Wax plant
Hoya carnosa
Also called Hoya and Porcelain flower
Houseplant · FloweringNever cut the bare stalk a flower came from — it blooms from the very same spur next year.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Medium
- Water
- Every 12 daysDrench and drain — water the whole surface until it runs from the holes.
- Light
- Bright indirect
- Feed
- Every 45 days
- Humidity
- Average
- Hardiness
- Indoors, or out in high summer RHS H1B, to 10°C
- Size
- 2 m tall · 0.6 m across
- Lifecycle
- Climber
- Origin
- East Asia and Australia
Is it safe for pets and people?
PetsSafe for pets
PeopleNot checked yet
Nobody has checked this one against a source for us yet, so treat it as unknown rather than safe.
HandlingTake care handling it
A cut stem weeps a white sap that can irritate skin.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-07-31.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- The short bare stub each flower cluster came from has been tidied away — Hoya reflowers from the same spur for years, and no bud returns to a node that has been pruned.Spurs cut off · disorder
- A white cottony bead tucked into the joint where a leaf pair meets the vine, with a sticky gloss on the leaf below it.Mealybug · pest