Hoyas are among the easiest houseplants there are. There are a variety of species available to grow in the home and most of them thrive on neglect! Imagine that. A houseplant that will tend to do better if you forget about it once in a while. Keep reading and I will show you how I take care of my Hoya carnosa (although the care will also apply to most hoyas!)
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Not only do hoyas thrive on neglect and have beautiful waxy foliage, hence the common name Wax Plant, but they also will flower for you! More on that later.
Table of Contents
Hoyas in Nature
Most hoyas are epiphytes in nature, and Hoya carnosa is native to Eastern Asia and Australia. Being epiphytes, you'll want a light and coarse growing medium. More on this later.
Did you know that Hoyas are actually related to milkweed? Which makes absolutely perfect sense because if you have ever seen a milkweed flower (Monarch butterfly caterpillars only eat Milkweed), you will know exactly what I'm talking about. There is a strong resemblance.
Hoya Carnosa Care
Although Hoyas are not succulents, most Hoyas have very thick, succulent-like leaves. Which is great because it means that they are very forgiving in the home and will tolerate (and even thrive) from some neglect!
Hoya carnosa plants are most often grown in hanging baskets, but these are vining epiphytes so you can also grow them as a floor plant using a support such as a trellis.
To illustrate exactly how easy Hoya carnosa plants are, let me show you my variegated Hoya carnosa that I've had in the same pot since I purchased the plant probably around 16 years ago.
It is several feet long and I sometimes will give it extra special treatment and will water her, shower her, and let her drip dry in the shower. Otherwise I would be making a big mess in my sunroom where the plant hangs in front of north and east windows.
General Hoya Growing Tips
There are many species of Hoya and some have more specialized needs, however, according to the International Hoya Association, there are a few pieces of generalized advice that apply to ALL hoyas:
Don't grow hoyas in huge pots. They like to be at least somewhat root bound.
A well draining soil, such as a good succulent mix, is a good choice for hoyas. More on soil blends later.
If you don't have enough light, your hoya won't bloom. If you have too much light, your leaves may yellow or burn. Experiment and find a balance!
Finally, there is one secret that you may not know that pertains to flowering. Keep reading to find out soon.
Hoya Soil
My Hoya carnosa has been in the same pot for 16 years so I haven't repotted this plant. However since Hoyas are epiphytes, they benefit from a light and coarse potting mix.
Epiphytes really need a lightweight potting mix. There are many combinations that you can use to create this idea potting mix.
Horticulture magazine recommends 2 parts of a soilless mix to 1 part fine grained bark mix as a great option for many epiphytes. In my opinion, this is a great option for more plants that just epiphytes. I have added orchid bark to my soil blends for a while now.
Personally, for other types of Hoyas, I have used a good succulent/cactus mix, to which I have added something "chunky" such as orchid bark, perlite or even ¼" pumice (link to Amazon).
Adding chunky ingredients to your soil will aerate your soil, allow more oxygen to your plant's roots, and allow it to dry out more quickly. Epiphytes will love you if you can provide these conditions.
Check out my blog post dedicated specifically to repotting Hoyas. You can see the entire process step-by-step and with photos.
If you want an amazing mix to use right out of the bag, check out the amazing Hoya soil blend from Oh Happy Plants. This is an amazing mix and you will get 10% off at checkout automatically if you use my link.
Hoya Light
Hoya carnosa prefers brighter light. If you don't give this plant enough light, it will produce all foliage and no flowers. This wouldn't be a huge issue, but don't you want to see some flowers? They are quite spectacular!
Take a look at the flowers on my Hoya carnosa. Aren't they stunning??
I keep my Hoya carnosa in my sunroom which has a large wall of Northern exposure windows and Eastern exposure windows, as well as a skylight. It receives some direct morning sun and has done very well in this location.
Be careful not to give your plant too much sun otherwise it may start to yellow and potentially burn. My home is not blessed with any good Southern exposure windows.
If I did have some Southern exposure windows, I would place my Hoya carnosa there for sure, with some blinds to diffuse the direct sun a bit.
