Hoya archboldiana

Hoya archboldiana was discovered on November 3, 1933 on Paupua New Guinea and was named after the famous American aviator and explorer Richard Archbold (1907 – 1976).  The plant has very hard and large leaves up to 20x7cm, or approx 8×3 inches oval shaped but narrows down to a sharp tip at the edge.  The flowers are large up to 2 inches or 5cm across, bell shaped, and can vary in color from white to red.

I had wanted this plant for a long time and for some reason always put off ordering it.  I finally succumbed to the temptation and ordered the pink clone from Aleyas Garden in Thailand in April of 2012.  It finally bloomed for me almost exactly two years later in April 2014.

I think that the plant could have been bloomed much sooner, but because of the size, I could never give it the conditions that it would have preferred.  I finally bloomed it under 12 hour fluorescent lighting in a warm and humid grow tent.  This plant does not like to be cold.  I grew it conventionally in a loose soil mix and kept it barely moist at all times.

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