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Hoya Surigaoensis! The Rarest Hoya You Can Find On This Planet

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Plants are one of the most beautiful aspects of our nature. Have you ever heard, “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”? Well… Albert Einstein said that.

Nature is the best art, the art of the Creator, and covers tons of dazzling and surprising creations within its scope. One of which that we are featuring today is Hoya Surigaoensis.

Hoya surigaoensi
Hoya surigaoensi via Pinterest

Hoya Plants

Hoya is a vast plant genus with more the 200 to 300 species in the world. Most come from Southeast Asia. Some can grow faster, and some grow slower than others.

People familiar with this plant genus know that it carries a particular “classic” style, maintaining its legacy. Most Hoya plants have attractive, dark green vining herbage and sweet-smelling gorgeous star-shaped flowers varying wildly in size and colors.

These plants vary significantly from species to species, characterized as having thick stems and waxy leaves. For that, they are commonly known as wax plants or wax vines.

If you plant your Hoyas in a hanging basket, their branches look impressive, they can also get tangled if they are long, and then you would have to unwind them. Now for me, the most beautiful part is the flowers. The blooms of this genus can instantly turn your bad day into a good one.

The most commonly known Hoyas are HOYA carnosa and HOYA australis.

But the HOYA surigaoensis is one of the rarest Hoyas that you can find.

>> Related Post: Hoya Compacta Variegata Growth and Care – Incredible Tips You should Know

Hoya Surigaoensis

As most of the Hoyas are native to tropical regions of Asia, HOYA surigaoensis is native to the Philippines, Southeast Asia. However, even if you belong to native areas, you would have never seen these sold at garden centers. You have to contact private sellers to get your hands on one.

If you want a plant that can influence you can make a good room in your life, I would strongly recommend going for this one.

While watching reviews on this plant, I randomly saw a person’s comment. It said, “Maybe they call people Hoya heads because the Hoya invisibly tendrils into your brain and takes over your life.”

Then I thought that; it’s true, like if you got a tiny 3” baby and took care of it for years to grow it into a mature flowing plant, and you get to see that your hard work bore fruit. You get the picture, right?

Well, here it is.

HUGE new leaf on Surigaoensis Hoya surigaoensi
HUGE new leaf on Surigaoensis via Reddit

Characteristics

  • Leaves

HOYA surigaoensis have round to oval leaves that point a little bit downwards. They are in between succulent and not-so-succulent types.

They are dark green without any spots and take on a red hue when placed in bright sunlight. It forms new leaves on new tendrils. When they grow old, they become thick and hard.

  • Flowers

It’s all gold. Flowers on this plant have a nice, rich golden yellow color, and they have an intriguing coconut smell. It produces approx. Twenty-seven flowers per umbel, one measures about 10mm.

They are start-shaped, looking like plastic. You can set them up as indoor ornaments. Once your plant blooms, make sure to keep good care of peduncles, as they produce flowers for the next season.

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  • Height

Hoyas are climbing plants, and some of them can grow up to 20-feet. But I have experienced that the HOYA surigaoensis is relatively shorter than other Hoyas. Nevertheless, you can bump it up to 10-11 feet.

You can train yours to climb; watch a simple tutorial.

  • Growth

Surigaoensis can grow pretty fast as compared to other Hoyas out there. It roots much quicker, and that is why it is much easier to propagate. They need well-drained soil; Hoyas hate clogged dirt! I will elaborate on it in the latter part.

Caring Tips For Hoya Surigaoensis

Before you go and buy a new one, you should know about some essential things that I will list. These are some of the main caring tips and points that you need to know to keep the best possible maintenance of your plant.

First things first,

  • When your plant arrives, do not place it in direct or very bright sunlight.
  • Wait for 3-4 weeks before repotting so that your plant can first adapt to the environment.

Now going towards real talk,

1. Lighting

Full sun to partial shade works best.

It grows better 2-3 feet away from the Southwest-facing window. If you are putting your pot in front of a window facing East, make sure it is at least 6 feet away so that it gets that sweet partial sunlight for its proper growth.

However, you can sometimes stress your Hoya by placing it in full sun for some time just because its leaves are on a little succulent side.

That’s why less light will result in poor growth and can also retard flowering. You can also see the beautiful red hue on its leaves when placed in bright sunlight.

