How to Grow Hoya Plant

 

The Hoya plant is a succulent perennial plant and the plant is also called wax plants, porcelain flowers, or honey plants. The Hoya plant is an Asian native plant that is related to milkweeds with fragrant, low-maintenance tropical flowers that grow in a ball-shaped cluster. The Hoya succulent plant produces woody stems with waxy leaves, which remain evergreen.

Hoya succulent plant can be train as a vine, or you can allow it to trail over the side of the container. Either way, expects the full length or height of the plant to be two to four feet. Are hoyas easy to grow? The Hoya succulent plants require bright, indirect sunlight for up to 6 hours daily, moderately moist, well-draining soil that should dry out between waterings, humidity, or regular misting, and a well-balanced fertilizer monthly.

 

Hoya Plant Info

The common name: The common names are wax plant, Hoya, wax flower, porcelain flower, Indian rope plant, honey plant.

The botanical name: The botanical name is Hoya carnosa.

The family: Hoya plant belongs to Apocynaceae family.

The plant type: Hoya plant is a succulent, perennial plant.

The mature size: The mature size is about 12-20 ft.

The sun exposure: Hoya plant prefers partial shade.

The soil type: The plant does well in a well-draining soil.

The soil pH:  Acidic, neutral

The blooming time: The blooming time is spring, summer, fall.

The flower color: The flower colors are pink, yellow, orange, white, purple.

USDA hardiness zones: eight to eleven.

The native area: Hoya plants are native to Asia, Australia.

 

Hoya Care

The following are the main care requirements for growing Hoya plants;

You can plant Hoyas outside in spring or early summer in a spot with bright, indirect light.

Place your Hoya succulent plant in a hanging basket or allow the plant to cling to a small trellis, providing a vertical accent in your tropical container garden.

Also give the Hoya succulent plant humid conditions, which can include placement next to a pond, fountain, or other water feature.

Hoya succulent plant prefers moderately moist, well-draining soil; make sure you allow it to dry out between waterings.

You can give the plant a balanced, slow-release fertilizer once monthly.

 

Light requirement

The Hoya succulent plants thrive best when they get bright, non-direct sunlight for at least 2 to 6 hours per day.

 

Soil requirement

The Hoya succulent plants like to be planted in a well-draining, lightweight soil mix with a slightly acidic to neutral pH (6.1-7.5).

 

Water requirement

How often do you water hoya? The Hoya succulent plants should be watered weekly and left to dry completely between waterings. If the plant gets too much moisture, the plant roots will rot.

 

Temperature and humidity requirement

Hoya succulent plant is a tropical plant, the plant actually thrive in warm and moist, humid climates.

 

Fertilizer requirement

The Hoya succulent plants should be fertilized monthly; The International Hoya Association actually suggests feeding the plant with a fertilizer that includes nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

 

Pruning Hoyas

The Hoya succulent plants are slow to moderate growers. If your Hoya succulent plant finishes blooming, you can leave the flower stalk, as it may produce new flowers. Removing the stalk forces the Hoya succulent plants to produce a new stalk, which delays blooming and wastes the plant’s energy. The Hoya succulent plants are light feeders, and a monthly drink of compost tea or diluted fish emulsion provides all the nutrition the plants need.  

 

What is the Best Way to Grow a Hoya Plant?

You can propagate the Hoya succulent plants by doing the stem cuttings and rooting them in the soil or water. The Hoya succulent plants don't need much beyond the well-draining soil and the warm, humid conditions many tropical flowers crave.

You can grow the Hoya succulent plants outdoors if you live in USDA growing zones ten to eleven; elsewhere, you must grow the plant as a tropical container plant or greenhouse specimen. You need to choose a location with full to partial sun. Plants that receive less than a half-day of sunlight may not produce flowers. The following is how to propagate Hoya via cuttings:

You actually need pruners, rooting hormone (this is optional), potting soil, a hand shovel, and a sterile container.

Take a four inch cutting from softwood, cut on a diagonal with at least 2 leaves at the top. The cutting should have at least two nodes for roots to grow from.

Optionally, dip the cut end in the rooting hormone mixture. Place the cut end down in a glass of filtered water. After about 4 weeks, roots should appear.

Plant the roots in moistened potting mix and then place them in a spot that gets about 6 hours of sunlight.

 

How to Grow Hoya from Seed

The Hoya seeds can be started in pots or flats. The following is how to propagate from harvested or fresh seeds:

You will actually need a good quality soilless potting mix enriched with perlite or pumice, a potting container or flat, and a clear plastic bag.

Make inch-deep holes into the potting mix, place one Hoya seed, and then cover over with a thin layer of potting mix.

Lightly moisten the soil and cover the tray with a plastic bag to give the plant a humid, greenhouse-like atmosphere.

The Hoya seeds should germinate within seven to ten days.

Once the Hoya succulent plants develop true leaves, after about a month of growth, you can repot it.

 

Potting and Repotting Hoya Plant

The Hoya succulent plants like the security of a snug pot, and the plants that are a bit root-bound will flower more prolifically than those in a giant pot. The Hoya succulent plants don’t like wet feet or heavy soil. Many grow as epiphytes in nature (similar to bromeliads and orchids). Mix your regular potting soil with orchid potting mix in a 1-1 ratio to provide an ideal growing medium for your Hoya succulent plants. 

Furthermore, when repotting the plant you can use pasteurized soil or growing medium in either new pots or those washed in a chlorine bleach solution and water.

 

 

Diseases and Pests Control

The Hoya succulent plants are vulnerable to sap-sucking pests like mealybugs, aphids, and spider mites. These entire pests can be controlled with neem oil. Once you've treated the Hoya succulent plants, you can wipe away pest residue with a clean, soft cloth. 

Fungal infections are also common diseases for Hoya succulent plants. Botrytis blight can cause rot and kill your Hoya succulent plants; it shows up as greyish patches. You can treat the plant with fungicide, and then repot in sterilized potting medium.

 

Deadheading Hoya Plants

Don’t ever deadhead Hoya flowers. Actually cutting off the spurs, where the flowers bloom from can easily damage the flowering part of the Hoya plant, and the plant will not bloom again the following year.