If you want your hoya to bloom, you must be providing enough light. This is number 1! There are other factors that will encourage your hoya to bloom, but we'll get there shortly.
Watering Hoyas
You may have heard that you shouldn't overwater your hoya. Overwatering is a terrible term in my opinion. So much so that I've written a blog post on what it really means.
Be sure not to miss my overwatering misconceptions post.
It is probably the one piece of advice that I have given people that has helped them the most when it comes to houseplant care! And it goes well beyond Hoyas!
When I water my Hoya carnosa, or any other hoya that I have, I will water it thoroughly until water comes through the drainage hole.
Discard all excess water. Epiphytes sitting in water will spell death!
After watering, I will wait pretty much until all of the soil is completely dry. In this way, I treat them very much like succulents when it comes to watering (even though Hoyas are not technically succulents).
Some people prefer to wait until the leaves pucker a bit and then water. I know that I've done this unintentionally a few times. Clearly, the plant has been with me for 16 years and has not complained much 🙂
If you keep hoyas TOO dry for too long, the lower leaves on the vines will yellow and eventually turn crispy and fall off.
However, a dry period in the winter time will often spark your plant into blooming in the Spring. Give your plant a 4-5 week dry period in the winter time, and then resume care as normal.
I've tested this with my plant, and it worked!
Fertilizing Hoyas
I never fertilize hoyas during the winter months, but will fertilize dilutely with every watering throughout the growing season.
I've been using an incredible fertilizer called Dyna-Gro Grow. It is a premium, complete fertilizer that contains all the micro and macro nutrients for plant growth.
There is a noticeable difference in my plants since I've started using this fertilizer so try it out for yourself! You will not be disappointed.
Simply mix ¼-1/2 teaspoon of Dyna-Gro Grow to a gallon of water and use at every watering.
How to Get a Hoya to Bloom
Light is the #1 most important priority! You can't expect your hoya to bloom in lower light, although the plant will tolerate lower light.
Keeping your plant potbound will help encourage blooming! My hoya carnosa did not bloom for several years, but once it started, it bloomed every single year to some degree.
Once your hoya blooms, be sure NOT to deadhead the flower! The future blooms will grow from the "spurs." Take a look at what the spur looks like below on my plant:
So when the plant is done blooming, just gently brush off the petals or let them fall off. Don't cut anything off otherwise you will be cutting off where the plant will flower the following year!
Be sure to smell the flowers because they have a delightful fragrance! One time my hoya bloomed and I didn't even know. I smelled something in the other room, and I probed around the sunroom until I found a spectacular flower on my hoya.
Also, you may notice that the newer vines don't have any leaves. There is nothing wrong with your plant. This is just how they grow so leave them alone. Take a look at the newer vine below on my Hoya carnosa.
Propagating Hoya
Unless you want to propagate your Hoya, I would recommend never cutting any vines off your plants or you may prevent it (or at least decrease) the amount of flowering. I only take dried up vines or leaves off my hoya.
If you do want to propagate your plant, follow these steps recommended by the International Hoya Association:
Take a cutting with 2 or 3 leaf nodes. A node is the point on the stem where the leaf meets the stem. Remove the leaves at those nodes. (You'll obviously want to keep the leaves at the tip of the cuttings)
Dip the base of the cutting in a rooting hormone.
Place the cutting(s) in a pot of soilless mix to which you've added about a third perlite or pumice. (Approximately 2 parts soilless mix to 1 part of perlite or pumice).
Water thoroughly and discard excess water. Don't allow the potting mix to dry out completely while the cuttings are rooting.
That's all folks! Do you have a Hoya carnosa? Comment below! I'd love to hear from you.
There are so many other kinds of beautiful Hoyas to grow, but this one definitely belongs in any houseplant collection. Check out my posts on more lovely varieties:
Hello, i bought hoya a month ago nd when i bought it the conditions was not good, the whole leaves are yellow and i tried every thing to turn them back to green leafs. But its not working, pls suggest me what to do. And also one of my another hoya, i mistakely kept them in sun nd all the leaves has burned. Will it survive back?
