Wax plant

Wax plant belongs to the genus Hoya, a member of the milkweed family, Asclepiadaceae. Wax plants grown in the foliage plant industry are primarily cultivars of one species - Hoya carnosa. The preferred common name of the species is wax plant, but wax vine and porcelain flower are occasionally used. The fleshy leaves and flowers, which are covered with a semi-glossy layer of waxy substances known as the cuticle, account for the common names given to the group. A few other species, such as H. australis, H. bella and H. multiflora, are produced by a few nurserymen.

The wax plant is a semi-woody vine with nearly oval or ovate-shaped leaves 2 to 3 inches long arranged oppositely along the stems. The flowers develop in clusters 2 to 3-1/2 inches in diameter. The individual flowers (florets) are attractive and consist of five white to pink symmetrical outer lobes, about 5/8-inch across, and an inner structure which is red or partly red. The inflorescences develop from the ends of short spur-like branches along the vines. These spurs increase in length slowly with each successive cycle of bloom.

Wax plant is a minor foliage crop, constituting less than one percent of the total foliage plant product mix grown in Florida. Although the plant is well adapted to interiors with 125 foot-candles or more of light for approximately 10 hours per day, it is not a favorite of many growers because of its lengthy production schedule. It is most commonly grown in 3-inch square pots, but a few producers offer it in 4-inch and larger pots. The plant is most attractive when finished in hanging baskets which display the trailing habit of the vines and the attractive flowers which appear periodically on older plants. Occasionally wax plants are cultured as totems, a form which is usually not cost effective for the commercial producers because of the lengthy growing period and labor required to train the vines on a pole or slab.