My carnosa took 25 years to bloom! I don't think that is normal though. My poor plant suffered the indignity of several moves across several provinces until we got to where we are currently in Alberta. Then it waited another 4 years - I presume it wanted to know whether we were going to move it again! It was quite root-bound, which apparently they like, but I replaced the soil in the spring, improved drainage which I felt was a problem, and stuck it back in the same pot and then suddenly it went crazy blooming everywhere all spring, summer and fall. It's finally resting now. Mine is sitting in an east-southeast bay window, so it gets about 6 hours of sunlight each morning (only very slightly filtered by the mass of other plants around it) and seems to really like this location. Love hoya, all hoya, I'm constantly on the lookout for different hoya at various stores, but in my locale, they seem to be hard to find.

Let me introduce you to Pepeuve. He grows Hoyas in Malaga, Spain and posts occasionally here. I bring him up every time someone asks the question you just asked: How do I make my carnosa bloom faster?

Pepeuve's carnosa cuttings (with no prior peduncle) commonly produce blooms between 6 months to 1 year after they are rooted (also those he trades away). Here is a very nice blog post that he did, linking all his prior posts on this topic. Please note the auto-translate options for his page, accessed via the flags.

This should tell us all we need to know about how long it takes a carnosa to bloom. If the conditions are right... not long at all. :)

So, my advice is to give your Hoya very strong light, like it was grown outdoors in Malaga, Spain or native Southeast Asia, and you will be pleased. I myself had an old plant that did not bloom for nearly 10 years. One year after I moved it right up against a good east window, it started blooming generously. They just need more sun than you'd expect, to speed things up.

This post was edited by greedyghost on Tue, Jan 8, 13 at 14:46

Ssuarkc, I hope mine doesn't take 25 years to bloom. I will start looking for a pot the right size, repot mine in a fast draining soil and hope for the best.

Greedyghost, I would be so excited if I could get one to bloom within a year. I have a southern window where my Thanksgiving Cactus and amaryllis do very well. I will place the hoya there too. It gets strong light almost all day and I have never had anything burn.

That sounds perfect! Good luck! I believe in you! ;)