Hoya bella - Beautiful wax plant

Hoya bella is undoubtedly the easiest species to cultivate and the quickest to flower. With fairly rapid growth, it forms a trailing or climbing plant with small, dark green lanceolate foliage. It blooms in spring or summer with delightfully fragrant, white umbels featuring a pink centre. This tropical houseplant creates an elegant cascade of lush climbing stems, perfect for placing on a shelf or in a hanging basket, with charming flowers that have a waxy appearance, hence its other name, "wax flower." Hoya bella can flower as early as the first year of cultivation and proves generous and reliable with the simplest care.

Hoya bella is also known as Hoya lanceolata subsp. bella, as it is a subspecies of Hoya lanceolata. It is also referred to by the common name wax plant. This species originates from the lush tropical forests of Southeast Asia, where it grows in warm and humid conditions. In these regions, this epiphytic plant climbs onto other vegetation, using them as support to reach several metres in height.Hoya bella develops with fairly rapid growth, on stems that can reach 80 cm in all directions. Its spring or summer flowering indoors is quick and abundant, with umbels of white star-shaped flowers, featuring an astonishing texture reminiscent of porcelain and a centre of pink pearls. Grouped in clusters of 7 to 9 or more, they are borne on long floral peduncles, forming a bouquet 5-6 cm in diameter. Their fragrance is exotic, fruity, and floral—light but distinctly noticeable when approached.

The Hoya genus belongs to the Apocynaceae family and comprises around 400 species, native to the warm, humid regions of Southeast Asia, Australia, and Polynesia, where they thrive in tropical forests. Primarily epiphytic shrubs or climbers, they often anchor themselves to tree trunks and branches using aerial roots, allowing them to grow towards the light. This unique climbing habit has made them popular as ornamental houseplants, ideal for climbing supports or cascading in hanging baskets. These plants were popularised in Europe by the Scotsman Robert Brown in the late 19th century. They can sometimes be difficult to catalogue, and some specialists believe there may be 600 to 800 species.

Hoya bella thrives in bright, indirect light but can also tolerate some direct sunlight in the morning or late afternoon when it is gentle. However, this species will flower well with just good light. Choose a substrate for epiphytic plants, such as an orchid mix, and allow it to dry out between waterings, except in summer or warm periods when you may water your plant several times a week. It prefers temperatures between 15°C and 30°C, with an ideal humidity level of 50 to 70%, but it adapts perfectly to standard ambient humidity. You can choose to train it to climb a support or use it in a hanging basket, allowing its flexible stems to trail.