--- title: "Hey y’all! I’m new to the group but I’ve had my Hoya compacta (Curly)…" description: "Hey y’all! I’m new to the group but I’ve had my Hoya compacta (Curly) for about a year. Would you mind helping me with some guidance/encouragement/advice from…" url: "https://getplanta.com/community/-Hvw2UpVTXuBN-5q5GuMYg/XtkEy1qROffKT6WIchtW3M" community: "Hoya Hoarders" author: "Blakely" published: "2026-05-11T15:55:46.241583Z" language: "en" image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/klZSM_j7AQQjI0hI1ojHFkLfN628OmWcXYmVEy9Pqrc/0E8BjZb0Q4mnucqtmTjZ0g.webp?size=large" --- [Community](https://getplanta.com/community.md) / [Hoya Hoarders](https://getplanta.com/community/-Hvw2UpVTXuBN-5q5GuMYg.md) # Hey y’all! I’m new to the group but I’ve had my Hoya compacta (Curly)… _Posted by Blakely on 2026-05-11_ Hey y’all! I’m new to the group but I’ve had my Hoya compacta (Curly) for about a year. Would you mind helping me with some guidance/encouragement/advice from more experienced Hoya lovers? ☺️ What’s the growth rate of your Hoyas and how long did they get before they started blooming? This is Curly (looking a little on the damp side because she just got misted). I got her almost a year ago now and she was slightly smaller but it doesn’t look like she’s grown much. I know that compactas are slow-growing but surely there would be progress by now…? Any advice/suggestions/encouragement? I have her in my office which, because of the lighting, gets enough light that it technically classifies as part-sun/part-shade. My only concern would be the temperature which, being an office in a hallway, means I have no control. I keep a personal space heater on hand just in case. (Probs need to get a thermometer to gauge actual temps.) \*\*oh, the powder is diatomaceous earth - my precaution against fungal gnats…. The bane of my indoor gardening experience. Anyway, it’s nice to find a community of plant enthusiasts to go to for stuff like this 😊 ![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/klZSM_j7AQQjI0hI1ojHFkLfN628OmWcXYmVEy9Pqrc/0E8BjZb0Q4mnucqtmTjZ0g.webp?size=large) ## 10 comments ### nick commented on 2026-05-11 Part sun part shade is perfect. Depends on the hoya but generally they are very slow growers and need to rly love their placement to bloom. I have no experience with compacta unfortunately so maybe someone with experience in them can be more helpful. But I do have a handful. Hoyas are some of my favorites. But they do take a lot of patience. #### Blakely replied on 2026-05-11 The encouragement is much appreciated! Im not a plant expert but I am very enthusiastic. I grew up gardening, so this is me getting my green thumb back. Oddly enough, I’ve had better luck in my office with no windows than I have at my house. 😅 ### Ms.Issy commented on 2026-05-11 In my experience my Hoya Compacta likes a tight pot; so this pot might be too big. When mine was in a pot it deemed too big she refused to grow at all. Once I put her in a pot that her roots mostly filled she started growing like gangbusters! A grow light might help too, with extra light and maybe temperature. Mine doesn’t grow in the dead of winter but once spring hits (more light and heat) she grows a lot. Also, fertilizer, mine did much better once I started using it regularly. #### Blakely replied on 2026-05-12 I’ll give that a try. I haven’t reported her since I initially planted her. I usually avoid it because I’m always paranoid about transplant shock, but at this point, I don’t think it’ll hurt. And again, I know they’re slow growers but I think less than 1 inch/year isn’t the norm. 😅 #### Ms.Issy replied on 2026-05-13 I am constantly worried about transplant shock too. 😅 When I transplanted mine I was very careful not to disturbed to roots. I just kinda shook the plant gently to get the excess off then popped it into the new pot. Mine didn’t get any shock that I noticed. ### Lisa Anglim commented on 2026-05-12 Buy BTI drops if in the USA. A lot of companies can’t use because of restriction. But you can buy it in Amazon. It’s one drop in a gallon of water. You won’t have fungus gnats. It makes them go away. I would be careful of misting too often. You don’t want water down in the curls of the leaves. And it lasts about a minute until it dries. Really does little good for the plants. It’s mostly for you. Protect it against mealies. You ca b r t set rid of them. It gets down in the curls it’s hard to get out. Hope it happens little good. 😊 #### Blakely replied on 2026-05-12 Thanks. I just use the powder as a precaution because I’ve had issues with other plants and fungal gnats in the past. :) I haven’t had any infestation in a while though. 👍🏻 ### Lisa Anglim commented on 2026-05-12 I remember mine growing very slowly until spring when it started growing really fast. Mine got a couple hours of direct sun every day. It’s was about a couple of weeks into spring when they suddenly started growing and it was rapid that year. I had them in a four inch pot and it hing down over the side of the pot after that growth spurt. Then it got mealy bugs, and was the beginning of the end I had to throw it away. ### Titania commented on 2026-05-25 I’ve had mine for two years now. I haven’t seen any major growth until it started climbing earlier this year. Compared to the hoyas next to it, it’s definitely going at its own pace. I can’t really tell when new leaves are growing, just that it seems taller than the last time I checked. Adding a trellis definitely encouraged it to grow more ☺️ ![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/4C8Jqjj0E9_YYQ2bIUaIPLEfjV3ajDmCWbBWZ-5XGYk/u027OfJdSx2igFs59PIT4A.webp?size=large) #### Blakely replied on 2026-05-27 That makes me feel better. 😊 Thank you! Yours looks lovely. ☺️ --- _Source: the Planta community (https://getplanta.com). Reading is open to everyone. To post, comment and like, get the Planta app: https://getplanta.com/download_