Well both Hoyas could be said to have black flowers but it is just a description. There are technically no black flowers, only very saturated colours like purple that appear black.

Hoya ciliata is the Hoya most often referred to as the black Hoya. Common names like black Hoya often cause confusion so it's best to become familiar with the botanical names.

Are you looking for a Hoya with nice dark flowers because you find them appealing or are you more interested in the mystique of the name black Hoya? I am just a bit confused why there can't be more than one Hoya that is referred to as the black Hoya.

Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: Hoya lobbii Black

I have a H. Ciliata on order, along with H. Affinis.

I like the mystique of 'black hoya' and growing an eirostemma.

TammyPie

MikeDahms....I like to have something that is 'rare' or hard to get, or has great aroma. That is one of the sites I went to,...it called the Lobbii 'The Black hoya', yet even you consider or have heard that Ciliata to be The Black Hoya. I like the VERY VERY VERY dark flower. Yes to own a 'rare' or odd hoya is what I like. I know there is no true black hoya flower,it is wanting a very dark flower, and the Lobbii is a fuzzy one with next to no scent, but i love scent. Then I saw the Ciliata as being The Black hoya, and its flower really looks almost black, with a tiny yellow center. But it is smooth and shiny and smells strongly of peanut butter, so two totally different plants with different flowers are both considered 'The Black Hoya'. Hopefully I didnt get screwed to bad at paying $20 for a starter plant of the Lobbii one. The long cutting is only $6,and $8 shipping! Hope it roots to.

How do I root the Ciliata when it arrives? Soil or in water? When I have taken cuttings of my 'Silver Pink',it always had 'root stubs' on the vine, so I put it in soil and then in a big baggie and it rooted in days,it seemed. I am hoping this Ciliata has these root stubs on it. Is it the same as the easy to grow and root Silver Pink? Or is it more complex? Anyone growing these and have seen/smelled the Ciliata? Is one almost black in real life?

There are many less Hoyas with these very dark flowers than say Hoyas with white or yellow flowers. Still these black Hoyas are no more rare than most others it's just a common name that has a certain appeal. I am still not sure if you are hoping for there to be only one black Hoya but yes Hoya ciliata is the one most referred to as the black Hoya.

Hoya ciliata is an Eriostemma which means that it needs warm to hot growing temperatures, high light and a good amount of moisture. These are big plants and they are not at all easy to flower. You should root the cutting in potting mix and at this time of year it should not be difficult to root. If you like the rare and challenging then do a search for Hoya lautherbachii which is an incredible species from the Eriostemma section.

Mike

Aveo,

I don't think lobbii is particularly rare, though I hadn't heard of the black clone. I have the red clone and there's an orange clone, too. You'll need to give lobbii plenty of room because it's a sprawler! But I think $20 for an established plant is fair.

Denise in Omaha

Hi Aveo,

As an aside to your comment "So even the internet contradicts itself."

Internet posts are often by ordinary people, so like ordinary people in other situations, it's not unusual for there to be contradictory information online.

I don't know if you bought any on Ebay, but it's known that sometimes on EBay folks exaggerate the 'rarity' or 'unusualness' of something, specifically to try & catch folks like you who express a desire to own rare or unusual things, often in Hoyas, it's not the case at all. I'd consider it deceptive marketing.

Well it looks like this 'Lobbii' has the fuzzy DEEP red/black flowers that I like on it,but little to no aroma to it. And is easier to grow.

But the DEEP red glossy flower on the Ciliata,is The 'Black Hoya' flower, and it smells. So..one of these days, when both grow and bloom, I will be able to decide which I spent good money on.

I am in Ft.Lauderdale, it is a humid oven here...so if this Cilata isnt happy here with this heat and humidity,it isnt going to be happy anywhere! I kept reading how hard this Ciliata is going to be to root....had I known that, i wouldnt have bought an unrooted cutting. BUT if you think it should be 'easy' to root, I am going to give it a good try. If it doesnt work,then I am out $14. If it works,maybe next year I will have peanut butter smelling 'Black' glossy flowers.

mikedahms, I once had a nice collection of H. Ciliata, H. Coronaria and H. Guppyi - all Eirostemmas.

Now I live in Southern Califorinia, a subtropical region. When I had these Eirostemmas, I put them out in full sun during the summer to encourage bloom, as I've read these types of hoyas like full sun. Well guess what? They got "burn" holes on their leaves. Eventually they died out and I gave up on them.

What happened and what can I do if the full sun in the dead of summer seems too much for them?

Thanks, TammyPie

Tammy did you slowly acclimate them to the high light? Plants need to adjust to large increases slowly and this is especially true of they were in lower light to begin with.
If you think the full sun is too much for them then just give them an exposure where they get full sun during the morning or late afternoon but not during the intense mid afternoon sun.

Mike

Hi Mike,

I first had them upstairs with a south-facing window. They did great until they got scale. Then I put them outside in full sun, because I heard the Eirostemmas liked full sun. I picked off the scale and continued to do so when they were outside. My H. Ciliata begun to make blooms, then blasted.

Sometimes life gets in the way of caring for plants, and at some point, I let the Eirostemmas go on their own. Family issues, etc. got in the way.

However, my H. Diptera survived, in the shade with scale and she hung on. I put her back in the kitchen garden window and she has bloomed this week.

So, my mistake was taking my Eirostemmas out of a warm upstair south-facing window to the outdoors in full summer sun. The Eirostemmas I'm going to get soon will now reside either upstairs or in my garden window, not outdoors.