Hoya bhutanica, with its large round flower clusters, is a must-have addition to your Hoya collection.
Like Hoya bicknellii, its flowers have a rich fragrance. For beginners, this is an ideal beginner plant. This article will answer your concerns about care tips regarding this plant.
What Is Hoya Bhutanica?
Hoya Bhutanica, also known as the Wax plant, is a Hoya variety with oval and convex medium-green leaves. It produces waxy flowers that are green-white with a yellow-pink center. These flowers are quite sweet smelling and produced in large round clusters.
Hoya Bhutanica Care
Give your Bhutanica plant plenty of indirect or partial light and maintain a warm and humid environment around it. Only five minutes worth of care each day will help produce exuberant Hoya Bhutanica flowers.
– Water Requirements
Since Bhutanica is a succulent, it is quite sensitive to overwatering and root rot. To grow a happy plant, the key is deep watering and then allowing the top two to three inches to dry in between. This means you will be watering it once every ten days in the winter and even less frequently later on in winter.
You must be sure that the soil’s top inches have dried. Use any lean, sharp object that you can find, such as a pencil, and stick it in the top inches of the soil. Then see if the soil has dried thoroughly before proceeding with watering. Sometimes we stick our fingers to check out the soil and feel how dry the soil is.
For deep watering, you must use a large volume of water. Generally, use water twice or even three times the pot volume in which this Hoya is grown. Don’t dump all this water into the pot. Instead, water slowly with precision while avoiding splashing on the leaves.
The soil takes about 10 to 15 minutes to drain the extra water. After this time, you should dispose of the water collected in the drip tray underneath. If allowed to stay there, it might cause root rot and serve as the breeding ground for mosquitoes and other insects.
– Light Requirements
Your Hoyas needs plenty of bright light every day for approximately seven to nine hours. This light cannot be direct but rather indirect or partially filtered in one way or another.
In a garden, you can place this tiny plant under larger pots and plants to filter out the beams of the sun.
Inside the house, you naturally want a room with windows. You need to figure out what direction each of your windows is facing. A southern-facing window is harmful because it receives only direct light rays. A curtain would help filter them out, or you can place the pot far away from the window. Any corner of such a room will do, but a safe distance is around three feet.
All the rest of the windows are relatively safer for this blooming plant. If you feel like the early morning light from the eastern window is causing the leaves to turn yellow, you can cover it only during that time. The northern-facing window is by far the safest window for a Hoya. The western-facing window gets direct light during the evening, which is tolerable in our experience.
Hoyas grow just as well and bloom exuberantly when grown under artificial grow lights. Install a few LED lights eight to ten inches over your plant’s pot. These need to be turned on for far longer than the duration for natural light to be equally effective, but the lights themselves are much cheaper than fluorescent lights.
– Soil Requirements
Hoya Bhutanica and Hoya elliptica like to grow in soil with high volumes of organic matter. Mix in compost, peat, humus, and manure with each other. Do take care that you order these from a trusted source because you don’t want to start with substandard products.
Your soil should also have porosity and air and water channels for the proper flow of air and water. Add perlite or vermiculite in an equal amount to that of organic matter. One secret trick we use is to add moderate chunks of bark to this mixture. This makes the soil loose and airy, just like in nature.
The container in which this soil is going to go is important too. While plastic and ceramic containers look esthetically pleasing, the best ones are made of clay. If the drainage holes in the bottom of this container are inadequate, make your holes using a drill machine.
– Temperature Requirements
This Hoya likes growing between a range of 65 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit all year round. It suffers when the temperatures start dropping below even 60 degrees. Cold air drafts, even for a short period, affect its growth.
In the summer, you can get away with growing this plant outdoors. During spring and summer, the nights are mostly warm too. In the summertime, indoor plants are more at risk because of cold air drafts from the air conditioning vent.
To keep it safe, you must transfer this plant inside the house during winter. Their small size makes it easy for you to make this transfer. You don’t have to place it near a radiator; instead, put it in the kitchen, which is usually warm.
– Humidity Requirements
Some experts claim that humidity is even more crucial than watering when it comes to Hoyas. Over 60 percent is the ideal humidity range to keep all year round. You will have to improve humidity around the plant by yourself because most homes in the United States have air moisture levels around 35 to 45 percent.
Outdoors, move the Hoya, and the other humidity-loving plants huddled close together. Once a week, spray the plant very lightly and only in the early morning so the leaves have time to dry. Wiping the plant using a damp cloth is safer than misting, though.
Take special care that the air circulation around the plant is not compromised. Plants with high humidity needs are more susceptible to fungal diseases like mildew than others. If the plant is growing too bushy, carry out some pruning to make spaces in it.
