I figured this was the perfect place to ask - what are things you wish you knew when you got into Hoyas? Do you have any tips for light / fertilizer / propagation / substrate / blooms? I realize tips may vary depending on the specific plant and this is a large topic. I’m just looking for a few tips. I am still fairly new to Hoya and I’m finding most super easy but a few are more difficult (that I bought as unrooted cuttings). Thanks for any tips and expert knowledge!
hoyas love bright light, similar to what you’d offer a succulent or cactus indoors— mine are in south-facing windows (though this may be too bright in tropical regions) or under strong grow lights for 10-12 hours/day. i use a water-soluble powdered fertilizer with added mycorrhizae (joyful dirt) and supplement blooming plants with bone meal for extra phosphorus. i’ve found that my fastest-growing hoyas are potted in coco chips or another extremely airy media, like a 1:1 bark:perlite mixture with a handful of worm castings. many people also have success growing them in semi-hydro setups but i prefer soilless “soil” for my plants since it’s less maintenance and i can water more often without worrying about rot since my hoya mixes drain in seconds and dry completely within days. most species prefer regular watering at least during summertime, being from the rainforests of se asia, and slow growth is often a result of under watering and lack of light
5 Me gusta Thank you for these tips! I just recently potted up some Hoya propagations that had been rooting in moss for a while. The mix I used was probably about 1/3 coco coir, 1/3 perlite, and 1/3 coco chips. Do you think it would be okay to leave them in this mix for now and just move to something more airy when they’re more established?
0 Me gusta that sounds like a great mix for acclimating cuttings to soil. especially considering how moisture-retentive moss is. i’d repot later with perhaps only 10% coir and the rest “chunks” (perlite and coco chips), i find keeping a little bit of whatever soil a plant is currently in helps them adjust to a new mix easier
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One thing I’ve learned is that letting them dry out too much and for too long is just as bad as overwatering. It just causes dry rot instead of the moist variety of rot. They really don’t “like” to be that dry. If you use well draining media like coco husk + coir and you have good drainage you can water your Hoya without fear. Also dry spells can cause buds to blast (fall off) because the plant won’t think it can sustain them. This is my personal experience based off 4 years growing about 150 Hoyas, some of which I killed due to intentional under watering at first.
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