The rewarding Hoya obscura

Hoya obscura is a hoya that every hoya grower should have in his/her collection. I came across this delightful hoya when I was shopping at World Farm at Bah Soon Pah Road about a month ago. It has kind of become my favourite hoya plant that I have in my collection since I started to focus my attention on this genus of plants belonging to the milkweed family, Asclepiadaceae.

Unlike many other hoya species with boring green leaves, H. obscura joins the ranks of plants in the same genus with differently coloured leaves. It leaves, when exposed to direct sunshine, will turn into an attractive wine-red colour that contrasts starkly with the network of thin, green leaf veins. Hence it is best to grow this hoya plant on a sunny windowsill where it will be able to receive at least 4 to 6 hours of direct sunshine.

My plant is grown in a hanging pot and it is now hanging from my North-facing balcony where it does not receive any direct sunshine. Hence only some of its leaves are red in colour which is still pleasing to the eye although it would redden up more when grown under brighter conditions.

 Another plus point about this plant is its amazing flowering habits. It is one of the most floriferous common hoyas around. Since I bought the plant a month back, it has not stop flowering at all! An astonishing characteristic of this species is that brand new flush of flower buds emerge almost immediate after a earlier umbel of flowers falls off!

Although each individual H. obscura yellow flower is small, it emits an intensely yet pleasantly perfume. The fragrance can be difficult to detect in the day but becomes stronger at night. Fragrance in the garden is an often overlooked aspect of gardens. During the night where light is dim and it gets difficult to appreciate the colours of leaves and flowers, fragrance emitted from flowers will stand out in the pitch black darkness after dusk in the garden. It adds an important dimension to gardens.

This species of hoya seems to be able to tolerate windy conditions encountered on my highrise balcony quite well. To prevent the plant from drying out too quickly due to the frequent high winds, I make it a point to provide it with water once every day, where I water it thoroughly every morning before I leave for work.