Hoya ‘Patricia’

Hoya Patricia is a hybrid developed by Antone Jones where he crossed Hoya darwinii with Hoya elliptica. I would have to say that there are strong arguments to say that Antone has created the best Hoya hybrid ever at least to this point. Hoya darwinii is a nearly impossible Hoya to grow well long term, and I’m not the only one who says this. It is extremely difficult to cultivate, which is a pretty much universally a shared experience. Hoya Patricia seems to be extremely easy to grow; at least it is no harder than its mother Hoya elliptica. On more than one occasion I have ruined the leaves on Hoya elliptica, by spraying the leaves with either a fertilizer or neem oil, or even sometimes regular water. Hoya Patricia has no such affliction and stands up to what ever you want to spray it with. The leaves on Hoya Patricia are not quite as cool looking as a well grown elliptica, but it is far easier to keep its leaves looking nice. Finally, the flowers on Hoya Patricia are not only better looking than on Hoya darwinii, but they last longer. It has been my experience that the flowers on Hoya Patricia last a full 3-4 days longer on the plant than on Hoya darwinii. The flowers also seem to photograph better as they are not as glossy as those on H. darwinii.

A big shout out and thanks to Julie Kennedy for giving me the chance to grow Hoya Patricia. I had never even heard of this hybrid before she sent me photos of her flowering plant. She was kind enough to send me a cutting of her plant in August of 2019, where it quickly rooted in water. Within 2-3 weeks the cutting had developed strong roots, and I potted it up in 3 inch net pot covered in a cache pot so that I could easily pull in out to see when to water. I watered whenever the mix was nearly, but not totally dry. The plant lived in my warm, humid, basement grow tent and never saw anything but artificial light.

The Plant eventually moved up to a 4 inch net pot, where it still lives to this day. It did not take long to form its first peduncle, and unlike many Hoyas the peduncle made steady growth and bud progression with no signs of bud drop. After budding up and flowering on one peduncle, it was not long before it formed another and flowered on that one as well. Hoya Patricia has my highest recommendation. If you have ever wanted to grow a Hoya darwinii type flower, then forget about it, and pick up one of these hybrids, which will be far easier to grow and flower. Hoya Patricia ticks all of the boxes for being an amazing hybrid, and my hat goes off to Antone Jones who managed to pull off! **UPDATE** I recently heard from the creator of this wonderful hybrid, Antone Jones, and he said that Hoya darwinii was the mother plant where the seedpod formed after pollination.