The easiest method to improve humidity is using a pebble tray or humidifier. A pebble tray is filled with water and kept under or near the pot. It will increase humidity only by 10 to 15 percent.
A humidifier will increase humidity. If you invest in a more expensive model it will switch off when the desired humidity has been reached. You will not have to lift a finger except plugging this device in and flipping the switch. The only con to using a humidifier is that it is expensive to purchase and run on electricity for most of the day. It can only be used inside the house and will not help plants grown outdoors.
– Fertilizing Requirements
Bhutanica is just like Hoya obovata in the sense that only mild organic fertilizers suit it the best. When potting it in new soil, make sure you mix in some form of organic feed to the soil. This can be homegrown compost, manure, or even a layer of a few inches of mulch at the top.
During the growing and flowering months, from spring to late summer, keep replenishing with more natural fertilizers. Every month, take a handful of your chosen fertilizer and mix it within the top layers of the soil.
Fish emulsion oils also work wonders when used every third week. The key is that you look for 100 percent authentic emulsion oils.
There isn’t much need to use chemical fertilizers on a Hoya plant. You ccan buy a mild orchid fertilizer if your plant seems dull and needs a boost. Even that should be triple diluted to make it as safe as possible. Pour slowly over the soil and use a screen to prevent it from splashing onto the plant parts.
– Pruning
Early springtime, before flowering, it is healthy to prune this plant. You will be amazed at how this small care step accelerates growth Cut the growing ends of the stems and flower petioles at an upwards pointing angle of 45 degrees. Secateurs will help make an easy out.
While pruning, see if your plant looks too bushy and compact. Removing a few stems from the base is best to open up the air circulation around the plant. Don’t get too carried away and cut over one-third of the whole plant.
Cutting off your flowering stems just below flower petioles during flowering will help produce more flowers. You can put the deadheaded flowers in a vase and enjoy more blooms on the pruned stems.
Propagation
There are three ways to propagate a new Hoya from an already grown one. All these methods are easy enough to be carried out right at home, even if it is your first time propagating any plant.
You can propagate this plant anytime during spring till late fall when it is going through a growth phase. The stems you use for taking cutting or air layering should not be currently in bloom.
– Using Stem Cuttings
Stem cutting propagation is undoubtedly very easy to try out at home. However, there are a few tricks and tips that will help you have a successful outcome.
- You can use a small-sized secateur to take your stem cutting because Bhutanica has very thin stems. Don’t forget to use alcohol or bleach to disinfect it before each use.
- The stem piece you cut should be only 5 to 6 inches long and have at least two leaf nodes along its length. The leaves growing from these nodes are better off removed.
- Put your Hoya cutting in a jar of filtered water and put a lid over it. Your jar needs to be kept in a bright spot to grow roots.
- Lift the lid off the jar for a few minutes daily to allow fresh oxygen in. Change the water within the jar every week with clean and filtered water.
- It takes two to three weeks for the new roots to grow and become large enough to be transplanted into the soil.
- Have the ideal Hoya potting mix prepared beforehand in a small-sized container. Plant your cutting in this mixture that you then keep slightly damp for the next two weeks.
– Using Air Layering
Have you been avoiding air layering because it seems too complicated? It is, in fact, one of the neatest methods of propagation, and you must try it out at least once by yourself.
- Look for the thickest stem in your plant. It should be free of disease, pests, or other problems.
- It would be best if you used the tip of a knife to make three inches long shallow incision between two leaf nodes in this stem. Put something made of plastic in this cut because you don’t want it to heal over.
- Wrap well-soaked sphagnum moss over this cut and all around it in a few inches thick layers. Moss must be kept in water for at least 15 minutes to soak well beforehand.
- Finally, wrap everything up with aluminum foil and a pair of strings. After two weeks, unwrap everything and remoisten the moss because it will have dried up.
- Keep noting the progression of root growth from the cut. When these aerial roots become three to four inches long, you can cut that stem piece and plant it in the soil.
– Using Seeds
Seed propagation sounds the easiest, but let us warn you; it can be the most unpredictable so far.
- To succeed, you first need to start with authentic and fresh seeds.
- A seedling germination tray would be ideal, but you can do with any shallow tray at home.
- Again, put sphagnum moss in water for fifteen minutes and then lay it flat on the tray. You must squeeze the extra water out of the moss before use.
- Seeds shouldn’t be buried in the growing medium; otherwise, they won’t be able to get sufficient sunlight. Put them on the surface and gently press them barely one-quarter of an inch down.
- Place these seeds in a bright spot with plenty of medium-intensity sunlight.
