Hoya Carnosa 'Krimson Queen' Wax Plant

The Hoya Carnosa 'Krimson Queen' is one of the more desired Hoya cultivars on the market today and a staple in our shop! It's recognizable for its green leaf centers with creamy white edges. They occasionally even sprout pink leaves and stems that change color as they mature. When cared for properly and given enough light, this plant blooms parachute clusters of star-shaped, white to pink flowers with five-point centers. The ‘Krimson Queen’ appreciates bright, indirect light and high humidity to thrive, and they look exceptionally good in a hanging basket arrangement or flowing over the side of a planter

Hoya is a genus of 200–300 species of tropical plants in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae. The genus was named by botanist Robert Brown, in honour of his friend, botanist Thomas Hoy. There are over 300 known Hoya species with different foliage shapes, but the Hoya Carnosa is the most common and widely spread. They are popular plants for collectors who have even created their own hashtag on Instagram- #HoyaHeads for sharing pictures and information 

Ed's Plant Profile

• Botanical Name: Hoya Carnosa
• Pronunciation: HOY-ah kar-NO-suh
• Common Name: Tricolor, Krimson Queen, Albomarginata
• Family: Apocynaceae 
• Native Range: Eastern Asia and Australia

Ed's Care Guide

• Care Level: Moderate
• Light: 6-8 hours of bright, filtered light. Harsh light will burn the foliage.
• Water: Allow top 1-2 inches of soil to dry out between watering; avoid over-watering. Smaller, more frequent watering is often best. This plant is drought tolerant yet if allowed to dry out too much, the waxy leaves will begin to shrivel and yellow; this is a sign to increase your watering schedule. If allowed to stay too moist, this may cause bacteria and root rot to develop.
• Humidity: Average 50-75%;Tolerant of lower levels of humidity
• Temperature: 55–85F
• Pruning: Prune as needed to remove brown or dead leaves and control growth.
• Feeding: Use a general-purpose liquid houseplant fertilizer at half strength once every month during the spring and summer only. 
• Propagation: Cuttings
• Growth: Fast-growing compared to other Hoyas. Trailing, vining growth habit will often follow the light and can be trained to grow up a trellis, totem pole or wall for a vertical display. This plant also looks elegant trailing from a hanging basket planter.
• Soil: Use a well-draining, lightweight soil mix, such as commercially available cactus soil.
• Pests: Look out for aphids, spider mites, mealybugs and other scale insects
• Toxicity: Hoya are widely known to be non-toxic to humans and animals yet if ingested may cause reactions in certain individuals. More research is needed in this area. As with all plants, we recommend you exercise caution around children and pets and keep plants out of reach.