Hoya came to our homes from Southeast Asia: from the south of Indonesia and China, from New Guinea, Thailand, from the islands of the Malay Archipelago, some parts of India. In addition, it can be found in the north of Australia. Hoya is unpretentious, home care for her is simple.
This unique flowering vine belongs to the Asclepiadaceae family. Hoyas are very reluctant to interbreed. Therefore, their varietal diversity is limited to about 200 varieties. The appearance of the plant is a fleshy stem that becomes stiff with time, surrounded by parallel-seated leaves. Flower stalks grow directly from the stem. Inflorescences consist of flowers sitting on long petioles, umbrella-shaped growing from a peduncle in an amount of 3 to 20. Their size depends on the variety and variety.
There are creepers with very large flowers 8-10 cm (Red Imperial) and small ones - up to 1 cm (Hoya Kerry). And in Hoya Nicholson, the size of the entire inflorescence is up to 4.5 cm. For the most part, the flowers of this plant are fragrant, smooth and glossy, dissected, five-petal. But there are varieties with pubescentflowers, for example, Kaudata, Mirabilis. Hoya Multiflora stands out from all. Its complex two-tiered star-shaped flowers cannot be confused with any other variety. Hoya Campanulata does not lag behind her - her inflorescence, like every flower, resembles a parachute, because the bracts are fused, slightly dissected. The color of the hoya petals ranges from dark burgundy-gray to white and yellow-white. One peduncle can bloom for several years, so do not remove it after flowering.
The shape and color of the leaves are also very variable. There are hoyas with small leaves up to 3 cm (Curtisi), and giant varieties such as Lambi, which have palm-sized leaves. Their shape can be round, oval, long, similar to a pea pod (Shepardy), heart (Kerry), twisted (Indian rope). The color of the leaves can be plain green, variegated yellow-green, green with white specks or with strokes.
Growing and care rules
Hoya flower - house plant. It is not suitable for growing in a Russian garden, as it loves warmth, is afraid of winds and the scorching sun. Under the direct sun, the leaves turn red and get powerful burns, and the wind can also slow down its growth. This creeper has a fairly small root system, so it does not need bulky pots. A meter-long plant, and even with shoots, can easily grow in a 9-centimeter pot (volume from 0.45 to 0.5 liters). Demanding for watering hoya, care at home should include some rules. The soil for growing should be light, but moisture-intensive.
Liana does not tolerate overwatering - she will not grow in a wet pot. It should be with enough holes to drain water. However, these are very moisture-loving plants. The following soil composition for hoya is possible: garden soil or ordinary soil should be diluted with sphagnum, vermiculite and fine expanded clay (2/1/0, 5/0, 5). It must be remembered that in its content it is very similar to a succulent and does not like too oily soil. Therefore, if you have black soil in your dacha, then we advise you to add such land quite a bit.
Hoya is very variable, home care depends on what type it is. If you have a plant with thick fleshy leaves, you should not allow constant waterlogging. The soil should dry out completely between waterings. It will be nice if the plant will stand in a dry state for several days. Nothing will happen to him in 4-5 days. But it is a good prevention of decay. These hoyas love to soak up the slanting sun. For a plant with thin leaves, more frequent watering and less sunlight can be recommended. And on the north window, such a vine will grow normally. When overdrying, thin-leaved species may lose foliage.
Hoyas with pubescent light green leaves love the bright, but not scorching sun, abundant watering without stagnant water. They do not like overdrying, which leads to rapid dehydration and wilting of the leaves. Plants with pubescent dark green leaves prefer regular maintenance. These are shade-tolerant species that can be watered as the earthen coma dries out.
Can't stand ita large amount of hoya minerals, home care does not provide for frequent and abundant feeding. You have to feed them very carefully. It is best to buy a fertilizer for succulents or orchids for this plant. If you have no desire to buy, but want to use what you have, you can feed it with fertilizer for ornamental and flowering plants (alternately). But in this case, the solution must be made 4-5 times weaker than recommended on the label.
Methods of reproduction
The best way to propagate hoya is vegetatively using cuttings. But it is almost impossible to grow it from a leaf cutting, because the leaf does not have cells that provide the appearance of a growth point. Therefore, even if your leaf gives roots, one percent out of a hundred that it will take root and germinate. Unless you got a leaf with a piece of stem. Then growing a hoya from a leaf is difficult, but possible.
For rooting, it is best to have a cutting with two pairs of leaves - then there is a high probability that the cutting will be accepted. It should be planted in a small pot in the soil of the same composition as for adult plants described above. But even less land needs to be added there. For faster rooting, it is better to cover the stalk with a jar or wrap the pot in a transparent bag, providing greenhouse conditions. When the cutting begins to grow, it can be planted in a permanent pot. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account the fact that in a too large container, the hoya will not only not bloom, but will also grow very slowly, since with a large volumeplanting soil, this "cunning" vine prefers to build up the root rather than the above-ground part.
