Hoya
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Forgiving Among the more tolerant plants here.
Also called fleshy-leaved wax flower, Honey Plant, porcelain flower, Porcelainflower and Wax Plant.
Toxicity is partly unassessed
What the sources say about its care
- Light
- High light 150–1000 fcClemson Extension · read 11 September 2026Full sunRHS · read 11 September 2026
- Water
- Well-drainedRHS · read 11 September 2026
- Humidity
No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.
Most foliage plants prefer more humidity than a heated room gives; succulents are named as an exceptionPenn State Extension · read 11 September 2026- Temperature
How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.
H2 — 1–5°C 1–5 °CRHS · read 11 September 2026- Soil
- Chalk, Loam, Sand; pH Acid or Alkaline or NeutralRHS · read 11 September 2026
- Toxic to cats
- Listed as non-toxicASPCA · read 11 September 2026
- Toxic to dogs
- Listed as non-toxicASPCA · read 11 September 2026
- Harmful to people
- No harm statement is published for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.RHS · read 11 September 2026
How it usually goes wrong
- Dry scorched spots after a move into a sunnier spot
On a hoya the marks are patchy and one-sided. Leaves on the shaded side of the plant keep their colour entirely.
Glass concentrates what would be tolerable outdoors, because it holds the heat and removes the moving air that carried it away. Its source describes full sun.
Telling it apart: Whether it followed a move or a season. Scorch appears within days of a change in position.
RHSHoya spots on leaves: causes- Translucent patches low on the plant
The tissue goes darker and slightly translucent, often at the point where the leaf meets the stem, and the hoya loosens in its compost.
The water a succulent stores is meant to last through dry spells. Kept in soil wetter than well-drained, it has no dry spell, and the saturated tissue collapses.
Telling it apart: Firm and wrinkled is thirst; soft and swollen is the opposite. The two look similar from across a room and feel nothing alike.
RHSHoya spots on leaves: causes- Wrinkling rather than yellowing
The hoya loses its stiffness first at the tips of the newest growth, and the whole pot feels light for its size.
Water held in the cells keeps a leaf rigid. With the compost dry beyond what its source describes as well-drained, that water is used and not replaced.
Telling it apart: How fast it recovers. A thorough watering lifts a thirsty plant within hours; roots that are damaged do not respond.
RHSDiagnose yellowing leaves on this Hoya
Not sure which it is? Ask the diagnosis questions for Hoya.
Routine care
- Watering
- Let the soil dry between waterings. This plant can be shocked by cold water.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Repotting
- Move the wax plant to a new pot once it outgrows the old one, but not while it is budding or flowering.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Propagation
- Wax plant can be propagated by stem cuttings.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Increase by layering or from semi-hardwood cuttings.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pruning
- If pruning is needed, do it in early spring before fast growth starts. Leave the peduncle (“spur”) that carried flowers, as it flowers again and again over several years.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Pests and diseases
- Can be troubled by fungus gnats, mealybugs and banded greenhouse thrips.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Mealybugs can occur. Diseases: usually none.RHS · read 13 September 2026
Move something and watch
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Photographs
About the plant
Hoya carnosa, the porcelain flower or wax plant, is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae, native to East Asia. It is a common house plant grown for its attractive waxy foliage, and sweetly scented flowers. It is grown well in pots and hanging baskets.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026
- Native range
- S. China to Laos, Japan (S. Kyushu) to TaiwanWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Southeast Asia, Japan, and TaiwanNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026C China to AustraliaRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Climate
- subtropicalWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- Growth form
- climbing epiphyte or lithophyteWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Epiphyte, Vine; habit climbingNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Climbing (evergreen)RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Size
- Height up to 120 inNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Height 4-8 metres; spread 1-1.5 metres after 10–20 yearsRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Flowering
- Flowers pink, white; blooms in fall, spring, summerNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Flowers pink in spring, summer and autumn; red in spring, summer and autumn; white in spring, summer and autumnRHS · read 13 September 2026
Common problems with Hoya
Other Hoya
Common HoyaSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
- No photograph yetFung Wax FlowerSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
- No photograph yetHoya gracilisSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
Lucky Heart PlantSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
Miniature Wax PlantSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
Pink SilverSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
More of the Apocynaceae family
Madagascar periwinkleBrown, papery patches on the leaves nearest the glass
OleanderBrown brittle margins with a green centre
String of heartsNew leaves arrive smaller and paler than the ones below
African Starfish FlowerSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
AllamandaSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
Black BellsSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
Plants with similar care
Aloe veraMushy tissue at the base of the aloe vera
Baby rubber plantLeaves turn glassy from the stem outward
Bunny ears cactusLeaves go soft and slightly see-through
Crown of thornsLeaves soften and curl inward
Jade plantPale dry areas across the upper leaves only
Mexican snowballPale dry areas across the upper leaves only
Sources
- ASPCA · read 11 September 2026
- Clemson Extension · read 11 September 2026
- Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Penn State Extension · read 11 September 2026
- RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Wikipedia · read 13 September 2026
What this does not cover
The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.
Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.
If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.