I just received this variegated hoya macrophylla in the mail (spent 5 days in transit), and noticed these purple spots along the underside of the leaves.

I contacted the seller and they are unsure of what caused them. I'm mostly just wondering if I should do a bacterial or insect treatment or just give it some time to recover?

Those leaves look very yellow. Is that my screen? I wonder if it got cold. I've had plants in transit that long and they made it fine but I did receive a Macrophylla varigata last fall that was very yellow and didn't survive. I don't know about the purple spots.

I reordered a Macrophylla varigata recently so I looked at the under side of the leaves. Mine has them also. Since mine is growing and making leaves, I'll assume it's normal for that Hoya. Here's a pic.

Hi madalynr,

That very pale leaf of your Wax Plant (Hoya macrophylla 'Variegata') is likely the result of being in a dark box during it's 5 days of transit time, which deterred proper photosynthesis. That leaf may not survive but as long as the remainder of the leaves look okay and the overall plant appears healthy, all should be okay. I wouldn't be too concerned about the tiny purple spots and dots; those may be a result of the plant being grown in a greenhouse or outdoors. My hoyas stay outside year round and often have small imperfections in the leaves. An expert Hoya grower told me years ago that leaf imperfections can be caused by insects nipping at the foliage, or the plants getting bumped by someone walking by, or by leaves blowing against other on windy days, etc. The red to purple leaf spots can be due to fluctuations in light and/or temperature.

I just went outside and took these Hoya leaf photos. The red color of the leaves on Hoya pottsii is due to the plant receiving a lot of sun; if grown in shade, the leaves would be green with no red coloration. The dark dots/spots are likely due to light and temperature fluctuations:

Thank you all so much for your help!! I feel way better now 🙂

And here is mine - I've never noticed it before. I guess I should stare at the bottoms of the leaves once in awhile.

Daisy, that is one beautiful Hoya macrophylla!! I had a very small cutting once but gave it away. Pretty, pretty leaves!

Thanks Lin, and all the leaf backs look like... ummm ... weird.

DaisyI said:Thanks Lin, and all the leaf backs look like... ummm ... weird.

Looks "Hoya Normal" to me.