Hoya paradisea was first discovered in 2011 by Nathalie Evelinadotter Simonsson and Fredrik Juhonewe in Papua New Guinea, Western Province, Black River near Dahamo village, around 100 m in lowland primary forest, given the accession number NS 11­-159, and vouchered in cultivation in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2021 a variation of the plant was discovered from the Mimika regency in Indonesian Papua province (Mt Timika area). This variation has the accession number IM-04. Both clones are epiphytic climbers in lowland primary riverine forests, often growing near the ground or near streams on trees and shrubs. At the type locality it was not observed in taller trees or sunnier and drier spots, only in shade or filtered sunlight. From the publication from Simonsson & Rodda: “When not in flower, H. paradisea can be confused with many other New Guinean species with similar plain green, coriaceous leaves, for example H. apoda S.Moore, H. evelinae Simonsson & Rodda, H. leucantha S.Moore, H. oreostemma Schltr., and H. solaniflora Schltr. Their flowers show a great diversity in both size, shape, color and orientation, but none of them have corolla lobes with 3 mm long hairs.” Hoya paradisea got its name from the diverse rainforests in which it is endemic, which are sometimes called Paradise forests.

I purchased a small plant from The Peace and Happiness Club, a plant vendor, in the summer of 2023. I was so excited to be able to get a chance to grow a plant with such unusual flowers. The rooted cutting was exceptionally vigorous and grew quickly. It went through several up-pottings and required copious amounts of water to keep the mix hydrated. I did not realize at the time that there was more than one clone of this plant, and only found out later that this one had the accession number IM-04 and was only discovered in 2021. My plant grew a peduncle, budded up, and flowered at only about six months of age.

I found out that there were two different clones of Hoya paradisea when my good friend Julie Kennedy sent me a cutting of Nathalie Simonsson’s original 2011 discovery with the accession number NS11-159. Julie sent me the cutting in May of 2024, and like IM-04, it grew rapidly and took a lot of water. The biggest differences between the two clones were in the leaves. The leaves of NS11-159 were lighter, more tender, and wider than on IM-04. See Photos below: photo on left shows foliage of IM.04 and photo on right is that of NS11-159.

It took a few months longer to flower NS11-159 than to flower IM-04, but the blooms looked identical to me and behaved the same way. Both plants were grown in coco husk chips with a little perlite thrown in for good measure. They were watered by submerging the root ball and draining, which sometimes needed to be done twice a week.

Hoya paradisea is a plant that I knew that I had to have the first time I saw the flowers. It is an aggressive grower that should do fine in ambient household conditions. Both clones make equally impressive specimens so I can’t really pick a favorite. The only downside to this Hoya is that the flowers are not fully opened mid-day, and they only last a couple of days, but all of its other positive attributes more than make up for these minor drawbacks. H. paradisea gets my highest recommendation!