Hoya rubra?

13 years ago

Hi everyone:

Haven't posted in a long time - hope you and your plants are all well.

Little story: went into our local Safeway and just about keeled over in excitement. They were selling Exotic Angel hoyas! Now I know for my American hoya brothers and sisters this is no big deal, but for me up here in Victoria Canada it was plenty exciting. Ya ya ya, get a life I know. Back to the story. Never seen EA plants here, can't speak for Eastern Canada (Mike?) but never EA plants. Not at Walmart, Home Depot, Rona. Nope. Of course I bought one! Silly question. Now they only had what they call H. rubra (is it Krimson Princess?), and I don't normally go for the larger scale hoyas, but it was in nice shape and had such pretty leaves...anyway couple or three questions for all of you. Did I read some time back that EA puts their hoyas in an altogether unacceptable mix? If so, should I change it promptly even considering the time of year? Is it prone to reverting and should I nip off those reverty bits? Lastly, how do I grow this hoya? It is a carnosa (mutant/variant...?) right?

I'm gonna get in touch with Safeway Corporate and see if they can bring in more varieties of hoyas. If they can bring in bog-standard Ivy's from EA, surely they can bring in other types of hoyas. For you Canadians reading this, check your local Safeway, you might be surprised...

Kelly in Victoria

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Comments (8)

golden_ca_2000
13 years ago
Thanks Kelly... I can understand your excitement! I will definitely keep a heads up in the safeway.... hopefully ours here in Langley will bring them in!! We can only wish!
cpawl
13 years ago
Hi
Last week I saw them at my safeway near my home in Delta.I asked the lady in the flower department if they will be getting more and she said it might be a one time thing for the holidays.But I plan to take a look when I'm in the store.

Cindy
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Hi Rhonda & welcome, There's a Hoya Forum just next door (see the top of this page). Since I participate there as well, I'll refer you there for future use, but start you out here. Sorry, this Hoya is lovely but not a rare plant, it's actually quite common (these types anyway, that can be bought locally). They're not the fastest growing plants, depending on the type, sounds like you've got the KP (Krimson Princess) w/ the variegation towards the inner part of the leaf, which Exotic Angel (the nursery who grows/distributes these) insists on calling Rubra (I think due to the red stems, rubra means red). Not sure which website you saw & are referring to, but "saturate" is likelty to be a problem. Part of the problem, is that if these plants are from Exotic Angel (EA for short) they never dry out & we often (those at Hoya forum) have a problem w/ their mix, it NEVER dries out. The once month fertilizer is fine, but the drying out is an issue. Ordinarily, I water my Hoyas about once a week, in summer perhaps a bit more depending on the particular Hoya (there are many kinds & many of us find collecting them, quite addictive). FYI: they're not the fastest to bloom (at least not for me & many others I know at Hoya forum). Pls. Go to Hoya forum & look around for Hoya KP. I'll let others inform you how to post a pic, gotta run.
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EA puts "Hoya rubra" tags on lots of different Hoyas, particularly their Krimson Queen's and K. Princesses. If you're interested, you might want to further investigate what you have. Meantime, check out the heading on the FAQ page that's something like "How to take cuttings from my Hoya". You can find a link to the FAQ page near the top of the main Hoya page...which should be the page previous to this one. Another option is to bend longer vines over and into another pot (or back into their own pot, if you just want to thicken up the plant you have.) Using bobby pins, floral pins, or coated paper clips, gently pin the vines down onto the soil surface on either side of a node. Don't keep the soil soggy, but keep the humidity up in the area if possible. When the vines throw down roots into the soil, you can cut that section off the mother plant.
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Hi.. I am a new hoya "mom"... though I've apparently had a carnosa for years and didn't know it until it bloomed a few weeks ago and now I'm hooked..expecting Lacunosa Snow Caps from SRQ/Joni... actually tomorrow!.. but yesterday HAD to go to HD and see what they had.. so being a novice, I'll describe & maybe someone can give me an idea... bought an 8.0 hanging basket (EA) variegated very succulent leaves, many young leaves still white; others getting some green and others have some white and deep pink.. some stems are dark pink.. there is a tiny tip on the end of each leaf and I'd say they are mostly ovate in shape & the older leaves are dark green with some white on edges & are 4" by 2"!. ..cleaned her up and gave a good shower actually a very pretty plant and looking from above (though she's hanging right now) very lush and healthy!.. she'll be moving to my downsized home with me & other plants (and the pug & senior cat) in 2 weeks... hope my lighting is similar!. THANK YOU in advance for assistance here! E
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Congrats on the find! Totally no rush to repot it before the vacation - many people would say no need to even repot after. The ideal time to repot, if it needs it, would be in late spring or early summer. Some people like to repot into their favorite mix soon after getting a new plant, so that they know how to water properly, but carnosa types are so tolerant of wide range of soils and watering styles that I do not even know if you need to repot at all - not before next spring for sure, I'd say. You can pop it out of the pot and see if the roots look healthy though, and only repot if they don't.
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mdahms1979
13 years ago
I am not sure if Hoya carnosa Rubra is an excepted name anymore or not but this plant is probably the same one we call Hoya carnosa 'Krimson Princess'.
I let me Hoya carnosa dry slightly between watering and try not to let it get too dry if it's actively growing or blooming.
I have seen EA plants at Walmart but that's it, got my Hoya lacanosa 'Ruby Sue' there a while back. The mix that EA uses has changed and is much better than what they used before. I have a hard time checking the mix so I test if my plant needs water by lifting it, when it's wet the pot is quite heavy.

