I've been through 4 imperialises now, and am throwing in the towel. Inevitably, the don't grow, then slowly yellow, then wither and die. But I don't have a greenhouse and live in cold San Francisco, so maybe that has something to do with it.

Julia

Julia,

Oh no, really? I don't have a greenhouse either. I was hoping that what I read before was that they were heavy drinkers or something, and maybe they wilted a lot, lost a few leaves maybe (tempermental) Now I'm not sure that I want to get one.
Thanks for your reply!

Ok, anyone else out there have any success growing this one in the house, minus a greenhouse?

Billy Rae

I live in northern Scandinavia and I'm having no problems whatsoever growing imperialis. It's growing like a weed and flowers several times a year.

Did you check it for bugs? I've also learned that this is one hoya that requires more water than you might think from just looking at the leaves.

Moon,
There is one right now on ebay I thought about bidding on, but I just don't know if I should take a chance or not, I hate when a plant gets yellow leaves and leaf drop on whim.Maybe this one just needs a little more extra attention by getting the watering down just right is all. I read they do like plenty of water and air circulation.

Billy Rae

Moon -

Please describe the soil, temp, humidity, air circulation, etc. that your imperialis lives in. Not that I'm going to shell out more money on this plant, but I'm curious as to why I fail with it so miserably.

Julia

This isn't the kind of question that is easy to answer as you really need to sort out what works under your conditions.
As a general rule H. imperialis is a very strong, easy grower. Ideally it will be given bright light, warm temps, even moisture, and high humidity. That's the ideal scenario, but it's possible to grow it, and grow it well, under far less than ideal conditions. You just have to adjust your culture to compensate.
If you're plants are dying I would strongly suspect that they are overwatered, and or planted in a mix that doesn't drain well enough, and or burned by excess fertilizer. They'll survive low light, low temps, low humidity, lack of fertilizer, and being underwatered for ages.
If they're overwatered they'll lose their roots, drop their leaves, and give up the fight pretty quickly.
Chris

My imperialis is not grown under ideal conditions. I tend to forget to water it, but it still grows like a weed. It's said that this hoya doesn't do well with drafts, but mine is placed right next to a window that is open a lot. It flowered a lot last year, and this year it seems it's just getting started to bud up.

The soil I have is very well drained, but I've added some stuff that keeps the water too. I don't know the word for it in English, sorry. Give it well drained soilmix and water when it feels dry down to the first "bend" of your finger.

Good luck!

I've been lucky to have few problems with my Imperialis. I grow it abt 10-12 ft. from west window, gets lots of bright,but indirect light. I have it in fairly fast draining mix augmented w/ pumice. It's leaning on an orchid support as it seems heavy & prone to suppling over. I took one cutting (can't recall how I rooted it, probably in water) placed it back in mother pot where it took well. I keep it on a humidity tray & tend to forget to water it as it's away from most of the other Hoyas. So it gets watered maybe every 10 days to 2 wks or so, I keep a note on its label to keep track of its watering.

My notes tell me I've had mine for abt 2.5 yrs., hasn't bloomed yet, but I doubt that it's potbound yet.

Julia, sometimes that yellowing leaves business is really hard to diagnose. I'm having that now w/ a H. diptera, started quite suddenly last wk. I just put a wick in it (w/out a reservoir) to try & improve the drainage & have repotted it w/ just mix on the bottom & the rest pumice to see if it'll recover. It's a crapshoot, but I'm hoping...

Mine wont stop growing. I have at least 6 feet of 'vine' in less than 2 months in a 4in pot in a west window inside! I thought maybe i had to pot it up.but ti sounds like it need to be really pot bound to bloom? I was going to try to put it up on EBay..it is just out of control. This is the fastest growing hoya i have. Should i leave it in a tiny pot? Will that make it bloom. Al green leaves so far..i got it when it was only 4in tall 2 months ago! Now i hear it is a big flower and worth growing. So..maybe i should keep it inside and in the tiny pot? I am in South Fla. I was going to put it in the ground and let it climb up a tree. Someone mentioned that here...to do that. Should i leave it inside and see what happens?

Let me assure you all that the idea that H. imperialis needs to be pot bound to bloom is absolutely not true. They may need to be pot bound to survive attempts to kill them with kindness, but they don't need to be underpotted to bloom.
If your plants are healthy and not blooming I think you should do everything you can to give them more light.
I planted six four inch pots into one 28" diameter pot earlier this year. They all bloomed within 2 months and haven't stopped blooming since.