All you can do is provide good, routine care as I've described in my blog post. The sunburned leaves will not turn green again, and neither will leaves that have turned completely yellow. You may have to prune the plant back if the damage is really bad. You'll have to have patience as many hoyas are not fast growers.
Hi..I have a carnosa hoya about 6 yrs approx..it is in a north west window...should it go under grow lights ??....
Also whatvhappens if u cut a node where flower grows from..will it produce more for flowering...mine has never flowered but gives me alot of new leaves...thanks
Hi Cindy! If it hasn't bloomed, there could be numerous reasons why. Not enough light could be one reason, so in that case if you don't have any direct sun right now in its NW window, you may want to consider adding a grow light. Also, if you give your plant a very dry period during the winter (maybe 4-5 weeks or so), this may help encourage blooming in the Spring/Summer. Hope this helps! I'm not sure what you mean by cutting the node where the flower grows from? When a hoya blooms, you don't want to remove the peduncle (or the flowering spur) after it's done blooming. More flowers will emerge from that area in the future.
Hi Raffaele
Oh my gosh! I am extremely emotional right now and I need your thoughts on this..... my dad gave me this Hoya about 40 years ago which was his Mothers Mothers hoya it has to be at least 80 years old..... it has thick rich green leaves with silvery spots on the leaves this plant has never bloomed I keep it in a tight container I give it a little neglect and I have always made sure it has adequate light I take it outside in the summer and bring it back in during fall,winter etc I looked at it today because something caught my eye a little stem like growth growing from the vine and it has like teenie tiny little like cluster growth on the end of the stem like growth ( I sure hope this makes sense to you) ... could this be..... could it possibly be after the 40 years that I have had it beginning to flower? or just another stem? but the vine is about 11'' and has no leaves on it it just has a whole bunch of like little nodes throughout the whole vine..... I don't know but it sure seems like a very good possibility...... & if so should I be doing anything extra for her? I would really appreciate hearing what your thoughts on this growth is
Thank you
Hi Jule! It sounds like a flower forming to me :-). If you want to send me a photo, send me a message on the contact form on my website, and when I reply, you can attach a photo. What you're describing definitely sounds like a flower cluster forming, but I can confirm for you if you send me a photo :-). That's incredible and so wonderful to have an 80 year old Hoya! What a wonderful heirloom plant!
Looking for some advice. My Hoya is starting to develop discoloured blotches on some of its leaves. I keep it near a south facing window and only get water once the soil dries out. Any suggestions? Should I clip these leaves away?
Thanks for your help.
My boys came from my husband's great aunt. It is a least 76 years old. It regions at least twice each year. As soon as the flowers fall new ones start out of the spur. My question is is this normal behavior? I love that it reblooms.
Hi,
I've learned a lot about Hoyas. We used to have one when I was a kid and I finally found one for my own home. It's a carnosa cutting and it seems to be quite happy where it is ? it's now in a 4 inch pot, do you recommend to replant it into a bigger one at some point?
Thank you
It will be fine in the 4 inch pot for quite a while. I wouldn't even think about repotting it for at least 2-3 years (of course I haven't seen it, but this is probably safe advice). Hope this helps! Hoyas need tighter quarters.
Before learning these guys love the crowded pots, I repotted my mature, previously blooming carnosa from a bursting 12 inch pot to an 18 inch and sure enough! Zero blooms last year. It's otherwise very healthy. Would you recommend potentially stressing it and downsizing to a 16 inch,or will she eventually bloom in the 18 inch?
I have to large Hoya Carnosa that are approximately 65 years old or older. I inherited them when my grandmother died approx 30 years ago. They used to bloom profusely multiple time a year but stopped about 10 years ago. All of the flower pendula (?) have fallen off and it never generated new ones. I have propagated at least a dozen plants from the two for family members and all of them bloom regularly. My plants are gorgeous and grow like crazy. What can I do to help them start blooming again? Their light comes from the south east window in my house. I am wondering if it could possibly be to0 warm for them. We have a very warm house in the winter (wood stove) and they set on a china cabinet and cascade down. I would say (as heat rises) the temp can reach 85 degrees at times. Do i need to put them in a cooler location? We moved approx. 7.5 years ago. These plants have always had south to southeastern lighting. They are beautiful as is but I really miss the blooms and the beautiful perfume fragrance they emit at night.
