Congrats on your new baby! : ) Have you tried Photobucket? It's a free easy service you can put pics on the forums from there. Try it, I'd love to see this great find!

Jen

Hi Tora,

I'm on the fly just now, so pls. allow me to direct you to tips. If you search here (at Hoya Forum) for H. Multiflora, you'll see commentary on care.

Personally, I have not done well w/ this plant (which many folks find easy to grow), but importantly, this is one of the ones that likes conditions more on the moist side.

Very pretty blooms, congrats & enjoy yr. excellent find!!

I'm with Karen on this one. Multiflora is a bit of a challenge for me. Mine has bloomed yearly, but it stays small and goes through periods of yellowing leaves that shed. I'm an avid succulent grower so I do better with the Hoyas that like to be a bit drier. I had mine in a cache pot with pebbles but just repotted it into another pot with fresh soil. It's been a long time since I repotted it, so thought I'd give it a fresh start. Now I have to make a trip to Target (I've never even seen a Hoya there!)

Denise in Omaha

Okay, here are some picts...

Pirate Girl, I did a search both here and on google, and care suggestions for Multiflora have varied quite a bit. Some say let it dry out completely between waterings, others say keep it moist.

I tend not to do well with plants that like it moist... they eventually die of OVER watering. So I'm tempted to just treat this like my other Hoyas and see what happens...

How about light? Does it like bright light or shade? Does it appreciate a few hours of direct sun?

Hi Tora,

Well I don't know what to tell ya, I doubt drying out will do well for this Hoya.

A grower here named Cena, has done great w/ this Hoya & says she always keeps it in moisture; I believe her last posts on this included the fact that she's now using self-watering pots for it (she's in San Diego, I'm sure the fact that she can keep hers outdoors makes a world of difference). Her posts should show up on searching here for Multiflora (including great pix in bloom).

A NYC friend of mine blooms his readily (indoors) & never lets his dry at all (even tells me I keep my Hoyas too dry).

As to light requirements, I gave mine bright, mostly indirect light (& it did bloom, but eventually I lost the plant).

You should probably take your cues from others on this, as last fall I lost my 3rd Multiflora, so clearly I do not know how to grow this plant. So sorry I can't offer you help.

You are the lucky one to find Hoyas at your local Target store. We, obviously, do not have box stores which use the same suppliers. Our HD use Exotic Angel and the only Hoya plant which arrive on their shelves is H. Carnosa. Do you happen to know who the supplier is listed on the tag attached to the plant holder? Would appreciate any info so that it can be relayed to the store employee.

Vicki

Vicki, it is indeed Exotic Angel... all of my current Hoyas (and most of my other houseplants) are EA plants purchased at Lowes, Home Depot, and Target. There are at least 5 or 6 stores of each of these chains in our area, so if it one doesn't have any Hoyas I just have to drive to the next street corner!

So far I've found carnosa, lacunosa, kentiana, compacta, publicalyx, tsangii, and multiflora. Most are mis-identified as hoya bella (which ironically, I haven't found yet) or Hoya "Greenleaf".

Pirate Girl... I still can't decided how to water the Multiflora. I checked on the ones I left in Target, and they are now turning yellow (both leaves and penducles) from apparent overwatering. But mine at home is losing buds (leaves still looking good though)... I'm tempted to water it, but the soil is still quite damp.

Hi Tora,

Loosing their buds is not uncommon, sorry to say I have no remedy to offer. Even sometimes happens to my great grower friend who gave me my last one (& told me I grow them too dry). Before he gave me my last one, he told me it had spurs at every single node, which semed hard to believe, but when I got it he was right. Seven nodes tall & EVERY node had a spur; but one by one they all yellowed & dropped off.

One more growing technique for these to consider (even tho' it didn't work for me). Some folks grow this on a wick, like an AV. I tried it too didn't leave it on a full reservoir all the time fear of it being too wet). But doing it this way, the plant lasted the longest (abt a year I think, 2 bloomings). But then I had let it go a bit dry one day a wk & eventually lost the whole plant.

If yours is tall enough, you might consider splitting it in 2 parts, water root the cut top part & then you'd have 2 plants to play w/. Don't you just love me experimenting w/ YOUR plant (LOL, sorry).

Karen

Multiflora is a toughy, Karen! I've managed to keep mine for quite a few years, but it's never gotten very big and it goes back and forth between looking good and shooting a bloom, to looking a little sickly. I'm sure it all has to do with the way I water. And multiflora isn't like other Hoyas (for me, at least...) Once it's bloomed, the old peduncle tends to drop off. (I have gotten a second blooming a few times off an old peduncle, but never a third...) And I've had them drop before they bloom, too. It's really a mystery Hoya for me - almost like it's in a completely different genus. I have little success growing tropicals, and multiflora reminds me of a tropical plant.

Tora, I do have to say, though, that if your multiflora is still in EA soil, I WOULD be careful about watering because that stuff is like a sponge, taking FORever to dry out.

Denise in Omaha

Nice find torajima. Up here in Canada, the hoya pickings are slim to absent in the box stores. There are fortunately a couple of good suppliers though. Keeping your multiflora moist is essential to getting blooms from it. Misting it in the early morning will also help. The soil that EA uses is like a sponge, as someone said above. If you can, it would be best to soak the root ball in a bucket of water and try to remove as much of the EA soil as possible, and then replant it into a looser and well draining medium (I use orchid potting soil mixed 50/50 with regular potting soil). Mine gets very early day dappled sun for about an hour, the rest of the day, its conditions are just bright. I have it on a shelf just to the right of a south-east facing window. I've never lost a leaf on it. Mine is a young plant, and while it blasted the flowers twice before, it has flowers ready to open any day now. All of its umbels have been on the same peduncle. Hope this helps. Good luck!
Christine

I keep mine in bright light with a little direct sun and water it well when it's pretty close to dry. Just check the soil each week letting the top half mostly dry out and the bottom just a little moist or semi moist.Some people keep them moist all of the time, even grow them setting the pot in about an inch or two of water and keeping it tapped. I think Cena does that.I was going to but I don't think I would keep up with keeping up the water level.

You might be losing leaves because it getting adjusted to it's new home, that's normal, but these plants are not shy bloomers and you should get more flowers in the exact spot where the last ones where in no time.

Your plant(s) not sure of it's more than one is gorgeous, so full!

Billy Rae

Tora, first I potted mine up in a regular plastic pot, and set that down into a plastic food, shallow container, and kept that topped up with water. Before I did this, I lost leaves, buds, sets of buds.

This is a different hoya, as it will NOT keep the peduncle and bloom repeatedly from it, UNLESS it aborted blooms from that peduncle. This will form a new bloom stalk every time it chooses to bloom.

I have had great luck with my plant, but Never, EVER have I seen it for sale, here in SoCal, the land of It Can. I will head off to Target tomorrow.

I recently cut my plant, and started a water cutting. So far, not good luck with this. I've had to change out the water and trim the stem, as rot has developed. Based on my observations so far, it is totally possible I will NOT get this to generate a cutting. My mother plant was gifted to me, from a more nothern California girl who just up and disapeared from GW at least twice, that I know of. Lily, I owe you a LOT! Hope your life has moved on to where you wanted it to go!

H. mutiflora can be the MOST rewarding bloomer, but the most TRICKY grower. I am still strugling to learn what is needed.

I use a self water pot, with a quick draining, less organic soil, and keep it topped up. When I used the tray, soak, saucer, it bloomed and bloomed and bloomed. When they bloom to this extent, a strong fertilizer is good to support those hungry flowers.

Still learning, still workin' it out with mine.

Good luck with yours,
ToraJima.