Has your hoya or wax plant bloomed? A few of mine have been blooming like mad lately, and I am so excited! Finally! Here are some of the flowers. Let’s talk about how to care for your hoya after it blooms.
Hoya kerrii starting to flower this week
Hoya pubicalyx
Hoya pubicalyx with the peduncle showing (what is hanging from)
Hoya carnosa variegata
Hoya obovata blooming on top of a black begonia leaf
Done blooming-now what?
Aren’t they gorgeous?! Now they’ve bloomed and the flowers are starting to turn brown and fall off. The flowers below are almost done. Should I cut the spent flower stem off?
Hoya obovata flowers that are turning brown
Cut it off?
Isn’t it tempting to cut that flower stalk off where it meets the stem? I wanted to. The problem is if I cut that off I’m cutting off the very spot where it will bloom again. The picture below is a hoya peduncle. What in the heck is a peduncle? From The American Heritage Dictionary of Science: “Stalk; stem; stalklike part (of a flower, fruit cluster, or animal body).” A hoya’s flowers are pedunculate as they grow on a peduncle. I read that they will elongate as they get older so I’m pretty sure that each of those “rings” is one year of blooms. That would mean this one has bloomed 4 times and I would say that is about right.
Peduncle of a Hoya kerrii where it will flower again
Next time your hoya blooms and you are tempted to cut that spent flower off….DON’T!
Hoya kerrii flower buds on the peduncle
First flowers
This hoya bud below is on a new vine, so this will be the first time it has bloomed at this point on the stem and you can see there is no “ring” on the peduncle.
Hoya kerrii bud
Hoya kentiana peduncle
Hoya carnosa variegata peduncle
Newest hoya
And last, but not least, my newest addition to my hoya collection and I am thrilled it is going to bloom- Hoya fitchii. I received this from Logee’s last year and it has grown quite a bit on my south windowsill and I just noticed this bud last week. I can’t wait to see the flowers!
Hoya fitchii bud
I hope you learned something new from this Tuesday Tidbit as I learn new things too, right along with you as I research what I’m writing about. After putting the pictures together, I see that the peduncles do elongate each year after they flower. So cool! Don’t cut that peduncle off!
I’ve written other posts about hoyas, read about propagating hoyas here.
Have a safe week!
So…basically do nothing, right? My kind of plant! I love our Hoya. Just have one that was a gift from a friend twenty years ago. It thrives on our neglect. It is blooming now and I loved to learn a new word “penduncle”. Looked on our Hoya and we have them too—-very long with many rings!
Isn’t that so cool, Patty?! I had never noticed the “rings” until I started taking pictures of my own hoyas. I love plants!
I bought a Hoya Carnosa Compacta and the seller had cut off all of its peduncles….
Hi Savanna, The question is why? That is so disappointing. They will grow new ones, I’m sure. Lisa
Thank you for this page – I have been hunting the internet to find out what the newly sprouting flower pendicules look like and I am about to become a mother to at least 6 Pubicalyx flowers – will be flowering for the first time since I grew her from leaf cutting – since 2016 …. so excited 😁
Hi Paige,
You’re welcome! How exciting to start a plant from a cutting and see it flowering! I love hoyas!
LIsa
What happens if a plant that I purchased with many peduncles just starts loosing all the peduncles? 🙁
Hi Lia,
I’m not sure why the peduncles would fall off…..I’ve never had that happen. Why do you think that is happening?
Lisa
My hoya has bloomed and the red wax is falling out of the bloom, kind of messy and I don’t like the way the blooms look. Is it okay to cut the entire thing off so it won’t rebloom? Or is this sticky substance normal to fall out of the flower?
Hi Wying,
It is normal for the nectar to drip off the flowers. If you don’t want it to flower, yes you can cut off the flowers and the peduncle. It will grow a new flower spur, but it will be a while.
Lisa
I was hoping to identify my Hoya it has bloomed today for the first time and I’ve had it for several years.
I’d like to post a picture but I did not see that option
Hi Liel,
You can post a picture on my Facebook page or email me a picture of the flower and the plant. I’m not sure I’ll be much help because there are so many hoyas out there.
Lisa