Hoya Coronaria: Learn to Care For The Plant With Star Fish Flowers

Hoya coronaria of the Apocynaceae family is the perfect plant for office desks and bookshelves. It is small, simple, and produces the most spunky flowers.

Do you think you don’t have time to take care of this hoya genus plant? Keep on reading this guide to learn how easy it is!

What Is Hoya Coronaria?

Hoya Coronaria, a unique species, is popular for its lush, thick stems and plump, soft leaves. Their star-shaped flowers that look so much like starfish make this plant stand out. By nature, it is a creeper and will grow long vines in the indoor living space where they should be kept.

Hoya Coronaria Care

The right plant care for the coronaria plant is filtered light, fertilization every week in the summers, and more than 60 percent humidity. Pot the plant in a chunky soil mixture with an equal organic and inorganic matter ratio. Find out more about the care needs of this plant in the upcoming sub-sections.

Water Requirements 

Generally, the coronaria hoya has to be watered once a week in the spring and summer. In fall and winter, reduce watering to once every two or three weeks.

Before watering, you must ensure that the top soil is dry and ready to receive water. The quickest approach is to put your finger in it and feel it yourself. Sounds too mucky? Try a moisture meter instead.

Take a reasonable volume of filtered or distilled water. If you must use tap water, keep it in an open bucket the night before watering. The water should neither feel too hot nor too cold.

Directing the beam of water at the soil, start pouring slowly. The goal is to allow this water to soak through the soil properly. Observe carefully when the water starts to drain out of the coronaria pot. This is when you stop watering. 

Now, this is also the approximate amount of water your plant needs each time. It will take some time for all the extra water to drain out of the soil. Remove the water collected in the drip tray soon after that.

Did you know that Hoyas can be watered from the bottom as well? This technique often comes in handy when you have been forgetful and let the soil get parched through. Fill a bucket with filtered or distilled water so that only half of the pot becomes submerged. Keep the pot submerged until the dry soil surface glistens with water. Keep a close eye, so you don’t overwater the plant.

The water will absorb into the soil from the drainage hole at the bottom. Water has the ability to make its way to the top of the soil. When the soil surface becomes moist, take the pot out of the bucket.

Light Requirements 

Filtered and dappled light works the best for the Coronaria hoya plant. Direct light, especially mid-afternoon, can be detrimental to the plant and cause sunburn and chlorosis. 

Find out how to provide the best-filtered light to this plant inside the house. Inside the house, keep your Coronaria hoya in a room lit by natural lights. There will need to be one or two windows of adequate size in the room. This plant is best kept as near the windows as possible without being in the direct line of light.

Next, you have to check which side your window faces. The eastern and western side windows receive just the type of indirect light this plant needs for most of the day. Light from northern windows is always indirect. You can put Coronaria on its windowsill, and it will thrive there. On the other hand, you must keep the plant at least three feet away from the southern side window.

LED grow lights come to the rescue if your indoor living space lacks windows. These must be turned on for 12 to 13 hours consecutively daily. They work as well as natural light, sometimes better. Install these lights preferably overhead the plant about 20 inches away. If the lights are simply kept on the side, keep rotating the plant towards the light throughout the day.

Soil Requirements 

A Hoya houseplant needs two things from its soil: rich organic nutrients and plenty of air space. Because it likes to be root bound, it is even more important for its soil to be well aerated. pH levels on the alkaline side (between 6 and 7) are preferable.

One option is that you go for a peat-perlite potting mix. You can also buy sphagnum moss instead of peat. Go for a balanced ratio of both ingredients. Adding a layer of gravel at the very bottom would help too.

Another option is that you mix a 50:50 ratio of peat and vermiculite. Vermiculite is an inorganic mineral, just like perlite. It comes in various consistencies, and we suggest you go for a chunky one.

The choice of a pot is as important as the soil mixture. Plastic and metal pots may look cool, but they should never be used. Instead, we strongly advocate going for simple clay or terracotta pots.

These pots contribute a great deal to aeration and water evaporation. Clay has another advantage: it doesn’t get too hot or cold in response to the surrounding temperature changes.

Temperature Requirements 

This plant likes moderately warm temperatures and slightly colder at night. The temperatures should be 68 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit during the daytime. It should be 54 to 64 degrees Fahrenheit when the night falls.

During nightfall, the drop in temperature is important to stimulate flowering. Hence, keep in mind that the stimulation of the flower is the reason why during the spring and summer, we keep the windows a bit open in the room. The cold night air naturally drops the temperature in the room. Stop doing this in the winter because lower than 60 degrees is harmful to the plant.

