Hoya hypolasia was discovered by Schlechter on July 27th 1908 and was published in 1913.  When first spotted the plant was growing in the trees in a hilly forest on the banks of a river at about 400 m above sea level.  It is a powerful heavily branching Hoya that needs good support.

I started this plant from a cutting which I received in the summer of 2012 and finally bloomed it after many set-backs in the fall of 2014.  I have found this plant to be fairly finicky with both its lighting and watering needs.  It would frequently form peduncles but refuse to set buds under T-5 fluorescent lighting, or my heavily shaded backyard.  A powerful LED lighting fixture finally turned the tide of bad luck and allowed me to set buds and finally flower the plant.  The flowers are very short lived only lasting three days.

The leaves on Hoya hypolasia are soft and very pubescent and can be up to six inches in length.  After they have been on your plant, at full length, for 3-6 months, you are pretty much safe from having them fall off.  However, I have seen time and time again that new leaves that are not yet fully mature and hardened off can drop from the plant daily when something is not right with the plant.  I believe combinations of it being slightly too cold, or most likely the watering is not quite right will cause this condition.  The leaf will fall off within 3 days of the leaf petiole becoming slightly red in coloration.  Red buds also mean dead buds, but will take much longer to fall off. In conclusion, I love this plant, but it is not a plant for the beginner!