Within a couple of weeks of the first plant flowering, I noticed that four of the other medinillifolias moved to the windowsills also started to bud. Some of these plants were very small, having only a few leaves, while others were much larger. I also noticed that over time the plants removed from their grow tent homes slowly lost their chlorosis and developed very nice dark green leaves. I now believe these plants only thrive in relatively dim light. The high intensity LED lighting in my tents simply did not suit these plants degrading the leaves and bleaching them into a state of chlorosis. The buds on the second relocated plant have now opened, providing a chance for better photography.

After finding the buds, I did two things: I carefully unpotted the plant and moved the buds outside the pot so I could observe them, and I moved all my rooted plants out of the grow tent to the windowsills, exposing them to the ambient household conditions of our living space. I figured that if one plant budded up in response to the move, others might follow suit. While waiting for possible bud formation on the upstairs arrivals, the buds on my first plant opened slowly one at a time. The results are pictured below.

Despite having multiple plants, keeping the leaves green was a fight, and not one of at least a dozen peduncles ever showed the slightest indication that it would bud. Finally in early February of this year (2026), I put my worst looking plant upstairs on a windowsill in my bedroom. I kind of forgot about it, until about 6 weeks later when, while watering it I saw buds on a peduncle buried beneath the soil line, between the substrate and the pot. I literally almost fell over!!

Despite the plants having peduncles at every node, they would never bud up no matter what tricks I tried such as increasing or decreasing light cycles in my tents. I also struggled mightily to keep the leaves green, constantly fighting chlorosis. At one point I did manage to achieve a magnificent specimen, but foolishly I never photographed it, before it began to succumb to root rot. This time, however, I tried a different propagation substrate—an aquarium product called Fluval Stratum—which made all the difference. I was 100% successful and ended up with 8 decent looking rooted cuttings, which provided a big insurance policy against losing the plant. 

In April 2023, I acquired another rooted Hoya medinillifolia rooted cutting in a trade in April of 2023 from a grower in Florida. I really struggled significantly with that one; it looked like it was on death’s doorstep for about a year. In 2024, the same grower knew I was struggling with the original cutting she sent, and kindly provided yet another rooted cutting. This one was much nicer than the first and actually grew very well for me. The interesting difference between the new plants and the ones I first obtained was that the new ones grew peduncles from every node, whereas the first plants never produced peduncles, even when growing well.

That early propagation success was an anomaly and my luck with the plant went downhill from there. I killed that early plant and was unable to save it. I learned a lesson: don’t share a plant with another person until you are sure that your own plant is well established and you are in no danger of losing it. In 2021, I received another specimen as a gift from April Mall at Unsolicited Plant Talks, and it was a beauty. Not only did it arrive in beautiful shape, but I was also able to grow it into a nice size specimen using coco husk chips as a medium. Sadly my beautiful two foot specimen developed root rot. Leaves began yellowing and falling off; despite taking cuttings, I could not root them. The plant died and I was crushed.

I first heard about Hoya medinillifolia back in 2016 when the book A Guide to Hoyas of Borneo was published. When I saw the photos of this plant with blue flowers, I knew that I had to have it. It was on my wish list for a couple of years before I managed to get a specimen from a Thai vendor in 2018. I had heard that it was a notoriously bad traveler so I was not surprised that it arrived in pretty bad shape. I managed to save it. Initially, it did quite well, and I was actually able to propagate a cutting to trade for something else I wanted. Below is a photo of that early plant:

Hoya medinillifolia is named for the similarity of its leaves (especially venation) to those of species in the genus Medinilla, which is in the Melastomataceae.

“Based on the type description – Hoya medinillifolia Rodda & Simonsson appears to be easily distinguished from most Hoya species be- cause of its erect, non-climbing growth habit. In Borneo it can only be confused with the rather common Hoya multiflora. They both have rather broad coriaceous leaves well spaced along the stems but they differ in various aspects: Hoya multiflora presents thin elongated corona lobes whereas this character is absent in Hoya medinillifolia. The leaves of Hoya multiflora present a typical pinnate venation while Hoya medinillifolia has a sub-triplinerved leaf venation. Hoya platycaulis, a Philippines endemic, is similar to Hoya medinillifolia in having erect growth habit and flattened juvenile stems but it presents broadly lanceolate corona lobes with a prominent stigma whereas Hoya medinillifolia has heart-shaped corona lobes and a depressed stigma.”

This species was found in two localities only. Both are in lowland Sarawak, in dipterocarp forests and growing epiphytically. One (S57748) was collected on a tree about 2 m from the ground, along a riverbank. (Thanks to Mary Carroll for unearthing all of the technical botanical data in my discussion).