Hoya minutiflora was first collected in 1999 by Dr. Colin Ernest Ridsdale. “No number for original plant collection. This Hoya is known only from a living specimen growing in Leiden Hortus Botanicus and spirit material held in NHN Leiden. In Leiden Hortus records the plant is reported as being originally collected by Dr. Ridsdale without precise collection data. Only a note reports “Borneo?”. The majority of Hoya and Dischidia collections by Dr. Ridsdale growing at Leiden Hortus are from Philippines and Borneo, therefore either of these can be the most likely provenance area. Furthermore Borneo and the Philippines lie within the area of peak diversity for Hoya section Acanthostemma, where Hoya minutiflora belongs.” It was first described in 2017 by Michele Rodda and Nathalie Simonsson in Gardens’ Bulletin Singapore 69. It was name very appropriately for its diminutive Flowers.
I received a cutting of Hoya minutiflora in April of 2024 from the good folks at the *Let’s Talk Hoya Podcast* for appearing on their show the previous November. They sent me a number of nice “new to me” Hoya cuttings and this was by far the most difficult for me to grow. It rooted easily enough but it just would not grow well from the start. At one point I went to move it and broke of a tiny thread that I did not realize was actually a peduncle.
After accidently breaking off that peduncle the plant just had a failure to thrive and just sat there for months. It eventually started to lose leaves, and I managed to take a few tiny cuttings and re-rooted them in Fluval Stratum. One of the new plants began to grow steadily and the other succumbed to root rot and did not make it. The plant that started to do very well was living on a heating pad keeping the roots constantly warm. I theorize that this is a plant that is very susceptible to root rot, which was exacerbated by the cold conditions in my basement grow tents.
Finally after months of growing the plant in Fluval, I made the decision to transplant it into a mix of tree fern fiber and perlite. I used a small clear orchid pot and kept watering to a minimum. This is a plant that needs very little water and only needs a sip every couple of weeks. The plant finally put out a number of peduncles, budded up and flowered two years after first receiving it! I was shocked at just how small these blooms were! Here is a photo of seven Hoya minutiflora blooms again a single H. lacunosa flower.
Anyone who is looking for a extremely small Hoya that takes up almost no room, look no further than this cute little species. I did find it quite a bit more difficult than expected so it is probably not a Hoya for beginners, but if you keep it warm and mind your watering it should not present too much trouble.
