hello!!! got this Hoya from farmers market and it slowly lost its leaves :( i didn’t want to do too much to it, so i removed the unnecessary and tended to it when needed… i want this plant to look beautiful one day, so any helpful advice please? :) watering, identification, soil, health…?
From the looks of it in the photo, it looks to be in a pretty large pot for the size of the plant. I’d opt for something no more than 1-2 inches in diameter of the width of the plant’s root ball. Hoyas are also epiphytic plants, so they need a well-draining mix like an epiphytic/bromeliad mix or cactus and succulent mix. I’m new to Hoyas as well, but I haven’t had to get them new soil yet. They’re currently in an epiphytic mix that they came in from an Etsy seller. My other epiphytic plants like my peperomias and holiday cacti enjoy Espoma’s Organic Cactus and Succulent mix. Hopefully someone else will come along and suggest what type of soil they use for their Hoyas, but if you don’t get any responses in terms of that, I’d suggest asking for recommendations on the Hoya Hoarders group. I’d wait until you have the right soil to repot it, then repot the pieces together in a smaller pot, and allow the soil to dry out between waterings. Adding Bonide’s Rooting Hormone Powder to the roots before repotting it in new soil should help the plant develop a stronger root system. Hope this helps 😊
2 likes Here’s one of mine for example. It’s a Hoya Curtisii. I found they enjoy being more snug in their pots so they focus on growing more leaves than roots. Hoyas are pretty slow growers, but they’re more likely of blooming as they mature if they get more root-bound over time.
Here are some other Hoyas for reference. They’re in considerably small pots, but they don’t tend to have very extensive root systems, especially younger ones, so it’s better to keep them in a smaller pot where they’ll dry out faster and be less likely of being overwatered or developing root rot over time.
omg thank you so very much— informative and kind!! i also have a holiday cacti and the proper soils, so thank you for sharing and the recommendations :) this is my first Hoya and i also thought the pot was huge haha i’ll be referring to your answer often thx again!!
1 like No problem! 😉 highly recommend checking the Hoya Hoarders group out if you wanna learn more about them.
1 like And here’s my holiday cactus waving hello and wishing yours good luck. Fair warning if you plan on repotting it, though: don’t disturb the roots if you don’t have to. They’re very prone to shock, so when I have to repot mine, I wait at least a month after bringing it home before repotting it, cover the exposed roots with a liberal amount of Bonide’s Rooting Hormone Powder to reduce the risk of shock and help the plant grow new roots if it does go through any shock from the repotting, use Espoma’s Organic Cactus Mix for soil, and wait until it’s time to water it to repot it, then water it after repotting it to reduce the risk of shock.