You can also use artificial lighting to grow it in winter.

2. Temperature

Here are basic temperature statistics for most plants

  • Plants in Cold Regions – Lowest acceptable temp. 50° F; Highest permissible temp. 77°F.
  • Plants in Moderate Regions – Lowest acceptable temp. 60° F; Highest permissible temp. 95°F.
  • Plants in Warm Regions – Lowest acceptable temp. 70° F; Plants will grow better over 95°F for extended periods.

HOYA surigaoensis is more of an intermediate to warm type. Again if you take a look at the origin of the plant, it comes from a relatively warmer region. You can achieve this temperature with perfect lighting in front of a north-side facing window.

If the temperature goes lower than 45°F, it can stress out the plant. Also, make sure it does not stay in harsh sunlight for too long as it can burn its foliage.

3. Humidity

As mentioned earlier, this plant, along with other Hoyas, comes from tropical regions of Southeast Asia. This one is mainly from the Philippines.

You can get the idea of perfect humidity by looking at the native areas from where the plants originate. As in Southeast Asia, the average humidity levels are between 70 to 85 percent. The percentage indicates that HOYA surigaoensis will love moderate to high humidity.

4. Watering

Your plant will crave water in most of the warm times of the year, particularly from spring through fall. Hoyas are usually epiphytic, they do not want their roots to be soaking wet, but this one, the surigaoensis, needs frequent watering.

But make sure that you let the soil dry in between; the best time to water again would be when one-third to half of the topsoil is dried up. It would typically take 6-8 days to water again.

Because the leaves are a bit thinner, it helps the plant transpire the water out, leading to frequent watering.

Fun Fact, I think that if your plant stays in high humidity, it can compensate for watering more often.

You can give that a try.

5. Soil and Fertilizer

Hoya surigaoensis loves rich, heavy, and rough mix. You can grow it in growers mix, but a bark mixed soil will work best. It is a little bit on the heavier side containing perlite, and is also well-draining. I will recommend adding some potting soil and horticulture charcoal to the mix as well.

I looked at a pretty good Youtube video on a potting mix. You can check that out here.

As far as the fertilizer is concerned, Hoyas like to feed on fertilizers. You can use liquid fertilizers once a month during growing seasons.

I would recommend the one higher in phosphorus almost 2-months before the blooming season to help flowers grow better. But it will fail to bloom if you use too much fertilizer; the same goes for water and pot size.

6. Propagation

This one could be very easy to propagate by stem cutting.

The stems contain adventitious roots. That’s why they can readily form new roots, follow simple steps of stem cutting propagation, and you can have more of these fancy plants.

  • Cut off a stem that is at least 4-inches (10 cm) long with a few leaves attached.
  • Cut it off when the plant is mature.
  • Then there are two options: One, you transfer it to a jar containing water so that roots grow out. Or, you can just put it directly into the soil.
  • Keep the soil moist until it starts growing; after that, continue watering as mentioned above.

7. Potential Dangers

  • Pests

The most common pests for this genus are mealybugs, aphids, and spider mites. Mealybugs can potentially damage this one in particular.

There are many ways to keep them away. I have a relatively simple one. You can use high-pressure water to remove all the bugs from the plant, but make sure you remove them entirely as only one of these can reproduce into more.

However, to be 100% sure, you can spray the plant with neem oil, soap spray, or 3% hydrogen peroxide mixed with distilled water afterward.

  • Root Rot

Root rot will kill the plant a lot quicker, so it’s okay to leave it slightly underwatered than overwatered. A good soil mixture reduces the chance of this occurring.

  • Poor Growth

Constantly observe your Hoya for changes, particularly changes in color or growth. If there is no new growth, you are probably keeping your plant dry for too long or devoid of nutrients.

  • Less lighting can cause Hoyas to not bloom.
  • Underwatering can cause their leaves to turn yellow.
  • A Weird Fact

Hoyas are somehow ecologically related to ants. A study shows that plants associated with this genus have leaves that provide housing for ants.

I am sure that now you will take the best care possible for your plants.


Conclusion

With that said, you can now make a new, natural, and beautiful environment around you and maintain it.

I hope that you keep growing these pearls and continue to develop yourself too.

Let us know in the comments what your thoughts are on this unique and rare part of nature. Also, make sure to share this fantastic info with your friends.

Regards.