Hoya Carnosa 101; Everything You Need To Know to Grow Wax Plants
The Hoya Carnosa is one of the most adaptable houseplants you can have in your home.
A very easy to grow trailing plant that can be displayed in many unique ways; from topiary compositions, to trailing and climbing arrangements.
It’s truly a low maintenance plant, that can be adopted by Plant Newbies and Black Thumbs!
Native to Eastern Asia and Australia, the Hoya Carnosa is also known as Wax Plant, and Porcelain Flower, due to its deep green waxy leaves, and its dainty and fragrant porcelain looking flowers.
This plant was named after Thomas Hoy, a British Botanist, who brought attention to Hoyas for the first time in the late 1700′.
There are over 600 known Hoya species with different foliage shapes, but the Hoya Carnosa is the most common, and widely spread. (I’d say the easiest to care for too!).
In their natural habitat, many Hoya species, grow as epiphytic climbing vines, requiring different care than others.
Let’s focus on the actual Hoya Carnosa Specie.
My Hoya Carnosa Compacta, commonly known as Hindu Rope.
It’s a variety of Hoya Carnosa; It has the same needs as the Hoya Carnosa, but it grows at a much slower rate.
1. light
The Hoya Carnosa enjoys medium to bright, indirect light conditions. However, it definitely thrives on bright, indirect light.
North facing windows are ideal for this plant!
While it loves bright light conditions, exposure to direct sun will damage the Hoya Carnosa.
On the other hand, little light will also harm this plant.
Wherever you place your Hoya Carnosa, make sure it is away from any drafts, whether it’s heat or air conditioning vents, or even doors connecting to the outside. Drafts can be fatal for this plant.
My Hoya Carnosa sits right by a North facing window in our Living Room.
I used this beautiful wood trellis by Treleaf to display its growing stems.
2. humidity
Even though the Hoya Carnosa is an adaptable plant, and does relatively well in average homes humidity levels, it’s still a tropical plant. As such, it thrives on high levels of humidity.
There are a few ways to increase humidity levels around your plants:
- Cluster a bunch of plants together.
- Mist/spray your plants with distilled water twice a week. (I use distilled water to avoid hard water stains and built up on my plant’s leaves).
- Place a pebble tray filled with water underneath the pot. (I pour a bunch of small pebbles or gravel on a saucer and fill it with water. The water barely reaches the pebbles/gravel top surface so that the roots in the pot above don’t sit in stagnant water).
- Use a plant humidifier.
You can either choose one of these options, or combine them together.
I simply spray my Hoya Carnosa with distilled water twice a week. I find this is enough for my Hoya.
Hoya Carnosa beautiful and fragrant blossom.
3. watering and fertilizing
WATERING
Despite the many assumptions, the Hoya Carnosa is not an actual succulent.
It does have succulent-like leaves, and needs, but it’s not a succulent.
Water your Hoya Carnosa according to the season;
Keep the soil slightly moist in between waterings Spring to Fall, (I water mine lightly once a week, and mist it twice a week).
Let the top inch of soil dry out in between watering Fall to Spring, (I water mine lightly once every two weeks and mist it twice a week).
Hoyas, like many other plants, need less water in winter, as they slow down their growth process.
No matter the season, make sure you discard any excess water in the saucer. Hoyas are extremely sensitive to over watering!
It’s very important you provide proper drainage to your Hoya Carnosa.
Good draining soil, in a pot with drainage holes is critical to the health of your Hoya.
I always add perlite to all my soil mixes to add extra drainage.
Here are a few tricks to provide enough drainage to your plant, in case you pot does not have drainage holes.
FERTILIZING
I fertilize my Hoya Carnosa Spring to Fall every time I water it.
I use a Liquid Plant Food. This is the same fertilizer I use for all my plants.
I find it very effective.
As Hoyas growth slows down in winter, slowly start diminishing the amount of fertilizer you dilute in water when fall hits your area.
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4. repotting and propagating
REPOTTING
In addition to being a low maintenance, non-toxic, and air purifying houseplant, the Hoya Carnosa does not require repotting very often, and it’s extremely easy to propagate from cuttings!
What more can you ask for from a plant?!?
The Hoya Carnosa likes to be pot bound, which means, it likes to have its roots tightly packed inside its pot. In-fact, tight roots promotes and accelerate the blooming of its gorgeous flower clusters.
(Do not move your plant into a smaller pot in an attempt to stimulate flowers growth! It won’t work!!).
You can repot your Hoya Carnosa every three years, depending on its growth rate.
PROPAGATING
It is extremely easy to propagate a Hoya Carnosa from its cuttings.
As a matter of fact, my Hoya comes from three stems I snipped off from my friend’s giant plant.
Simply cut off the stems near their nodes, and place them in a water jug for two to three months, until the roots are well developed. (Make sure you don’t cut off the tendrils shooting off the stems, as those are the ones blossoming into amazing porcelain flowers!).
Once the roots are developed, plant your stems in well draining soil within a draining pot.
Within two years, you’ll get a mature plant capable of blooming flowers.
These are the two initial stems is snipped from my friend’s majestic Hoya!
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Hey Plant Loving Woman!
Are you a middle age mom?