Humidity Requirements 

This Hoya needs 60 to 80 percent humidity when it’s daytime. At night, it needs almost 80 to 100 percent humidity. This is the trickiest care requirement of this plant. Most houses don’t have such high humidity levels indoors.

Get your hands on a small container and fill it with water. Add pebbles or some support on which the pot can rest without touching the water. Place this container under the pot. The evaporating water from this container will contribute to humidity a great deal.

Fertilizing Requirements 

Your Coronaria hoya house plant needs frequent fertilizing during its growing months. Fertilize every week with a mild concentration of liquid fertilizer. It is best to stop fertilizer in the dormancy period between fall and the next spring. It is just not needed and will instead cause overfertilizing.

Keep in mind that you must dilute the fertilizer, no matter how mild its formulation is. Please do this by adding an equal or one-third volume of water to it, in order not to harm the plant in any way possible. 

Furthermore, you must condition your roots by watering them right before fertilizing. After about four to five weeks, you must deep-water the pot. The process of deep-watering is when you keep pouring water for about five to seven minutes straight. All the salts and toxins built through regular fertilizer use will be washed away with this water.

Pruning Requirement

Keep your plant neat and clean so that it looks cool all the time. You don’t need to wash it in order to clean it. Just use a clean cloth to clean the plant, especially under the leaves.

Every year remove leaves that have become wilted or yellowed for any reason. Remove the flowers after bloom season is over as well. This will assist plants in producing a better yield the next time.

 

Propagation 

Contrary to popular opinion, propagation is super fun and easy. Propagate your coronaria hoya by either using stem cuttings or seeds. You can then gift each of your friends their own coronaria!

Become an expert Hoya propagator by reading the section coming up ahead.

– Propagation Through Stem Cuttings

The most straightforward method for propagating any plant is to cut a piece of its stem. This stem is planted and taken care of until it becomes a new plant. 

First and foremost, begin by cutting off five to six inches from the terminal end of a stem, make sure the tool that you are using is sterilized and sharp, in order to avoid any kind of risks. Now, this piece of the stem should have two to three leaves growing from their respective nodes.

After the process, you must store this cutting someplace safe for one or two days. When the cut end forms calluses, apply a small quantity of rooting hormone to the cut end. What you have to do after is prepare a well-draining soil just like the one the parent plant is potted in, and use water to pack it in a small pot.

Be sure to make a hole about three inches deep in the center of the pot. After which, remove the leaves from the end of the cutting near the cut end. With the callused end going into the soil, bury three inches of the cutting. Keep in mind that the remaining leaves should be left above the ground.

Pick your pot up and take it to the house’s warmest, brightest, and most humid spot. And finally, you have to make sure you are watering it every second or third day but only after you have ensured that the topsoil is beginning to dry.

– Propagation Through Seeds

This second method of propagating coronaria can be a bit challenging. However, by following our foolproof method to learn how to propagate seeds the right way.

The process begins when you buy seeds, make sure they are authentic and fresh. You may come across a lot of dupes out there in the market; beware of that.

You will need a seedling tray next. Buy a packet of good seedling growth medium and spread it on the tray. You can also spread sphagnum moss instead. Don’t worry, whatever growth medium you go for, wet it with water first. Then take fistfuls in your hand and squeeze hard to let all the extra water out. 

Nonetheless, be mind full of sowing the seeds in the tray one by one in rows, at a uniform distance from one another, and covering the tray with a transparent sheet. This will dramatically increase the humidity within the tray.

Place the tray someplace warm and lit with intense bright light most of the day. Keep the growth medium moist by sprinkling water over it regularly. Lastly, in the next couple of months, the seeds will germinate and grow. Transplant each plantlet within its pot only when it has grown substantially.

– Some Tips For A Successful Propagation 

Want to know some tips always to have successful propagations? We have collected some of our favorite tips below.

• Your parent plant needs to be healthy first of all. The branch you take your cutting from should also be free of spots, discolorations or pests, etc.
• Putting rooting hormones on the cuttings before planting them in the soil works. It encourages cell growth and keeps fungi out.
• Cutting and seedlings need a bright daytime environment. It is much safer if this light is indirect.
• The growth medium for seeds should not be more than two inches thick. If you bury the seeds too deep in the soil, they will not get the required sunlight for germination.

Problems 

Hoya Coronaria will not give you a lot of problems while taking care of it. If you get a bit lazy while taking care of it, you might face pest attacks, leaves yellowing, and pot issues.

Learn how to tackle all these problems head-on in the coming section.

