Finally after 4 years of work I am proud to announce that my Hoya Australis, (sorry I don't know the exact subspecies), has graced me with blooms! They display the largest blooms in my collection, the cluster being 3 inches across. Unfortunately, the aroma is nothing special just the "standard floral scent".
This Hoya is vastly different from most of my collection. The main thing being the sheer size of the plant. A single leaf can cover 75% of my smaller plant's entire surface area. The foliage is larger than my palm and is an aggressive grower, this will overtake a sturdy trellis!
The plants stature presents a few issues.
1. I use artificial lights on a wire rack. The plant is so tall placing it on the shelving is impossible and impractical and it wants more light than the rest. I had to place a circular drip tray under this thing and reposition the light slightly.
2. This plant drinks 3 times more water than the next thirsty plant, I have been bad a few times and forgot. Unlike smaller hoya plants this one is slower to bounce back. Every time I revived this plant I had to shorten the light cycle to prevent the thing from frying. If you know succulents, this can be a dangerous game of "root rot gambling", with the soil being wet longer and less light hours to drive the plant's growth.
3. Most if not all hoyas need to be very snug in their pot if not border line root bound to bloom. Initially I followed my regular potting schedule. The demand on water was so great that I had to repot into a much larger vessel, making root growth the plant's priority.
Serpens there is a plant with your name on it lol
