...Read More

T
| April 2004 | neutral

Hi All, Im based in the UK but with the use of the net hopefully I can still share gardening tips. Ive just been given a pot with two lea...Read More

N
Lafayette, LA (Zone 9a) | April 2004 | positive


I thoroughly disagree with the above...this plant produces a boat-shaped seed pod, full of small, flattened seeds with a silken t...Read More

F
Rochester, NY | January 2004 | neutral

I aquired my grandmother's hoya 10 years ago. It bloomed wonderfully for her in a East-facing window. It bloomed a couple years for me ...Read More

S
S
| January 2004 | positive

I'm in Australia and I've had a Hoya that has lived in the same pot for about 15 years. I've never had to give it any "real" care and it ...Read More

M
| October 2003 | neutral

I have had a Wax Plant for probably ten years; it is quite large, hangs from the ceiling to the floor in front of a south window. It blo...Read More

G
Bellaire, MI (Zone 5a) | October 2003 | positive

My mother has had her plant for over 40 years and it is still going strong....blooms constantly. I have had many cuttings, some never blo...Read More

M
M
| October 2003 | positive

I just love propagating this plant. It's a no-brainer, actually. You can even leave a leaf cutting lying around in a humid place and ret...Read More

P
Garden City, MI (Zone 6b) | September 2003 | positive

I'm interested to see the Hoya carnosa - I was given a little pot with about 3 leaves sticking up and told the name. This was ve...Read More

C
Claremont, NH | September 2003 | positive

I have had my grandmother's original wax plant for over 20 years now and she had it for at least 30 before it was handed down to me. Tod...Read More

W
| March 2003 | positive

I just wanted to add that mealy bugs love these plants. They are persistant and will lodge themselves in the apex, or just about anywher...Read More

C
C
| March 2003 | positive

I have this as a houseplant -same plant fot last 10 years -I have it in a hanging pot - needs more sunshine in our thin Canadian sun - I ...Read More

W
W
| November 2002 | positive

This has been the most undemanding of houseplants for me. It seems very forgiving of drying out without any damage. I've not seen any s...Read More

H
| November 2002 | positive

This plant is a must have for plant collectors. I'm in Zone 9 (California, U.S.) so mine is in a container under an east facing covered ...Read More

I
Keizer, OR (Zone 8b) | September 2002 | positive

Seems to bloom, maybe, 10 months a year here in southwest Florida. Unlike many vines, it will adhere to a painted surface [with a little help].

P
| July 2002 | positive

This is a wonderful plant indoors or out. Make sure you keep it out of direct sunlight outside because it melts the wax that covers the ...Read More

C
| June 2002 | positive

I have this as a houseplant but have not experienced the sticky substance described by "eltel". Blossoms yearly are creamy - beige and l...Read More

E
E
Macclesfield, CHESHIRE (Zone 8a) | July 2001 | neutral

A word of warning for those planning to keep this as a house plant. The flowers are extremely rich in nectar which, because the flowers...Read More

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