Hoya sp. Bengkulu (Rindu Rafflesia) is native to Bengkulu Province of Indonesia, located on the Southwest coast of Sumatra. This is the same area where the Giant Corpse Flower is found (Rafflesia arnoldii). I’ve found this plant listed as Hoya sp. Bengkulu, Hoya Rindu Rafflesia, and Hoya sp. DD001. I researched the area that this Hoya lives, and it is exceptionally warm and humid. Every month of the year the daytime temps get into the upper 80s and low 90s with nighttime lows only dropping into the 70s. I don’t think I would last long in those conditions!

I received Hoya sp. Bengkulu (Rindu Rafflesia) as a cutting from my good friend, Julie Kennedy, who lives in the UK, in May of 2024. It arrived in pretty decent shape despite the delay in the post. I immediately took a liking to the leaves, which were long, thin, and spear shaped with lots of silver splash. This is a plant that I have found to be dead easy to grow, at least in my basement grow tent, It went through a couple of up-potting’s and never stopped growing. I used coco husk chips as my substrate and grew it is a series of clear orchid pots. It just thrived from day one. The plant flowered for the first time in less than eight months, and has rarely been out of bloom since. The blooms are unscented to my nose, are light nectar drippers, and last only about 3 days before closing up.

I’ve run out of things to say about this wonderful species Hoya, but I will end my discussion by giving this one my highest recommendation. It is such an easy growing fast bloomer that it is a must have. It appears to be fairly easy to obtain from various online plant sellers. If you don’t already have one, I would say it is definitely worth picking up if you spot one at a good price.