Mike
mel_10
13 years ago
Kelly,
I bought an EA Hoya "Rubra" from a local Wal-mart and had to ask the same questions. I was told by the wonderful people on this site, that yes, Rubra is the same as H. carnosa "Krimson Princess". I also asked about the vines that were reverting to solid green, and if by removing those vines I could help prevent other vines from reverting, but got no answer. Hope you have better luck getting an answer than I did.
Mel
mdahms1979
13 years ago
Generally speaking an all green vine will be more efficient at photosynthesis than a variegated one so it will more than likely grow faster and in time this can overtake the variegated growth. You can trim the all green growth when it's big enough and start another plant from the cutting. This sort of thing holds true for all plant mutations be it variegation or crested growth, trimming the normal growth away will keep the plant true to it's mutated form, that sounds like an oxymoron. LOL

Mike
klyde
Original Author
13 years ago
Hey thanks for all of the advice. My scoop at Safeway is not such big news after all. I was plenty excited let me tell you.

Mike, get out of town. Are you telling me you got Ruby Sue at Walmart? Now that is one heck of a scoop. Tell me about it. I remember a post about it last year but do not recall the details...

I like to check Walmart, Home Depot and Rona locally as they bring up some stuff from the States that I just never see. Super Store used to be good for the odd amazing treasure too, but not in years. At least not on Vancouver Island which may have something to do with it.

I do not, as a rule, even give Carnosa's a second glance, and here I have one. Too funny. What can I expect for a bloom? Did I read that they are a deeper pink? We had a carnosa years ago and it took several years for it to bloom. Same with Krimson Princess?

'Scuse all the questions :)
mdahms1979
13 years ago
Klyde when I saw that Ruby Sue there was no way I was going home without it. I don't often see Hoyas for sale locally other than Hoya carnosa which is often at Rona. The last time I was at Walmart there were four or five baskets of Hoya kentiana. I have only seen Hoyas at Walmart three or four times in the last two or three years and then only at the big Walmarts with the garden centers.
I have not taken any photos of my Hoya lacanosa 'Ruby Sue', it's bloomed once but is currently putting on lots of new growth.

I had a Hoya carnosa Krimson Princess and it had larger more numerous flowers than my green leafed carnosa and they did not open as flat, were light pink and had longer flower pedicles.

Mike
klyde
Original Author
13 years ago
Can't get over that Mike. Ruby Sue at Walmart. That would NEVER happen here. Island living sigh...the local Walmart's carry an amazing selection (and now I'm being sarcastic) of small potted cacti gardens with glue-gunned straw flowers on top. Hey, maybe I've found my new profession: to emancipate all those cacti from gaudy little flowers. Somebody's got to do it and might as well be me. Note to self: get some t-shirts printed up...

What is that with lacunosa and new growth at this time of year? Have me a lacunosa of some sort or another. It was looking straggly and past it's prime (I can relate) so I hacked 'er back and took a bunch of cuttings. Made a very full little pot. Well took a look at the Mama plant and thought what the heck. How about a nice spot, regular water and fairly heavy fert regime. Whoa! Grew like crazy, sprouts and tendrils everywhere. Looks better than the day I got it, and Tom did send a very nice specimen btw...

Kelly

Hoya rubra?

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