Hi Margaret! Wow, what a treasure to have a 65 year old plant! If the plant has been in the same location all those years and the light didn't change, I would try the following. Give your plant an extended dry period right now for about a month or so. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't suffer too much. It may start to wrinkle a bit, but it's ok. Then start watering it again like normal after about a month or so, and resume normal watering. This can often kick start your plant into bloom. You can also start fertilizing with a bloom-booster type fertilizer in the Spring. 85F should be fine, but does the temperature drop in the evening? A drop in temperature at night is also beneficial. Hope this helps!
My neighbors friend just brought me 2 cutting of a Hoya .. I'm so thankful .. I have always wanted another one. I had one years ago, then I moved from my house after selling it I have no idea what happened to it. The 1 that was jyst given to me is in a glass jar in water is it ok until pay day on the 3rd if March? I don't want to loose it. Please help!
Hi Tammy! It will be fine in the glass jar of water. You can also place it directly into soil and keep it humid and should root. Sometimes Hoyas can take a long time to root so you'll have to be patient!
I now have a hoya that has been past down 3 generations, she is approximately 70 years old. Since I have had her she has only bloomed once. I was wondering if I can feed her the liquid Alaska salmon fertilizer?
Hi Terri. Wow! 70 years old! Yes you can absolutely try the fish emulsion fertilizer. That's a wonderful fertilizer. I hesitate to use it indoors because of the odor. I know there are deodorized ones though. To encourage it to bloom, try giving it a very dry period of a few weeks this winter. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't suffer too much, and then resume watering after maybe 4-6 weeks. This may kick it into flowering later in the Spring or Summer. Hope this helps!
Hello there
I have hoya that is 5 years and it only bloomed twice. I have not had any clusters! My plant is super healthy just no blooms! I would put outside during the summer but I have stink bugs that love the leaves and dirt. So I stopped putting outside. My leaves are big and deep green just no flowers. What do I need to do to get blooms? Plant sits in the North window. Winter time the sun doesn't make it to the patio, but the summer sun comes right in the living room!
Any advice will be helpful
Hi Miki! Try giving it an extended dry period maybe in late winter or early spring. Stop watering it for about a month or so (keep an eye on it during the period of course). This sometimes will give your plant an extra "kick" to bloom! If that doesn't work, maybe move it to a location where it would receive a bit more light. Hope this helps!
Hi, I just stumbled across your site. I have a hoya that went through rough patch and lost most of it's vines. Now it just has two vines that seem to be thriving but I'm wondering if there is anything I can do to get it to grow new ones so that I can have a full plant again? Would tucking the vines in the soil encourage it to put out roots and fill in?
Hi Candace! Consistent care is key, but to speed things up, you can try tucking the vines into the soil and see if they will root. They should root over time. Just make sure to put the nodes (where the leaf meets the vine) in contact with the soil, and make sure that they are in firm contact with the soil. Maybe use a staple or something to keep it in contact with the soil so it can root. You can try rooting cuttings in water, but it would be less stress on the plant if you just redirect a vine and try to have it root while still attached to the plant! Hope this helps. You can also try some rooting hormone to assist in rooting.
Hi Candace, My Hoya sits below a hanging spider plant. One vine found its way up into the soil of the spider plant & rooted itself & was thriving. I would definitely try tucking long vines into soil. I separated a large plant into many. Two that I kept have reacted very differently. One flowers profusely & the other has not ever flowered in 3 years!
Hello, i bought hoya a month ago nd when i bought it the conditions was not good, the whole leaves are yellow and i tried every thing to turn them back to green leafs. But its not working, pls suggest me what to do. And also one of my another hoya, i mistakely kept them in sun nd all the leaves has burned. Will it survive back?
All you can do is provide good, routine care as I've described in my blog post. The sunburned leaves will not turn green again, and neither will leaves that have turned completely yellow. You may have to prune the plant back if the damage is really bad. You'll have to have patience as many hoyas are not fast growers.
