Except for a little difference in leaf thickness and shape, I can really tell very little difference between Hoya bicolor and Hoya incrassata. The flowers to my non-trained eyes are the same. This may be another case of Dale Kloppenburg being a little overly enthusiastic about breaking out a new species. Below comparison photos of The two plants:
Hoya bicolor was published by Dale Kloppenburg in 2002 and is endemic to the Philippines.
The flowers soon followed and they were typical of all the Finlaysonii type flowers that I have seen dozens of times before. The flowers were strongly scented of lemon.
It was not long before peduncles began to form in several areas of the plant, but the first few sets of buds blasted. I new however that since it was such a vigorous plant that it was only a matter of time until it would keep its buds and bloom. Finally all of the peduncles began to produce buds that did not blast in March of this year (2022).
I received Hoya bicolor from a very nice woman named Hannah from Hawaii mid-summer last year (2021). It was a rooted cutting in potting soil when I received it so I kept it that way. It put on exceptional growth and needed to be up-potted several times over the next few months. Below the foliage of Hoya bicolor.
I think that I have taken a photo of these together before, but I like it so much here is another one:
The little flowers of both species are about the same size, so as long as they are both blooming at the same time here are their couples portraits:
Here is a look at the fully opened flowers of this strange little Hoya. I would love to know what kind of insect would be adapt at pollinating these blooms!
Below you see the very tiny beginnings buds forming on Hoya desvoeuxensis, which despite at least 2 dozen peduncles over the years, none have ever tried to bud up. So very far to go, but these are definite buds that are starting to grow. They are only about 1/16″ in size right now.
If I can ever figure out how to grow Hoya hamiltoniorum, I would love to bring it back. It has a unique flower, and some day I would love to flower a peduncle full of blooms. At this point I am happy to at least say that I was able to bloom it. This is not a plant for beginners, and gets my recommendation for serious collectors only.
