The plant flowered during the coldest point in my basement grow tents. The nighttime temps went down to around 55 degrees F and Daytime highs were around 72 degrees F.

The plant soldiered on and the vine grew a few more leaves so I up-potted it into a 9oz clear cup. Around 7 months after receiving the plant it formed a long peduncle and started budding up. So while the flowers are similar except for color to Hoya waymaniae, the plant was far easier to grow and flower.

Hoya pulchra came to me early last summer from my good friend Julie Kennedy from the UK. It spent a little too much time in the mail, but arrived in pretty good shape over all. I potted it up in coconut husk chips in a 3oz clear cup and waited for it to acclimate. The lights in my tent are pretty intense and withing a short period the leaves were very red.

Pulchra means handsome or beautiful.

“Hoya pulchra stands out among Hoya species by having very long peduncles and tooth-like corona lobes. The only other published species with this combination of characters is Hoya waymaniae (Kloppenburg 1995)” Thanks to Mary Carroll for providing the research. Below the flowers of Hoya pulchra on top, and Hoya waymaniae on the bottom:

Hoya pulchra was discovered March 22, 2016 at 1,000 meters in elevation in De Leon. Mindanao, Bukidnon Province, Philippines.

As soon as the day length begins just slightly increasing Hoya vangviengiensis starts flowering and will likely flower all summer over and over again. I give it almost no care, and it lives in a pretty cold and dark window in a spare bedroom.

Photos can’t really show all of the flowers on this plant, but I estimate there are at least 60.

In the hundreds of Hoya patella flowers that I have had over the past 15+ years, I have never had one show this color before:

The fastest I had ever flowered imperialis from cuttings in the past was in 12-14 months; this one flowered in nine. An all time record for me, and one that I am very unlikely to best. Here are the opened flowers from this morning: