Hoya Kerrii, a Sweetheart of a Plant for Gifting

Novelty or nostalgia? Given the choice, I go for plants that are familiar, plants that call back nice memories from the past. But I cannot help but love Hoya kerrii, the Sweetheart Plant which seems more aptly called the Hoya Heart. I certainly did not grow up seeing this charmer here, there, and everywhere. Nostalgia does not apply to this one. But I love it. Have you seen this plant?

I first saw Hoya kerrii in a specialty shop which sold small and unusual plants. The shop displayed its plants like little jewels. Each was potted beautifully, and the Hoya kerrii offerings sat in the shop’s windows to form a long row of green hearts in small containers. It was around Valentine’s Day, and the mark-up on plants in this shop was incredible, so much so that I did not buy a Hoya Heart even though I wanted one. But this first look got me searching for this beauty ever after.

Hoya kerrii is actually a vining plant, but even though I keep an eye out for heart-shaped leaves most places I go, I never have seen it as a vine. Instead, it shows itself as a chubby, semi-succulent rooted leaf which looks as though it sits atop the soil in its plant pot. Picture the way a child would draw the simplest heart shape, and a fairly sizable one at that. Then picture the bottom point of the heart balancing itself perfectly on (really, just below) the surface of the pot’s soil. This is the way Hoya kerrii appears in the places I have seen it, and this causes me to call it the Hoya Heart more than I refer to it by any other name.

The rooted leaf might be considered an object of art, as it sits so unusually on the soil. Nature alone is not responsible for this placement; human intervention is needed to get the leaf into place in this manner. But once positioned, and once it takes hold, the Hoya Heart needs little help to stay in place.

Vining Versus Single Leaf

Although a single Hoya Heart could indeed grow into a vine, most who purchase it will never see that. The heart-shaped leaf requires some stem nodes, a bit of stem material, to slowly, slowly generate a vine. Hoya kerrii will not generate a whole plant from a leaf alone, but instead needs this stem material to form a plant. Most people who buy the Sweetheart Plant remain with a single-leaf beauty for all time. But for me, this is ideal. This is the charm of the Hoya Heart. To see a chubby heart growing directly out of a plant pot, no stalk or stem visible, is exactly what I want. To me, this is the magic of the Sweetheart Plant and what makes it a perfect gift for showing love and appreciation.

Perfect for Gifting

If you have not yet seen Hoya kerrii in person, keep an eye out for it around Valentine’s Day. You can imagine that this is the time this plant is most in demand, and tags and signage to note that it is the Sweetheart Plant herald what is hardly necessary to announce. (Its heart shape says it all, and the shop in which I first saw it seemed to know that.) Still, I hope to avoid the mark-ups I encountered when I saw my first Hoya Heart. I would prefer to pick up some of these beauties long before that February holiday arrives. Because it is a perfectly sweet gift for showing love at any time of year, I picture it with a nice holiday bow for a hostess gift at any December gathering. I picture it looking equally good as a birthday gift.

Office gift? Well, sure. But make sure the recipient of the Sweetheart Plant works near a bright window, lots of sun but not too chilly. Hoya kerrii wants bright, bright light streaming through a window. (The little shop I mention was not just using a marketing strategy with its Hoya Heart offerings. It needed to get these plants in the bright light for optimal health.) With good light, watering only when dry, and keeping the plant’s container size small, gift recipients surely will be able to keep the Sweetheart Plant in good shape.

Novelty? Sure. The Sweetheart Plant is novel, fanciful, unusual. And that, to me, is what makes Hoya kerrii so gift-able. It makes a sweetheart of a gift... quite perfect for this season of gifting.