I did wipe off the leaves and some of the stems. There was a stickiness on a couple leaves and a few leaves had what appeared to be some sort of white powdery substance in clumps. Not sure what it was. I just wiped off what I could. If it needs a full wash, I'll have to put it in the shower.

The white fluffy clumps are mealybugs. Use a spray bottle with rubbing alcohol and spray all the leaf joints and backs of the leaves. Keep it out of the sun when you do this. Repeat it after a week or so and watch it closely. Keep it away from your other plants until you are sure they're gone.

Denise in Omaha

Thank you so much Denise! I will do that today! I do not want a mealy-bug infestation!

What a gorgeous Hoya! Look at those leaves and speckles! Kinda looks like a carnosa to my eyes.

Brad AKA Moonwolf

Agreed, moonwolf. I think this is a good old carnosa. It's quite the plant. It looks like it is only one or two stalks growing from the base so all of that growth is long stems that probably need to be reorganized at some point. But I won't be doing anything to it until Spring other than treating for possible mealy bugs. I feel very fortunate to have got it!

Yes, definitely keep an eye on it for the mealies (eesh-I had them once and they're such a pain). Most of mine are asleep, but I see my RHP throwing out some new vines. I still water mine with a weaker fertilizer solution than in the spring and summer. They're quite happy :). Personally, I use tomato food, but to each his own. Hoping for some blooms next year! I have a small peduncle on my H. bella, so hoping I get one little bloom soon. But anyway, yes! I would be fortunate to get this gorgeous plant, too! ;) My Nikki's not nearly as splashy with her leaves as is yours.

Brad AKA Moonwolf

It was a very unusually warm day here today, 65 degrees! I took the plant outside, untangled the two stems and reorganized them on a new support system. The whole plant is really two very, very long stems about 8' long. When I was doing this, I was able to see quite a few icky white bug systems. I sprayed it with neem oil, then did some touch-ups with alcohol. I am hopeful that reorganizing the stems will make it easier to see the problems and react more proactively. I can now see the top of the soil as well so I can put add a topping of diatomaceous earth.

what hoya is this ?

Hi Rachel, the group here believes this is a carnosa. It's an older one. It has beautiful speckle and very thick leaves. It's been about a month and it is doing ok. It has lost a few leaves here and there and I do not see any new growth. But overall it still looks pretty good. It's still somewhat isolated from the rest of my plant hoard. It still has some mealy bug that I am addressing with the alchohol spray and a systemic that you mix into the soil. I really didn't want to take any chances. I'm hoping it will live a long, green life in my home!

You are smart to isolate it from your other plants until you are sure it is pest free. That plant is lucky you found it. Once you have eradicated the mealies, that plant will be a gorgeous specimen.

I hope you are right, summersunlight! While I believe this to be a carnosa, the leaves are very very thick. Much thicker than any of my other carnosas. Perhaps that is a characteristic that comes with age.

Carnosa leaves can feel like cardboard. It's a semi-succulent leaved Hoya, which explains why they like drying out between waterings. Yet, they love getting rained on.

Brad AKA Moonwolf

They are pretty cool plants, Moonwolf! Really interesting how different the leaf forms can be!

I did this same thing to one of my hoya carnosa,because of space in MTL, well done you did a good job,

It is gorgeous. you are so lucky to find it! and it is so lucky to have found you to give it some tlc!
I have an older hoya carnosa that looks very similar to yours. technically mine is "young" bc it was taken from a very old plant, but it's in about a 6" pot, and it has a giant penduncle on it (not in bloom). so yes I agree with others that older carnosas must have this darker thicker leaf. either that or the carnosas you find grown these days are a slightly different cultivar ...who knows! it's vintage for sure though :)

I like that, "it's vintage". I was worried about it for months. But the other day I noticed some new leaves growing on it. So I guess it's going to be fine. I haven't seen any peduncles on it yet. But that's okay as long as it doesn't die on my watch.

@popmama that's great that it's getting new leaves! a positive sign for sure. have you thought about feeding it or repotting it? even just scooping out some of the potting mix and adding a nice healthy new mix will help the plant get more nutrients. it's current mix is probably depleted. keep us updated!

