Compacta Purple Leaf
A folded-leaf cultivar described with very dark foliage and lilac-purple flowers.
The original Dutch selection, its 1986 naming publication and later collection records are kept separate from unverified modern labels and colour-based identifications.
Overview
Compacta Purple Leaf was established as a cultivar name in 1986, according to the Hoya cultivar registrar, in Hoya Nieuwsbrief no. 4. The January issue contains Ton van der Hoorn’s account of selecting an unusual shoot from a Compacta he bought in early 1982. The historical description pairs tightly curled, very dark green to purple foliage with lilac-purple flowers. The 1982 purchase and a separate 1985 collection record concern its history before publication; neither is the cultivar-name establishment date.
Related profiles: Compacta · Hummel’s Krinkle Kurl · Regalis (Compacta)
Photo Gallery
No identity-, rights-, and profile-reviewed photographs are available yet.
Evidence-Based Growing Insights
No form-specific care conclusion has passed review. The parent Hoya page remains the source for shared information; generic advice is not repeated here.
What We Know
- The original newsletter quotes van der Hoorn describing an unusual shoot that he rooted and selected for roughly two and a half years. It connects the name with V.K.C. plant judging at Aalsmeer. The exact judging date and certificate have not been verified here (p.30).
- The January 1986 account describes glossy, curled foliage ranging from very dark green to purple, and flowers shaped like those of Compacta but lilac-purple in colour. Its short comparison on page 31 repeats the dark foliage and darker flowers. These are historical observations of that material.
- The registrar accepts the full name Compacta Purple Leaf, credits van der Hoorn with selection and naming, and describes dark purple new growth, lilac flowers and a tight habit. The 2024 registrar article is a later assessment of the 1986 naming publication.
- The IPPS collection register records accession 01416 as Hoya carnosa Purple Leaf, obtained from Ton vd Hoorn under the received name H. Purple Leaf in 1985. This documents a labelled acquisition. It does not establish the first publication date or identify every later plant sold under the name (PDF p.23).
- A 2021 grower account describes very dark-leaved material at Pantar and attributes its history to van der Hoorn, Ruurd van Donkelaar and a later transfer by Willem Kleinlangevelsloo. This is a dated keeper report, rather than independent verification of every propagation link or confirmation of current holdings.
- The descriptions do not establish that every leaf remains purple at every stage or under every growing condition. A dark leaf or unusually tight curl alone cannot identify this cultivar. A plant’s original label and known propagation history remain useful alongside leaf and flower observations.
- The newsletter’s healthy-growth and flowering remarks are grower observations; its mealybug warning concerns dense Compacta foliage generally. The reviewed sources provide no controlled comparison establishing a Purple Leaf-specific light level, watering interval or flowering timetable.
What We Are Still Learning
Can the original Aalsmeer judging and naming record be located?
What would help: A dated V.K.C. judging certificate, report or original entry connecting the assessed plant and name to van der Hoorn’s selection.
Which living accessions have a documented connection to the original selection?
What would help: Dated acquisition and propagation records linking plants to van der Hoorn, IPPS01416 or another documented early accession.
How do leaf colour and growth change as leaves mature and conditions vary?
What would help: Repeated photographs of the same traceable plant and its cuttings, with leaf age, light and other growing conditions recorded.
Can you provide a photograph the Library may display?
What would help: An original leaf or flower photograph, exact label and known plant history, creator credit and explicit display permission or a verifiable reuse license.
Common Misconceptions
- The name’s establishment in 1986 is distinct from the parent plant’s 1982 purchase, the 1985 IPPS acquisition and the registrar’s 2024 article.
- Dark or purple foliage alone does not authenticate Compacta Purple Leaf.
- The name does not promise that all leaves stay purple under every condition.
- A historical judging report or collection label does not authenticate every modern selling label.
- General Compacta growing advice is not evidence of a special Purple Leaf requirement.