Hoya Callistophylla

Hoya callistophylla is a tropical terrestrial and epiphytic vine that can be found in nature in Borneo in the humid equatorial forest, mainly in the company of dipterocarpus trees. It is a plant that is rarely available for sale and sought after by collectors. It delights with exceptionally beautiful leaves with a distinctive, contrasting pattern of the veins and attractive, fragrant inflorescences. In its natural habitat, it reaches about 5 m in length, and its long, flexible and pliable shoots are covered with hard, thick and quite large leaves of elliptical and lanceolate shape, reaching 25 cm in length and 9 cm in width. The leaf blade is decorated with an attractive, dark green mesh of veins, which stands out attractively against a lighter, juicy green background. Even in young specimens, the leaves are relatively large and impress with their attractive pattern from the very first moments. The extraordinary beauty of hoya is complemented by umbellate inflorescences composed of 20-40 star-shaped flowers in brown, cream and yellow. The flowers stay on the plant from one to several days, spreading a sweet scent around. This species does well in home cultivation and is not very capricious. It looks most beautiful in a climbing form on supports or in hanging containers. A good place to grow this hoya is near the eastern window, where it will not be exposed to bright sunlight.

Advantages:

expressive, dark green pattern on the leaves
climbing habit
beautiful, spherical inflorescences
fragrant flowers of brown-yellow-cream color
a rarity rarely available for sale
the plant is not very capricious in home cultivation

Care:

Hoya callistophylla is easy to grow and resistant to pests and diseases. It can withstand a lot of neglect, but in order not to expose it to unnecessary stress, it is worth ensuring appropriate growing conditions. It prefers a position with plenty of diffused light. It is very susceptible to scorching, so it is not recommended to place it in direct sunlight. It feels best at temperatures of 15 °C to 25 °C and high air humidity. He likes sprinkling. Hoja does not tolerate excess and stagnant water, so the pot should have a lot of drainage holes, and the substrate must be permeable and well-drained. A suitable substrate is a universal substrate. In summer, hoya is watered abundantly and regularly, but the substrate must dry out between waterings. In winter, we water sparingly to prevent the leaves from wilting. During the growing season, the hoya is fed once a week with fertilizer for flowering plants or orchids, using half the recommended dose. Hoya is sensitive to change of place. It should not be moved, especially before and during flowering, as it may cause the flowers and buds to fall.

The plant is sold in a pot with a diameter of 11cm. Plant height measured with the pot is approx. 20 – 25cm