Hello ...what do u recommend for a blooming fertilizer...
Hi..I have a carnosa hoya about 6 yrs approx..it is in a north west window...should it go under grow lights ??....
Also whatvhappens if u cut a node where flower grows from..will it produce more for flowering...mine has never flowered but gives me alot of new leaves...thanks
Hi Cindy! If it hasn't bloomed, there could be numerous reasons why. Not enough light could be one reason, so in that case if you don't have any direct sun right now in its NW window, you may want to consider adding a grow light. Also, if you give your plant a very dry period during the winter (maybe 4-5 weeks or so), this may help encourage blooming in the Spring/Summer. Hope this helps! I'm not sure what you mean by cutting the node where the flower grows from? When a hoya blooms, you don't want to remove the peduncle (or the flowering spur) after it's done blooming. More flowers will emerge from that area in the future.
Will I cause harm by splitting my 3 year old Hoya to share with a friend? ( it’s never bloomed yet)
Hi Phyllis! No there is no harm in dividing your plant if there are multiple vines and you do it carefully!
Hi Raffaele
Oh my gosh! I am extremely emotional right now and I need your thoughts on this..... my dad gave me this Hoya about 40 years ago which was his Mothers Mothers hoya it has to be at least 80 years old..... it has thick rich green leaves with silvery spots on the leaves this plant has never bloomed I keep it in a tight container I give it a little neglect and I have always made sure it has adequate light I take it outside in the summer and bring it back in during fall,winter etc I looked at it today because something caught my eye a little stem like growth growing from the vine and it has like teenie tiny little like cluster growth on the end of the stem like growth ( I sure hope this makes sense to you) ... could this be..... could it possibly be after the 40 years that I have had it beginning to flower? or just another stem? but the vine is about 11'' and has no leaves on it it just has a whole bunch of like little nodes throughout the whole vine..... I don't know but it sure seems like a very good possibility...... & if so should I be doing anything extra for her? I would really appreciate hearing what your thoughts on this growth is
Thank you
Hi Jule! It sounds like a flower forming to me :-). If you want to send me a photo, send me a message on the contact form on my website, and when I reply, you can attach a photo. What you're describing definitely sounds like a flower cluster forming, but I can confirm for you if you send me a photo :-). That's incredible and so wonderful to have an 80 year old Hoya! What a wonderful heirloom plant!
Looking for some advice. My Hoya is starting to develop discoloured blotches on some of its leaves. I keep it near a south facing window and only get water once the soil dries out. Any suggestions? Should I clip these leaves away?
Thanks for your help.
It would help to see some photos. Are there a lot of leaves that look like that?
My boys came from my husband's great aunt. It is a least 76 years old. It regions at least twice each year. As soon as the flowers fall new ones start out of the spur. My question is is this normal behavior? I love that it reblooms.
Yes it is! 🙂
Hi,
I've learned a lot about Hoyas. We used to have one when I was a kid and I finally found one for my own home. It's a carnosa cutting and it seems to be quite happy where it is ? it's now in a 4 inch pot, do you recommend to replant it into a bigger one at some point?
Thank you
It will be fine in the 4 inch pot for quite a while. I wouldn't even think about repotting it for at least 2-3 years (of course I haven't seen it, but this is probably safe advice). Hope this helps! Hoyas need tighter quarters.
Before learning these guys love the crowded pots, I repotted my mature, previously blooming carnosa from a bursting 12 inch pot to an 18 inch and sure enough! Zero blooms last year. It's otherwise very healthy. Would you recommend potentially stressing it and downsizing to a 16 inch,or will she eventually bloom in the 18 inch?
I think it will eventually bloom in the 18 inch, but it just may be longer. I don't think there is any harm in moving it to a 16 inch pot though!
