Hoya linearis
Hoya linearis · the String Hoya
It hangs from mossy branches in the cool, misty forests of the eastern Himalaya, between 1,500 and 2,000 m. It is the rare houseplant that likes it cool and hates a warm room, and it pours straight down like a curtain of soft green needles.
Family
Apocynaceae
Origin
Eastern Himalaya
In the wild
Hangs from bark
Indoors
0.6–1.5 m
Growth
Slow to moderate
With pets
Safe
Where it's from
Eastern Himalaya and Southeast Asia
High and cool
An epiphyte of montane forest at 1,500 to 2,000 m, rooting in mossy crevices on bark.
Himalaya to the east
Nepal, Assam, south-central China, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.
Outdoors: zones 10–12
Frost-free only. Notably it tolerates cooler air than most hoyas and dislikes hot rooms.
A cool-mountain hoya
Unlike its lowland cousins, Hoya linearis is a montane epiphyte from cool, misty Himalayan forest. That is why it tolerates cooler air, resents hot stuffy rooms, and craves high humidity. Low household humidity, which makes its soft leaves shrivel and drop, is the single most common reason it fails indoors.
It wants humidity
Dry air shrivels and drops the leaves. A humid room or grouping helps it survive.
It dislikes heat
Hot, stuffy rooms stress it. It prefers cool, humid, airy conditions.
It blooms indoors
In autumn and winter it carries white star flowers that smell of lemon and cinnamon.
How to keep it
LightBright, indirect
Plenty of bright light feeds the trailing growth and the bloom. Hot direct sun scorches it.
WaterModerate, barely moist in winter
The semi-succulent leaves rot in soggy roots, but it dehydrates faster than thick-leaved hoyas.
HumidityHighAs a montane epiphyte it wants humid air. Low humidity shrivels and drops the leaves.
Temperature18–25°CKeep above about 10°C. It tolerates cooler air than most hoyas and dislikes hot rooms.
SoilFast-draining, airy mixLoam-based and peat-free, or a chunky cactus, bark and perlite blend so the fine roots breathe.
FeedingMonthly in growthA balanced liquid feed in the growing season. Ease off in winter and do not over-feed.
DifficultyHardOne of the more demanding hoyas. Not a beginner plant.
With petsSafeNon-toxic to cats and dogs. One of the few pet-safe trailing plants. Cut sap is a mild irritant.
PropagationCutting at a nodeTip cuttings root in high humidity. Never cut off a spent flower spur; next year's blooms return on it.
RepottingEvery 2–3 yearsIt blooms better slightly pot-bound and resents being over-potted into wet soil.
What the data says
What it costs
A specialty hoya, slower and less mass-produced than a commodity pothos or spider plant.
$20–50+
Genuinely variegated forms are scarce and command collector prices well above the plain green.
IUCN · Not assessed
In the wild
Widespread and secure in cultivation, while some narrow-range cousins are threatened.
Hoya linearis has no published Red List assessment and ranges widely across the Himalaya and Southeast Asia, and the genus is not CITES-listed. But several narrow-endemic hoya cousins in the same forests are threatened: H. bhutanica is Endangered, H. pandurata and H. gaoligongensis are Vulnerable. The plant in your basket is safe; some of its relatives are not.
When it sulks
Shrivelling, wilting, leaf dropThe classic failure. Too dry, humidity too low. Or, in wet soil, root rot. Check the soil to tell.
Mushy stems, yellowingOverwatering, heavy mix or poor drainage, leading to root rot.
No flowersToo little light, too young, or the bloom spur was cut off. A cool autumn cue helps.
Decline in summerHeat stress in hot, stuffy, dry rooms. It wants cool, humid, airy conditions.
PestsMealybugs in the dense foliage, plus scale, spider mites and aphids.
Varieties & company
The varieties
Plain greenVariegata
Pairs with · keep apart from
Other HoyasRhipsalisPeperomiaFernsCalatheaCacti
A new plant, every week.
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