I have very little experience in trying to pollinate Hoya blooms however I think it is a fascinating topic. A lot of Hoya growers seem to leave it up to pollinators (ants, moths, bees, etcetera) to pollinate their Hoyas. Letting mother nature do the hard work is probably the easiest method to getting a seed pod. I also read that Doug Chamberlain from Vermont Hoyas will put his Hoyas outside at night with a light shining on it to attract pollinators. Another way to pollinate a Hoya would be hand pollinating Hoya blooms. This method is a little complicated. I did attempt to try and remove the pollinia from one of my Hoya carnosa 'Krinkle 8' blooms to put in the stigmatic lock of another bloom. With my small jeweler's loupe and a pair of tweezers it was extremely difficult for a novice. I am sure with enough practice and luck this method is possible. Rodda, M. (2015). Two new species OF HOYA R.Br. (apocynaceae, ASCLEPIADOIDEAE) from Borneo. PhytoKeys, 53, 83–93. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.53.5079 The basic idea of pollinating a Hoya bloom starts with finding the pollinia located in the pollinarium. In the image above this would be represented with the letter I. To get to the pollinia you would have to take apart the flower carefully. If you are successful in extract this then you would move to step two. aurorawa. (2016). For adult eyes only...making hoya babies... Houzz. Retrieved 2021, from https://www.houzz.com/discussions/3793437/for-adult-eyes-only-making-hoya-babies?fbclid=IwAR0dxOv6ULajPLKdhc3iv2LTZfVlOGCh5HJCKOnVcOapVPNmNcwUlEYm870. You can choose to either try to pollinate a Hoya bloom from the same plant or a different one. Once you decide what bloom you are going to try to pollinate then you would take the pollinarium and slide it into the stigmatic lock. Check out the article listed above the last picture to get more in-depth information. I have also read that pollinating in either the early morning or evening is preferable to achieving success due to fragrance factories within the bloom. Additionally, waiting till the bloom produces nectar supposedly also helps your chances of a successful pollination. Additional Resources: Click here to read about the pollination of Stapeliads. Ric Morier recommends this article as it is a similar process in Hoyas. Click here to watch a YouTube video of a Hoya being hand pollinated.
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