Hoya carnosa * Wax Vine
The flowers of the Wax Vine look like they are fake, almost as if they were glued on. Hoya carnosa survives temperature dips into the high 20°'s. If you can bring your plant indoors or are lucky enough to have near frost free winters Hoya carnosa is a must have for your garden. Hoya carnosa is slow growing but can get to 20 feet or more with consistently good conditions. The biggest flaw is that the leaves hold a long time and when damaged they show it for most of a year. Hoya carnosa is native to SE Asia. The Wax Vine is related closely enough to the milkweeds that the monarch caterpillars will eat the leaves if they have a chance. The Monarch Butterflies are not likely to lay their eggs on the Wax Vine but are known to travel quite some distance searching for food. Hoya carnosa blooms in summer and Fall with white flowers that have red centers. I have grown it in pretty dark conditions and still gotten blooms and on a lucky year kept it growing in my yard in spite of my usually frosty conditions.
Creamy white flowers and foliage of Hoya carnosa - Wax Vine. High resolution photos are part of our garden image collection.
Plants from the old Asclepidacea Family featured on this site. This is now considered a subfamily in the Apocynaceae Family or Dogbane Family. This is relevant because these plants are nectar and caterpillar food for the Monarch Butterflies:
Asclepias angustifolia * Arizona Milkweed
Asclepias californica * California Milkweed
Asclepias cordifolia * Purple Milkweed
Asclepias curassavica * Tropical Milkweed
Asclepias curassavica Red Butterflies * Red Butterflies Tropical Milkweed
Asclepias curassavica Silky Gold * Silky Gold Tropical Milkweed
Asclepias eriocarpa * Woollypod Milkweed, Indian Milkweed, Kotolo Milkweed
Aslepias erosa * Desert Milkweed
Asclepias fascicularis * Narrow Leaf Milkweed
Asclepias linaria * Pine Needle Milkweed
Asclepias speciosa * Showy Milkweed
Asclepias subulata * Rush Milkweed, Skeleton Milkweed
Asclepias tuberosa * Butterfly Weed
Other milkweed relatives:
Araujia sericifera * Bladder Vine, Cruel Vine, Moth Vine
Gomphocarpus fruticosus * Swan Milkweed, Narrow Leaf Cotton Plant
Gomphocarpus physocarpus * Family Jewels, Hairy Balls
Hoya carnosa * Wax Vine