Hoya

 

Cootra family, flipper subfamily. Homeland India, South China, Australia and the Pacific Islands. In nature, 200-300 species, mainly flowering vines or shrubs. Many are epiphytes, some growing on the ground, sometimes in rocky terrain. Hoyi has a huge variety of colors - from pure white to all kinds of shades of pink, yellow, orange, red. There are dark purple, almost black flowers or green. The flowers have a sweet aroma and secrete abundant nectar, attracting pollinating insects (butterflies, flies, ants).

Types

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  • The most common species is the Hoya fleshy Hoya carnosa or the waxy climbing creeper. Its stems can reach up to 6 m in length if not cut off. Moreover, in the spring, with the onset of warm sunny days, the growth of hoya is very fast, and literally in a week the shoots grow by a meter in length. The leaves on the stems are opposite, fleshy, oval, blunt or pointed at the end, dark green, about 6-8 cm long. Waxy whitish stains appear on the upper side of the leaf. The flowers are fragrant, numerous, in umbrella inflorescences. Flowering in spring and summer. There are many varieties that differ in the color of the corolla.

Hoya fleshy is a unique plant, it is extremely unpretentious. No houseplant can compare with it in endurance: it continues to grow in very shaded places, it will not bloom, but it does not lose leaves either; able to tolerate severe overdraft; will survive the absence of cool wintering; not demanding on soils.

  • Hoya lanceolate Hoya lanceolata is a small, highly branching shrub. Shoots drooping, lanceolate leaves, up to 3-3.5 cm long, pointed at the end. Flowers with a pleasant aroma are collected in umbrellas. Hoya the beautiful is better grown as an epiphytic plant in hanging or wicker baskets. Hoya is beautiful more heat-loving than fleshy hoya, in winter it is kept at a temperature of about 16 ° C. In good light, it is able to bloom all year round. Very sensitive to waterlogging. The synonym is Hoya the beautiful Hoya bella
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Hoya - blooming liana - a story about Hoya species and the peculiarities of care from personal experience (author Devi).

Hoya's breeding questions are in the Plants FAQ.

Hoya - care

Temperature: normal in summer 22-30 ° С, in winter optimally about 17-18 ° С, minimum 8 ° С. Some species and varieties are more demanding of cool content in winter, some grow beautifully and bloom at normal room temperature.

Lighting: Bright diffused light with some direct sunlight. The west and east windows will do, too. On the south window in the summer you will need shading in the hottest hours of the day from 12 to 15 hours. The best shade in the rooms is a light veil, on the balcony - a crown of nearby trees. In winter, shading is not required, you can even place it on the south window. Hoya fleshy is more demanding on light to stimulate flowering. For example, the lanceolate hoya can bloom on the north or northwest window (inflorescences form on young shoots), and the fleshy hoya will bloom only on lighter windows (east, west window or next to south windows).

хойя

Watering: Moderate from spring to autumn, soil should dry before another watering in the top half of the pot. In winter, watering is limited (depending on the temperature in the room). Watering water should be soft and persistent. Hoyas tolerate soil drying much more easily than excessive watering. Its roots in dampness rot very quickly.

Top dressing: from March to August every two to three weeks with liquid fertilizer for flowering indoor plants. For hoya, take a meaty dose half as much as recommended by the manufacturer. Choya lanceolate is fed according to the instructions.

Humidity: Hoyi do not need spraying, they tolerate the dry air of apartments. But the fleshy hoya quickly loses its decorative appearance from the settling dust on its large leaves, so once a week it can be rinsed with warm water in the shower. At the same time, the ground in the pot must be covered with cling film to prevent waterlogging.

Transplant: in two years, in the spring. The soil for the fleshy hoya is the 2 part of the sod, the 1 part of the humus, the 1 part of the leaf earth and the 1 part of the sand. The soil for hoya is beautiful - the 1 part of the leafy land, the 1 part of the chopped roots of the fern (or pine bark), the 1 part of the universal soil, with the addition of charcoal and sand. Good drainage must be done.

Reproduction: stem cuttings that are easily rooted in water (water must be changed every other day). Cuttings are taken from the increase in shoots last year. Several cuttings are planted in one pot to get a more lush bush.

Features: fleshy hoya is resistant to ticks even in dry and hot air, lanceolate hoya (beautiful) is less resistant to ticks, but is easily "cured" in a hot shower. Of the pests, choyas are most often threatened by mealybugs and scale insects. They cause quite serious damage, there is a massive drying of leaves and flowers. It is necessary to treat with systemic drugs, watering under the root (actara, confidor) and spraying with contact drugs (actellic, fufanone).

Hoya, FAQs

To make hoya bloom

For more abundant flowering, hoya is fleshy, it is kept in a very cool room in winter, at a temperature of about 12 ° C, watering at the same time, very rare, with almost complete drying of the entire earthen coma. Sometimes hoyas do not bloom, even if they have a dormant period if they are planted in too large a pot, or after fertilizing with a high proportion of nitrogen.

Another condition for flowering: enough direct sun. Hoya blooms well on the east window, in close proximity to the south or west window (on the window itself, the leaves burn). On the north window, hoya flowers very rarely.

After flowering, hoya, faded peduncles are not cut off, since flowers are formed on them next year.

Important

All Hoyas love loose, well-drained soil. Roots must breathe. And for this, when compiling a soil mixture, use only large washed river sand. In addition, coconut fiber (coconut filings or chips) and fine expanded clay (3-4 mm fraction) can be added to the substrate.

By the way

Wax ivy is pinched periodically before flowering for greater bushiness. If hoya is grown not in a hanging planter, but in an ordinary pot, then its branches must be tied to a support. For this, for example, an arc of wire is used, which is fixed in a pot. You can place two arcs at right angles to each other. The stems of the hoya are braided around the arc in a spiral.

Growing problems

  • Yellowish spots on the leaves, which then become brown - sunburn, hoya, although very photophilous, the midday sun in summer can leave burns. In hoya bella, from an oversupply of the sun, the leaves initially acquire a reddish tint.
  • The leaves turn yellow and wilt, the stems and leaves are soft - excess moisture in the soil due to too frequent watering, when the soil does not have time to dry out, rot of the roots. The plant can be saved by urgent transplantation into dry soil.
  • Leaves dry, curl and die - too dry and warm air. Hoya prefers moderate temperatures, but if it is impossible to lower the temperature, cover the batteries with wet sheets, or spray the leaves more often. But remember that increased watering does not compensate for heat and dryness.
  • Pests: wax ivy can affect scale insects, mealybugs, sometimes spider mites. Carefully inspect the newly acquired plant, use insecticides or acaricides if pests are found.