This go around I kept the plant under less light than I had the first time trying to avoid the red spots that eventually turned into dead tissue. It seemed to work and the leaves were flawless this time with a much more healthy looking plant. The leaves of this Hoya are very succulent, and I would not be surprised if there is some Hoya pachylada in it. Below is a photo of the leaf showing the beautiful dark margins.

Hoya Icensis came to me in a trade with another grower here in Vermont in 2020. While it rooted quickly it was not a good grower and within a year developed some necrotic spots on a few leaves. I took cuttings of the part of the plant that still looked healthy and restarted it in coconut husk.

As near as I can gather from my limited time to scour the internet, Hoya Icensis was an accidental cross of unknown parentage in or near the AH Hoya Nursery in Thailand. It was originally called AH Seeds 023 and then was called Hoya cv. Patcharwalai. How and why it was then changed to Hoya Icensis, I have no idea, and anyone who knows the answer, please let me know!

This is a Hoya that I flowered some time ago, but it never made it to this site until now.

There is an interesting development in the Hoya Bella seedlings that I started 3 years ago from the first pollination that I ever had on a Bella. I noticed that of all the seeds that I started, one of them has 3 leaves on every node. All of my other Bella’s have the customary 2 leaves per node. I have separated that particular seedling and taken cuttings, so that I can see if this trait continues. I hope to produce a large pot of this Hoya, and hopefully offer it up one day. We shall see how it pans out. Below are my newly rooted cuttings of this anomaly:

Today, I end my discussion of Hoya sp. Sulawesi No. 1. It is a really nice Hoya that is somewhat easier to grow and flower than Hoya sulawesiana. As it becomes more widely available, it is definitely a plant worthy enough to add to the collection. The only drawbacks that I have discovered is that the flowers are extremely heavy nectar drippers. This can create quite a sticky mess depending on where you keep the plant. Unlike many of the Hoyas in the Acanthostemma Section, this one did not have a strong scent of caramel or melted butter.

I love the effects that these photo filters have on these pictures of the flowers of this somewhat difficult to grow Acanthostemma.

Here are a couple of close-up photos of the flowers of Hoya sp. Sulawesi No. 1:

Here is the very little information that I know about this plant. It came to me as a NOID Hoya from Mandy; she received it from an Indonesian vendor that she frequently ordered from. She said that the only name she had for it was Hoya sulawesiana Short Leaf. I posted this plant as a YouTube video and a couple of growers there said they had the plant with the name Hoya sp. Sulawesi No. 1, and that is where I got it from. The flowers other than being a little lighter in color are identical to Hoya sulawesiana, so I can see where that name came from. The leaves however are completely different.

I was thrilled the first time this plant flowered especially after struggling with it for such a long time. The flowers are so fuzzy, they are like teddy bears.