How Hoyas Bloom

On May 2nd, I shared with my readers, pictures of my hoya pubicalyx plant with its first bloom of the season.  I posted my favorite of these photos to facebook, and was happily surprised at the response.  Not only did I recieve plenty of compliments, but several of my friends wanted to know more about hoyas, and how they bloom.  Because of their interest, I've created this picture post about the hoya bloom cycle.

Hoya pubicalyx.  The very photo that spark much interest, and the inspiration for this post.

This is that same hoya, minus the bloom. As you can see, it is a vine-like plant with woody stems.  You must be very careful if you decided to cut this plant back.  Blooms are formed on peduncles (or spurs), which remain after the bloom has been shed. If you cut a stem with one of these on it, you have to wait for more blooms until another one is formed.

Clusters of flowers appear from these peduncles each year.  See the group of tiny spheres at the tip of this spur?  That is the beginning phase of a new bud.

This bud is from my hoya carnosa (wax plant).  I can tell this bud is young because the tips are still in a spherical shape.  As the buds mature, they flatten out.

These buds from my hoya shephardii (string bean plant) have flattened into a more disk-like shape.  When your hoya buds look like this, get ready!  They are about to open!

Of course, I couldn't end without sharing a fully opened bloom.  This is from my hoya carnosa compacta (hindu rope plant). 

I have Three varieties of hoya plants in different stages of budding.  As these open, I'll be taking photos of each bloom.  Stay tuned for another hoya photo share in the near future. :)