Do you constantly feel overwhelmed and anxious?
Do you believe in the healing power of nature?
To reveal your #1 Personal Houseplant that best
helps you reduce your anxiety.
I have a rooted cutting of Hoya C, it is one stem with know side shoots. Should I nip the top out , to encourage side shoots? I have never grown one before
thank you..
Hello Barbara!
If I understand correctly what you are saying you have a single successfully rooted Hoya stem and want to trim off the top to encourage the growth of more stems?If that’s the case, I wouldn’t do that yet and I would simply give your Hoya more time to grow and develop! It will eventually grow new stems!
My friend has never put his hoya in soil over the 10+ yrs he’s had it. Just in an average sized water glass, smaller than the bottle your cuttings are in and counted 75 blooms at one time b4 giving me,my girlfriends cutting and the whole plant to his son who has since divided it.my cutting which is in a shot glass of water has had one bloom cluster already after only 2 months. Should I put it in soil?
Hi! If your plant is happy and healthy, keep doing what you are doing.
No need to change anything!!
Hello!
I purchased my first Hoya C. (Jade) a few weeks ago and am searching for any information on the growth rate (inches x month or x year). I enjoyed your article by the way!
Thank you Jenna.
I don’t have specific dimensions per year, but I can tell you my regular Hoya cuttings have been quite slow in the first year, (perhaps because they were establishing roots).They have grown faster in the second year once I repotted them into a bigger pot.
The Hoya Carnosa Compacta on the other hand, is much slower! I have never upsized its pot in the two+ years I’ve had it.
I hope this helps!
Thank you.
What’s the different between a Hoya Carnosa and pubicalyx
Hello Fred,
The Hoya Publicalyx is a different variety of Hoya. Although it’s very similar to the Hoya Carnosa, (and often mis-labeled), the Publicalyx, has longer and thinner leaves compared to the thicker and shorter Carnosa ones.
I hope this answers your question.
Hi, I purchased a Krimson Queen clipping online and I have already potted it in soil… the root system was nowhere near as developed as the ones you show in the picture and it was definitely after just 1 day, no 2-3 months of allowing the roots to mature in water. At this point, it’s been 5 days since I put it into soil. I was thinking of repotting it anyway to make sure I was using a well-aerated potting mix… should I? I know it’s not been ideal for but how traumatic will this be for her? Should I take her out of soil altogether and let her develop her roots in water?? Thanks for this info!
Hello!
Did the cuttings come with any instructions or care sheets? If not, don’t worry too much about it. You can leave it in its pot as long as it has draining holes, it is not too big with too much soil for its size, and that you place in a bright spot without direct sunlight.
Don’t over-water it either!
I hope this helps!
Unfortunately my plant got moved to a spot that was everything it shouldn’t have 🥲 now all th leaves are falling off, is there any chance it can come back from this??
Hello Catherine,
I am so sorry to hear about your Hoya. Your plant has a chance to come back if the roots are still healthy. Try to remove it from its pot. If the roots are still healthy and not rotten, you can repot them in a new terracotta pot with draining holes, some fresh soil and some perlite to add drainage properties to the soil. Then follow the tips on the article to care for it.
Good Luck!
I deadheaded 12 of 13 peduncles on my very healthy 25+ year old Hoya C. A year later, when the 13th bloomed, I researched and found my error. That was last 2021. I’ve been trying to encourage the formation of new peduncles and I can see a few new ones are appearing this year. One is now forming some petal stems. I’m very pleased about this but I’m wondering if there is anything more I can do. It has the correct lighting and I am watering as you and others suggest. I started fertilizing it monthly for a bit last fall then stopped over winter (I’m in Canada) and I’m about to start with weak fertilizing again. Any more thoughts/ideas? I am a very patient person, so if patience is all I need at this point, I can do that, too.
Hello Fiona,
I think you are doing fantastic, and yes, all you need is patience.
I yet have to see a blooming flower from the Hoya I propagated from my friend three years ago!
Cheers
Phew!
And, thank you for the encouragement.
Hola es necesario que tenga raises o puedo trasplantar una tira y ponerla en la tierra?
Hello Yolanda, you can try to place it in the soil without roots but I am not 100% sure it will root and grow. It depends on the environmental conditions. It’s definitely best to root in in water first.
Hi, I wonder if you an help,I sent away Hoya carps a six different vai seeds they look a lot bigger than I have seen on here,and no instructions, can you help please,Thankyou
Hello Sharron, can you please email me your plant’s pictures and a detail explanation of the issue at [email protected]
Thanks.
Hi, I’m a relatively new plant keeper and I perchesed two Hoya vines last summer back then thay wher vining like mad up my lace curtens which was grate. This spring thay stalled hard so one’s gone into my bathroom while the other is in my window to see if I could encourage more splits in the vine instead of just length. The bathroom one has only bright artificial light but hire humidity while the window has natural light and lower humidity. The bathroom ones starting to expand but slowly, should I re-combine them and put them bothe in the bathroom?
Hi Melissa,
Thank you for reaching out.It seems like the bathroom one is under control, even though I would still place it in a room with natural light. If the one by the window is sitting on a west facing window, you need to move it elsewhere as the direct sun it is too strong on it, otherwise, give it more time.