Sweetheart hoya
Also called Valentine hoya, Sweetheart plant, Lucky heart.
| Light | bright indirect light |
|---|---|
| Water | Every 14 days in the growing season, every 30 in winter |
| Humidity | medium |
| Difficulty | easy |
| Height | Up to 200 cm (79 in) tall |
| Pets | Cats not known, dogs not known |
Source: ASPCA Animal Poison Control, toxic and non-toxic plants, no entry for Hoya kerrii.
Everybody has seen the single fat heart shaped leaf potted up and sold as a Valentine’s gift, and almost nobody is told the catch: a leaf on its own has no growing point, so it will sit there green and healthy for years and never become a plant. If you want a vine, buy one with a piece of stem and at least one node attached. Given that, it is an easy hoya: an open bark mix, a snug pot, bright light and a proper dry spell between soakings. It climbs slowly, then flowers in tight domes of waxy star shaped flowers that drip nectar, and the woody spur each cluster grows from must be left on the plant for next year.
Ailments observed
| It will not flower | Too little light, or the old flower spurs cut off. Move it brighter and never remove the short woody spurs the flowers came from, because the next year's flowers come from the same place. |
|---|---|
| Wrinkled or shrivelled leaves | Either genuinely dry or rotted at the root, which look identical. Feel the compost. Dry and light means water it. Wet and heavy means take it out and look at the roots. |
Filed underPlants that forgive a beginner, Plants for a balcony or a small space
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