Hoya merrillii is endemic to the Philippines and is named after its collector, E.D. Merrill and was originally found at low altitude on trees on Mindoro Island. Later it was found to be much more widespread than originally thought.
I received a chopped up two leaf cutting of Hoya merrillii from Ted Green in 2018 that was purchased for me by a Hoya friend. The cutting arrived with very little stem, but I managed to pin in down to a moist soil mixture and get it rooted. This was a plant that presented no problems and budded up and flowered within the first year. The flowers were very sweetly scented and lasted 4 or 5 days.
One of the big selling points of Hoya merrillii is the very beautiful red leaves that it gets in high light. My leaves get this color from the LED lighting that I use in most of my grow tents. This Hoya used to be very easy to find and pretty inexpensive, but now like all Hoyas, as of this writing in 2020, it has become much pricier. I do however highly recommend it as a worthwhile acquisition for the lovely foliage, fragrant and frequent blooms, and easy growth habits.