– A Large Sized Pot

An improperly sized pot will cause many problems for your coronaria hoya plant. It likes to grow in a small pot with root-bound conditions. That is why you should never repot it unless you absolutely must.

Repotting is a pot larger than the root ball of the plant by more than one inch spells trouble. The roots become disturbed. It also takes a rather long time for the water to evaporate from the soil.

This increases the chances of fungal and bacterial proliferation in the soil. Fertilizing also loses its effectiveness for Hoyas planted in a larger pot. It is a fact that nutrients take a longer time to reach the compactly growing roots.

– Hoya Leaves Turning Yellowing

Often the plump succulent-like leaves of this plant start turning yellow. This can be due to several reasons. Please read below to find out why the leaves turn yellow and how to save them from it.

Your Coronaria hoya plant is sensitive to direct sunlight. This can cause its leaves to suffer sunburns, turning yellow. In severe cases, yellowing might be accompanied by brown edges too. 

Look at the spot where you have kept this plant. If it is receiving direct sunlight, especially during the time in the mid-afternoon, you have your culprit. Move the plant to a shaded spot asap.

The sad news is that these yellow leaves will not turn back to green. Unfortunately, yellowing caused by sunburn is permanent. If these leaves look bothersome, you can remove them and then use them as mulch.

– Overwatering

Overwatering also causes yellowing of Coronaria leaves. These leaves are semi-succulent and tend to store water. Yellow leaves, due to overwatering, will be plump and soft. 

It is recommended that you immediately water the plant after this. In mild cases, resuming a proper watering schedule should solve the problem. That is not always the case, however.

If the problem seems severe, a safer option is to take the plant out of the pot and dry it by laying it out on a newspaper. Then change the waterlogged soil and repot the Hoya in dry new soil.

– Underwatering

Underwatering causes Hoya plant leaves to turn yellow, thin, and dry. If you hold these leaves in your hand, they feel crisp and paper-like. 

To confirm your diagnosis, have a look at the soil. Put a thin rod into the soil all the way through. If underwatering is the culprit, the whole of it will come out dry.

The reverse watering method is the best way to bring your soil back to life. You have to put it in a bucket of water till it becomes drenched again.

– Nutrients Deficiency

If neither watering nor sunlight seems to be the problem, your soil may lack nutrients. Nitrogen is the main element, the deficiency of which causes chlorosis.

However, you can only be sure of it if you send a sample of your soil to any nearby lab for a detailed analysis. Fertilizing with a liquid nitrogen-rich feed will provide instant nitrogen to the soil. The leaves will also start reverting to green.

– Pest Attack On Hoya

It is extremely common to have pests crawling over your plant every few months. This is because these pests transfer very easily from one plant to another or through infected instruments.

The pests in question are mealybugs, aphids, scales, and spider mites. These pests puncture through the plant and suck on its pests. They don’t destroy your plant at once but slowly over time.

Hoya leaves develop yellow spots and brown, curled edges. Over time the leaves begin falling, become droopy, and may cause stunted growth.

To remove the pests from your beautiful hoya, first and foremost, you need to wash the plant with anti-insecticide spray and water. Especially scrub under the cluster of leaves where most of these pests are hidden.

When your plant dries, apply a few drops of neem oil over the spots on the leaves and under them. Another DIY approach is to mix baking soda with water and then spray it on the infested plant.

Applying neem oil and foliar sprays made of baking soda or neem oil should be done weekly. Continue this for about two months to ensure that your plant is pest-free.

 

FAQ

What is the best way to water Hoya Coronaria?

The best way to water Hoya Coronaria is to ensure the soil is evenly moist but not waterlogged. Allow the top inch of soil to dry between watering.

Does Hoya Coronaria like small pots?

Hoya Coronaria prefers slightly larger pots that allow for adequate root growth. Avoid using small pots that can restrict its development.

Is Hoya Coronaria an indoor or outdoor plant?

Hoya Coronaria is primarily an indoor plant but can be placed outdoors in a shaded or partially shaded area during warmer months.

Conclusion 

Before we sign off, here is a brief and concise summary of this coronaria guide.

• Use either a peat-perlite or peat-vermiculite soil mixture that is chunky and well-draining.
• To flower, the nighttime temperature should drop slightly from the daytime temperature.
• Only fertilize during summer and that too every week.
• Do try propagating hoyas yourself, either via seeds or stem cuttings.

Coronaria is known for its starfish-like pink flowers. There is no better plant than this for your study table. Our guide will ensure that your plant stays 100 percent happy with you.