Removing the spurs that rebloom

Plenty of light but no return blooms usually means the flowering spurs are being cut off.

Diagnosis

Removing the spurs that rebloom

What's happening

Hoya carnosa flowers from short woody stalks called peduncles, or spurs, and it reuses the very same spur to bloom again season after season. If those bare-looking stalks are trimmed off after the flowers drop, the plant has to grow brand-new spurs from scratch before it can bloom again, which sets it back a long time.

How to fix it

Leave every peduncle in place — even when it looks like a dried, empty stub, that spur is where next season's flowers will form. Stop deadheading or pruning the flower stalks, keep the plant in bright light, and feed lightly with a bloom-friendly fertilizer in spring and summer. Avoid moving or rotating the plant once buds appear, as hoyas can drop forming buds if disturbed.

What fixes it

If that doesn't fix it

This is general guidance based on common symptoms; individual plants vary.

Reviewed June 2026 · how we check this