I have to large Hoya Carnosa that are approximately 65 years old or older. I inherited them when my grandmother died approx 30 years ago. They used to bloom profusely multiple time a year but stopped about 10 years ago. All of the flower pendula (?) have fallen off and it never generated new ones. I have propagated at least a dozen plants from the two for family members and all of them bloom regularly. My plants are gorgeous and grow like crazy. What can I do to help them start blooming again? Their light comes from the south east window in my house. I am wondering if it could possibly be to0 warm for them. We have a very warm house in the winter (wood stove) and they set on a china cabinet and cascade down. I would say (as heat rises) the temp can reach 85 degrees at times. Do i need to put them in a cooler location? We moved approx. 7.5 years ago. These plants have always had south to southeastern lighting. They are beautiful as is but I really miss the blooms and the beautiful perfume fragrance they emit at night.
Hi Margaret! Wow, what a treasure to have a 65 year old plant! If the plant has been in the same location all those years and the light didn't change, I would try the following. Give your plant an extended dry period right now for about a month or so. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't suffer too much. It may start to wrinkle a bit, but it's ok. Then start watering it again like normal after about a month or so, and resume normal watering. This can often kick start your plant into bloom. You can also start fertilizing with a bloom-booster type fertilizer in the Spring. 85F should be fine, but does the temperature drop in the evening? A drop in temperature at night is also beneficial. Hope this helps!
My neighbors friend just brought me 2 cutting of a Hoya .. I'm so thankful .. I have always wanted another one. I had one years ago, then I moved from my house after selling it I have no idea what happened to it. The 1 that was jyst given to me is in a glass jar in water is it ok until pay day on the 3rd if March? I don't want to loose it. Please help!
Hi Tammy! It will be fine in the glass jar of water. You can also place it directly into soil and keep it humid and should root. Sometimes Hoyas can take a long time to root so you'll have to be patient!
I now have a hoya that has been past down 3 generations, she is approximately 70 years old. Since I have had her she has only bloomed once. I was wondering if I can feed her the liquid Alaska salmon fertilizer?
Hi Terri. Wow! 70 years old! Yes you can absolutely try the fish emulsion fertilizer. That's a wonderful fertilizer. I hesitate to use it indoors because of the odor. I know there are deodorized ones though. To encourage it to bloom, try giving it a very dry period of a few weeks this winter. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't suffer too much, and then resume watering after maybe 4-6 weeks. This may kick it into flowering later in the Spring or Summer. Hope this helps!
what do you mean by soillRubyess? ty
It's just a fancy term for what is normally sold for houseplants. Here is a reference: https://www.finegardening.com/article/choosing-the-right-soilless-mix
Hello there
I have hoya that is 5 years and it only bloomed twice. I have not had any clusters! My plant is super healthy just no blooms! I would put outside during the summer but I have stink bugs that love the leaves and dirt. So I stopped putting outside. My leaves are big and deep green just no flowers. What do I need to do to get blooms? Plant sits in the North window. Winter time the sun doesn't make it to the patio, but the summer sun comes right in the living room!
Any advice will be helpful
Hi Miki! Try giving it an extended dry period maybe in late winter or early spring. Stop watering it for about a month or so (keep an eye on it during the period of course). This sometimes will give your plant an extra "kick" to bloom! If that doesn't work, maybe move it to a location where it would receive a bit more light. Hope this helps!
Thanks a million for your help!
You're very welcome Candace!
Hi, I just stumbled across your site. I have a hoya that went through rough patch and lost most of it's vines. Now it just has two vines that seem to be thriving but I'm wondering if there is anything I can do to get it to grow new ones so that I can have a full plant again? Would tucking the vines in the soil encourage it to put out roots and fill in?
Hi Candace! Consistent care is key, but to speed things up, you can try tucking the vines into the soil and see if they will root. They should root over time. Just make sure to put the nodes (where the leaf meets the vine) in contact with the soil, and make sure that they are in firm contact with the soil. Maybe use a staple or something to keep it in contact with the soil so it can root. You can try rooting cuttings in water, but it would be less stress on the plant if you just redirect a vine and try to have it root while still attached to the plant! Hope this helps. You can also try some rooting hormone to assist in rooting.
Hi Candace, My Hoya sits below a hanging spider plant. One vine found its way up into the soil of the spider plant & rooted itself & was thriving. I would definitely try tucking long vines into soil. I separated a large plant into many. Two that I kept have reacted very differently. One flowers profusely & the other has not ever flowered in 3 years!