Ok, great! Now that I have heard some "good" stories concerning the imperialis, I must have one! I might wait until Sept (birthday money) and try to snag one off ebay, or wherever I can find a small one to purchase.

Thanks for letting me know your experiences with this hoya, which has helped sway me in one direction!
Billy Rae

QUICK! Go to this website: http://www.accentsforhomeandgarden.com/item177470.ctlg

I just bought a 4-inch pot of hoya imperialis for $5.95. Shipping was $3.95. Only 5 left though so I'd be quick about it.

I've bought from this company before and they were very good. Nice prices. Good luck! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Hoya Imperialis

JoyGarden,

Thanks for the tip! I purchased 2 from this seller and just rec'd them! They braved the cross-country shipment in frigid weather, so hopefully they are resilient and I won't kill them this time. These make my 5th and 6th h. Imperialises. I have them in my office, which has central heating (unlike the drafty Victorian I live in). So wish me luck. It's been a year and a half since I posted to this thread, and have learned quite a bit more about growing hoyas in the interim, with about 60 plants at home, lol, including some of the "fussier" strains.

Julia

Hello,

Has anyone ever ordered from this company before, and if so how are the plants? I would just like a little feedback befor I order from them.

Thanks for any info,
Sahara

Hi Sahara,

I rec'd my plants (sent cross country through a snow storm) and they arrived healthy. And they really are h. Imperialis. They're already putting on new growth....they were more well-rooted cuttings than plants, however. But I totally recommend this seller and for the price, you can't beat him.

Julia

I have an Imperialis cutting i recieved maybe a year ago, it was only 2 leaves and a little shoot comming out. I repotted it in a 4 inch terra cotta pot with miracle grow soil and it has grown to the hieght of 1 1/2 feet high compared to maybe 3 inches high when i got it. It is a very vigorous grower and has become more so now that the weather has changed to being warmer. I love this plant and will be getting more soon.

Amazing...have they bloomed for you yet? Mine seem to be incredibly thirsty. I have them in morning light and water every 2 days ago. The cuttings have sprouted several leaves, seem to be happy.

I have 2 Hoya Imperialis. One I got very recently as a cutting, its now rooted and growing well, the other a 4 inch hanging basket with several stems (about 5) that are maybe 1.5-2 ft long? This plant was severely infested with scale, had yellow leaves and was negelected when I got it from a friend who was trashing it, but all that has been cleared up and now its thriving.

I treated the scale with soap spray and Neem Oil spray, fertilized the plant with a quick shot of Peter's Excel Cal/Mag 15-5-15 to give it some quick release Nitrogen and all the trace elements and micros it has not had for probably 2-3 years, and top dressed with Nutricote to keep that good nutrient vibe going. It gets watered daily and has a position in high light with excellent air circulation and humidity between 50-80% (it hangs right under a Hoya mltiflora and I treat them the same).

I am pleased with it, I think it will eventually get very large and I will have to move it then

Sahara - I received my order of 6 plants from these guys a few weeks ago. They arrived well wrapped and in good condition.There is some mislabeling. The imperialis, cummingiana and lanceolata bella are correctly labeled. The "banadaensis" is a globulosa, the "silver pink", labeled purpureofusca on the pot, appears to be pubicalyx, and the "indonesian" is a lacunosa. Shipping was incredibly reasonable. The size was quite variable - the imperalis has only 4 leaves, whereas the lacunosa is a medium size plant - but they are all healthy and growing well. I wish they had a bigger selection. I'd order more.
Dot

Dot,
Thank you so much on some feedback. Sounds like they are a pretty good place to order from and they def. are very reasonable.

Yeah I agree they should have more of a selection. Not much to choose from but I don't have some of the ones that they have so I might just have to order a couple.

Thanks Again,
Sahara

I purchased this h. imperialis cutting recently, before I had decided what I wanted. I would be interested in trading some one for a rooted cutting of h. obscura. My second choice would be laucnosa x obscura or pubicalyx 'splash' If anyone is interested, let me know. Imperialis is doing fine and growing a new leaf. Thanks.
Below is a pix of my imperialis.

{{gwi:959943}}
gootziecat

Gootziecat,

Email me please, yours wasn't avail on your member page. I have both obscura, and pubicaylix splash, and would be willing to trade if you are still interested.

Sara

Hi Guys

I'm not sure if this is H. imperialis but this is a pic of the blooms. Enjoy!

Cheers
Sean

{{gwi:959944}}

Wow! Certainly looks like it. Congrats on the blooms! I'm still watching mine grow... at least I didn't manage to kill it by burning it - oops!

Its fantastic!!!!!!