Hoya Obovata Plant Care

Welcome the Hoya Obovata into your home and be rewarded with a cluster of pink flowers.

The tropical plant is one of Plantly’s top favorites. It is a tolerant plant with succulent leaves speckled with pink or white markings. The classic flora can live forever, grow enormous, and the flowers provide a fragrance you will never forget. Yet, how do you take care of this magical plant to make sure the cluster of flowers greets you in a few years of growth?

Plantly have all the inside news right here for you.

What is the Hoya Obovata?

If you love your household plants, we are confident that you want to understand where your plant originates from. The Hoya Obovata habitat is Fiji, India, Thailand, and Indonesia. It is an epiphyte growing along the tree trunks or branches of host trees.

When grown in a home, you can use a circular wire hoop around it or hang it in a basket. Another great way to display the plant is on the plant shelf. The trailing plant has thick waxy leaves with long tendrils that look like they can wrap around your body.

The plant is very drought-tolerant as they pull the nutrients and moisture from the air making it one of the best household plants to have.

Hoya Obovata Classification

Hoya Obovata Care Basics

In short, the wax plant needs little care and maintenance. However, the plant thrives in bright sunny windows for the best attention, and you need to provide it with infrequent watering. 

One thing we noticed is it requires proper fertilization as it is fast-growing foliage during spring and summer. 

While the plants are not typically grown for their flowers, it remains stunning when it does happen. If this happens, you are one lucky person to see them in bloom.

Humidity and Temperature 

You want the best for your tropical plant. The next step is to know where to place or plant your beauty. As the plant is epiphytic, your tropical plant appreciates humidity.

It thrives on regular misting as well. While not needing to mist, the Hoya Obovata Splash can survive on the humidity levels in your home. A big no-no is to place them close to heat vents, drafty windows, or fans. Neither exposes them to extreme temperatures. So to make sure your plant survives:

• The humidity level should be kept at 60% as it thrives in temperatures ranging between 60° F (15° C) to 85° F (29° C.)
• During the winter months, you will need to make some slight adjustments as the humidity and temperatures fluctuate.
• Always remember a heated home makes the humidity drop by 10%. So you need to find other means to help raise the humidity.
• You can use a humidifier or cluster other indoor plants with the Hoya Obovata.

As you can see, the temperature and humidity need to be ideal, and placing it in a kitchen or bathroom during winter is the best place.

Ideal Lighting 

Your plant needs consistent bright light to thrive as they grow among trees in its natural habitat. If you decide to cultivate the Hoya Obovata as an outdoor plant, prevent it from growing in direct rays of light. When placed indoors, put it at a south-facing window. If you want your plant to bloom, it helps to provide it with good light. Plantly recommends:

• Placing the plant in half-day direct sun at an east or west window location.
• For full sun, you can place it at a south-facing window but keep an eye on the soil’s moisture.  
• However, it all depends on where you live as some windows provide direct morning sunshine.

What Pot Should You Buy?

You now know you live in the correct zone and can provide it with the proper temperatures. Now you need to find the right pot for growing your plant. Doing this can also help you to know when the time comes for the wax plants to repot.

One good thing is the plant does not need regular repotting as it is slightly rootbound. If you do have a rootbound hoya, the likelihood for it to bloom is better. The wax plant needs repotting every two to three years. 

Furthermore, the plant does well in different pots but has ample drainage holes to prevent root rot. A popular choice is a terracotta one, as it has enough weight to help offset the plant’s weight as it matures.

Soil Requirement

The Hoya Obovata Pink Splash loves airy and well-drained soil mixes. However, the roots need enough aeration and drainage.  Planty recommends the following blend:

• Two parts succulent or cactus soil such as Espoma Organic Cactus Mix
• Mix it with ¼  inch pumice or one-part perlite but not both.  

You will find that the soil mixture retains enough moisture and drains well to prevent your plant from getting sick.

Water Requirements

The one thing you will notice with your wax plant is that it is susceptible to overwatering. This is because you need to let the plant dry out between waterings. The watering also depends on the Obovata variety factors. You need to take the:

• The amount of light it receives needs to be considered
• The type of pot the plant is in from terracotta, ceramic, to plastic
• The potting mix used for growing
• Lastly, the season also comes into effect

When the fall and winter months arrive, you can cut back on your watering as the plant is dormant. Once the plant is dehydrated, you can water it thoroughly and allow the soil to soak while the water drains. Once the water drains, remove the excess water.

