Hoya spartioides is a native of Borneo and was first described in the 1800s.  It is a very strange plant made up entirely of peduncles with leaves almost never making an appearance, and if they do, they are very short lived.  I have read on the internet that they come from dry and harsh conditions.  This information is not in keeping with how I care for my plant.  The very pretty flowers only last a day.

I have wanted Hoya spartioides for a long time as I am partial to strange plants.  About 3 1/2 months ago I spotted on Ebay the saddest example of the species that I had ever seen.  There was two miserly little little stalks planted in an angelfish planter.  Fortunately for me not many people could see the potential in what was offered as I stole the plant for $32.  The seller was clear that the plant came bare root without the planter, which didn’t hurt my feelings any, because it was some kind of awful!  Well, I have turned that miserly little plant completely around and tripled the number of stalks to six.  Not only that, but I took that poor plant, which languished on a West Texas TV console, in an angelfish planter, and made it bloom!

I keep my plant moist at all times and never allow it to dry out.  I give it strong artificial light, but feel that it would even do better with stronger lighting.  I am about to begin some trials with LED lighting and will report back on how this species responds to it.