- Keep sprinkling water to keep the growth medium moist until seeds germinate.
- When the newly germinated plant grows a little bit, plant each in their own Hoya containers.
Problems
Bhutanica is one of the least problematic types of Hoyas out there. Still, as a concerned plant parent, you must learn how to solve common plant problems like fungal infections, pests, and overfertilization.
– Powdery Mildew
Powdery Mildew is a comparatively mild fungal infection that looks worse than it is. All Hoyas, whether Hoya Citrina or Bhutanica, succumb to it when kept in a humid environment with blocked air circulation. Splashing water on the leaves and stems during watering also leads to mildew.
When you see one, it is not hard to identify a mildew-infected plant. Either it will be covered by countless white spots giving an appearance of sprinkled flour, or there will be a layer of grey/white fungal mold all over the leaves. If you wipe this mold with a cloth, it comes off pretty easily.
Pour three to four drops of natural neem oil on a piece of cloth or cotton roll. Use this roll to wipe off the mold from the plant first. Then make a neem oil, vinegar, or baking soda foliar spray and use it once every week until the white spots disappear. We are very pro-nature and suggest you use these natural remedies instead of chemical fungicides for mild fungal infections.
– Root Rot
Trust us; root rot is a fungal disease you do not want to deal with. Prevention is the best cure for this problem as it is caused primarily due to water-logging within the soil. Exercise constant vigilance not to overwater the plant and ensure excellent drainage of the soil and the pot.
Rot begins insidiously within the roots and then moves upwards in the stems and the leaves. It manifests as yellow, brown, or black moisture-filled spots and drooping swollen leaves. In most cases, this disease is not treatable until plant owners notice it. Discarding of the plant and the soil is the only thing that can be done now.
Depot your infected Hoya if you want to save it and lay it down on a sheet of absorbent paper. While the extra water is absorbed, take sharp secateurs and prune off the most severely blackened parts of the plant. Once dry, spray generously with an antifungal spray containing liquid copper and repot in new soil and pot. If you are lucky, you might be able to save the plant after all.
– Aphids
Normally you cannot see aphids because they are so small and black, but they can damage your plant greatly. They quickly jump from plant to plant or from an infected tool to the plant. They become super large in numbers in a few short weeks, and they all start feeding on your plant.
The formation of yellow spots, leaf wilting, and poor growth is signs that emerge within a few weeks. If left untreated, your Hoya might produce a very poor quality of flower bloom that year. Few flower buds will form, and all of them will be unhealthy.
The good news is that aphids are not hard to get rid of. Just one thorough washing with a bar of insecticidal soap will eliminate 80 percent of mature aphids. For their eggs and larvae, use a foliar spray made of one tablespoon of neem oil in one gallon of water. Don’t use this spray more than once per week but continue doing so for at least a month.
– White Flies
Whiteflies are another common plant pests that fly around laying eggs within the soil. More than the flies themselves, their larvae damage the plant. They feed on the roots and produce a wilted and shriveled-up plant.
Bicarbonate of soda is the most effective DIY remedy to get rid of larvae. We all have baking soda present in the pantry. Just mix one teaspoon of it in a gallon of water. Use a little amount of this mixture every week for about a fortnight to kill all larvae.
You also have to get rid of the flies so that they lay no more eggs. You can spray them with a fly killer, but that takes time and effort. Instead, try to trap them by using yellow sticky paper. They are attracted to the color yellow and will come to sit on this paper. After they become stuck there, you can pick the paper up and throw it in the dustbin.
– Overfertilization
It is not advisable to use chemical fertilizers for Hoyas like Hoya verticillata and Bhutanica. This plant should be planted in a richly organic potting mix and does not need to be fertilized.
Otherwise, you might see symptoms such as the accumulation of undue salts in the soil. The leaves suffer from chlorosis and start wilting. Nitrogen-rich fertilizers produce lush green foliage but will end up suppressing flowers.
If you are fertilizing it, then you need to be very careful. Only fertilize this plant once a month at the most with triple diluted orchid fertilizer. Go for a phosphorus-rich formula so that flower production is not impacted.
Conclusion
We hope you have not been intimidated by this comprehensive care guide.
The points you need to keep in mind are as follows.
- Do not allow direct light to fall on the Hoya leaves because this can lead to sunburn.
- This plant uses a rather large volume of water in deep water, but only if the soil dries up partially.
- The soil for Hoya quinquenervia and Bhutanica needs to be rich and well-draining.
- This Hoya likes growing between a range of 65 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit all year round.
Do not miss the opportunity if you see a Hoya Bhutanica for sale anywhere. After reading this guide, we are confident you will grow a most healthy and happy Hoya at home.
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