Fertilizer Requirement

One thing that you will find with the Hoya Obovata NZ is that it grows fast. For this reason, it needs a lot of fertilization and love. It helps to do this during spring and summer to help support the growth. During the winter months, you can withhold fertilizing.

An excellent product you can use is Dyna-Go Grow containing micro and macronutrients. Give it a try as you’ll not be disappointed with the result. You can mix ¼ to ½ teaspoon of it in a gallon. You can use it with every watering.

Repotting

Are you ready to replant your wax plant? Then the following steps can help your Hoya Obovata Australia to thrive.  Or are you not sure if it needs transplanting. Before we get to the method of repotting, you can look:

• To see if there is a mat of roots at the surface of the container meaning it is root-bound.
• You may find you need to water often as the compost dries faster than before.
• You see the roots growing out of the water drainage holes.
• The plant looks too big for the pot and is slowing down with its growth.

Here are the steps to replant your wax plant. Now is also an excellent time to do propagating the foliage as well. For more information on Hoya Obovata reproducing, make sure to read on.

1. Give your plant a good soak a couple of hours or a day before the time. Doing this loosens the root ball, and if it does not want to budge, break the pot.
2. Now loosen the root ball as it makes growing easier in the new soil mix.
3. Take your pot about two inches in diameter bigger and place the soil mix with enough drainage holes.
4. Start by adding a little of the compost at the bottom and set your plant as needed.
5. Add the rest of the mix and press gently down to prevent air pockets. Make sure to leave a ½ inch space above the soil to the top.
6. Give your wax plant a good watering and leave it to drain. Voila, and you’re done!

Propagation

We found with our Obovata plants that there are many ways for you to transmit it. All you need to do is find one that works best for you.

Preparing from Cuttings

The crucial thing is to have at least three leaf nodes on the cutting. First, the node you find on the stem where the plant’s leaves meet the branch. Then, you need to remove the leaves at the bottom and keep a couple at the tip. Sometimes it may have aerial roots and will root faster depending if you bought it or cut it yourself.

Propagation with Water

Using your cutting, place it in water with the nodes underwater. Make sure to change the water with fresh water once a week. Once the roots reach ½ an inch in length, you can pot them in the soil.

Propagation with Soil

Take the cutting and dip the base in water with a rooting hormone. Inset the cutting directly into your small pot with the soil mix as described previously. You can use a Garden Safe Rooting Hormone. Water it thoroughly, and do not let the potting mix dry while rooting.

Hoya Obovata Tips to Flower

• The important thing is to provide your outdoor plant with light by following the light suggestions mentioned.
• Keep your Hoya Obovata Pink Splash pot bound to encourage blooming and never overpot your plant.
• It takes at least three years for it to bloom, and once it blooms, never deadhead the flowers.
• The flowers will rebloom from that same spur.
• During winter, provide it with at least four to five weeks of dehydrating to help the plant bloom.

Growth Zone

You are planning to invest your money in buying Hoya Obovata splash flowers, right. Then the first thing you need to know is if you can plant or upkeep it in your home. The tropical plant grows best in zones 10a to 11 as it is not tolerant against frost.

Hoya Obovata Diseases & Pests

Any Hoya plant can get sick or pestered by insects when in your home or outside. The main sap-sucking pests are:

• Aphids
• Spider mites
• Mealybugs
• Scale

To rid your tropical plant of pests, you can combine a cup of vegetable oil with one tablespoon of dishwashing liquid. Stir well and add two teaspoons of the solution in a cup of water and place it in a spray bottle to spray the plant. 

The most common disease is sooty mold that grows on sappy or sweet residues found on the leaves. To prevent this from happening, you can clean the leaves regularly to prevent the sap from leaking onto the leaves. 

Other concerns you may notice are leaf-drop or dieback of stems. But, again, the culprit is poorly-drained potting mix, and the same applies to root rot.

Hoya Obovata Varieties and Similar Plant

In the Hoya species, you can find varieties or similar plants:

• Hoya Obovata Splash

Is a variegated vine plant producing clusters of star-shaped waxy flowers that are fragrant?

• Hoya Obovata Australia

Also known as the H18, is a beginner grower plant growing fast. It has dark green leaves with silver specks and blooms of pale pink flowers with a darker pink corona. The flowers smell like a sweet rose perfume.

• Hoya Carnosa Variegata

This is a similar species lined with white and pink leaves and occasionally blooms with bright pink or solid white leaves.

• Hoya Carnosa

Is a unique classic wax plant with dark green and huge almond-shaped leaves that grows into long vines. Eventually, it blooms into creamy cluster flowers.