Hoya lanceolata subsp. bella (miniature wax plant)

Japanese name: ホヤ ベラ
Scientific name: Hoya lanceolata subsp. bella

[Overview]
An evergreen shrub.
The stems grow to about 50–100 cm long and produce aerial roots.
The leaves are simple and opposite, rhombic-elliptic, 4 cm long, fleshy and entire.
They have short petioles.
Umbels from the stem tips or leaf axils bear 8–10 flowers.
The flowers are white, 2 cm across; the corolla is star-shaped with 5 lobes, fleshy and waxy in texture.
The corona is reddish purple.
The flowers are fragrant.
The fruit is a capsule.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed, by cuttings, or by layering.
It tolerates temperatures down to about 5°C, but it is safer to keep the winter minimum at about 10°C.
It prefers well-drained soil and can also be planted in sphagnum moss alone.
Strong direct sun in midsummer causes leaf scorch, so place it in a sunny spot from autumn to spring and in an airy, partly shaded spot in summer.
If the light is too poor, it becomes leggy and flowers poorly.
Be careful not to let the planting medium become too wet; from spring to autumn water when the surface of the medium dries, and keep it on the dry side in winter.
It prefers high air humidity, so mist the leaves with a sprayer during dry periods.
Apply liquid fertilizer once every 2 weeks from spring to autumn.
Pests and diseases include scale insects and nematodes.

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