I love it, I can't believe you got such a beaut for free! I'm always taking tips from bargain Gardener's, 'free curbside plants'? That will certainly be going on my notifications.

April, I was really afraid to repot it. I did use systemic on the soil because it had mealy bug. When I did that, I added some orchid bark and giant perlite on top of the soil. I periodically "aerate" it using a chopstick because I can assume it is pretty compacted. I had a hard time knowing when it needed to be watered since it's in that big, heavy pot and I have no idea really what kind of soil it is in. So it's now on a weekly watering schedule where I give it a fairly conservative amount of water with fertilizer. I am sure you are right about the soil being depleted. I could probably top-dress with some worm castings too. I will do that! Thanks!

Mary, I do love a good plant rescue. I have taken in a number of "free" plants either from Craigslist, Nextdoor or sometimes at estate sales people just want you to take them away. The only words of caution I can offer with that is not to set your hopes too high because you never really know how long something has been neglected and also watch out for pests. This huge hoya came with mealy bug and it took me a while to get rid of them. BUt otherwise, nothing against trying to rescue. Free is still free!

You never really know if bringing an uknown plant into your home is worth the bug problem 😜

thanks for the Nextdoor mention, I am new to it and checking it out now

Pls don't do some of what's been suggested. No need to poke holes in it to aerate it (don't know here folks get these ideas). The whole point of Perlite is to help drain quickly & help keep aerated, but it needs to be completely mixed in to the soil. Placing large Perlite on top defeats the whole purpose w/out mixing it in (sorry, but it's true).

Poking around repeatedly w/ a stick can injure the roots, pls search these forums for using a "tell' to know when to water. Basically, a stick used ONCE to tell if there moisture at the bottom. A few uses of that combined w/ learning the relative weight of the pot when watered, vs the weight of the pot when dry, is how one can tell when to water the plants.

Pls don't advocate a PARTIAL soil change (or addition), it's bad growing practice; likely to result in uneven water absorption & drainage, contributing to potential root rot.

Also, earthworms in pots are not recommended, especially for indoor growing. It simply doesn't work the same as when outdoors, in the ground w/ benefit of beneficial insects, soil bacteria, etc.

Didn't you recently repot it? Assuming new soil, it won't need fertilizer for a few months at least.

It's not necessary good to do multiple things to plants in short order. It's a lot for the plants & it becomes harder to tell which thing one did which is working.

Sometimes it's best to just sit back & let it continue to recover as you've been doing just fine PopMama.

It's a Fabulous looking plant, you've done great w/ it.

So true, Mary. Bugs can come on plants you paid for as well!

I wasn't suggesting earthworms. Gosh no. They are wormcastings. Completely different. They serve as a mild fertilizer. I use them in soil mixes and as top dress on quite a few plants.

Nope it has never been repotted since I have had it. I didn't want to repot it. Too much risk of doing more harm than good.

I think leaving it along for the most part is the best thing to do unless I saw signs of decline. But since I have already seen new growth on it, then I'm going to assume this old girl is fine.

Sorry I misspoke, I meant to say worm castings w/ which I am familiar (their poop), not the earthworms themselves. But it looks from here like you've got the plant outside, right?

It was only outside for me to untangle it and put it on a better support system as what it was on was just a mess. It's inside now. It lives by my sliding glass door which faces West and gets lots of sun. Worm castings are suitable for indoor plants. I use them for all my African violets.

It would be cool if it bloomed some day! We shall see!

You see a healthy plant and it has old branches, I think it is more than 4 or 5 years old. I suppose they would cut the incipient guides (new branches) to keep it as it is today. You have been advised that it is good to replace the old substrate with a good one. I do that mainly in spring and summer. The only problem I see is that it has very shiny leaves, very green and very bright, an unequivocal sign of not having received enough light. As I have already advised in other posts, a little direct sun is good for the plant, especially the sunrise.
Check out this photo album

Transplante carnosa madre el 9 may. 2012