Hoya carnosa

The wax plant or Hoya carnosa is named for Thomas Hoym which was the gardener to the Duke of Northumberland at the end of the 18th century.

The Genus Hoya is found throughout Eastern Asia and Australia and there are more than a hundred species. Hoya is closely allied to the Genus Stapelia and Ceropegia.

This particular species prefers slightly acidic soil. Propagation is either from seed, air layering, stem or leaf cuttings.

Propagation by stem cutting is the easiest. The stem cutting should be dipped in rooting powder and placed in compost, after removing the lower leaves and left in a humid place.

Leaf cuttings should contain part of the petiole for best results.

Maltese soil is not well tolerated with this plant yet it seems to thrive well in our gardens. A spoonful of vinegar added to about 10 liters of water can help reduce some of the alkalinity of the soil and produce more shiny leaves.

Picture taken by Jason Fenech.

Maltese wild succulents: Stonecrops.

There are several Sedum species in the Maltese islands. Here are three of them. They can be found growing together at Dingli cliffs:


Sedum album. This is the rarest of the three species and can be seen just near the edge of Dingli cliffs. It has never been seen to flower in Malta and may be propagating by accidental detachment of leaves by animals or rain. In this picture it is growing with Sedum sediforme. Sedum album is perennial (retains the leaves throughout the year)



Sedum sediforme (Mediterranean stonecrop) is frequent. It can often be found in arid rocky places. The leaves can either be bluish-grey or redish-bronze, which according to literature, depends on the amount of sunlight reaching the plants, but cuttings taken from different plants has retained the leaf colour in cultivation. This may indicate that there are two local forms. Sedum sediforme is perennial. This picture was taken at Ta Cenc, Gozo.

It can be found throughout the Mediterranean region extending to Portugal, North Spain and central France.

Sedum caeruleum (Maltese-Bezzul il-baqra)--blue stonecrop. This is an annual species and dies out in summer after flowering in spring. It is often found in dried up shallow rocky holes in spring which may flood in winter.

It has an unmistakable reddish tinge to its fleshy leaves and is the most noticeable of the three. The flowers has seven light-violet petals

These two pictures were taken at Ta Cenc, Gozo.

Pictures and information submitted by Amante Darmanin