Hoya Fitchii: An Emerald Green Beauty for Your Home

The Hoya fitchii plant of the Apocynaceae family is a beautiful Hoya with leathery emerald green leaves and pinkish flowers. Just like other rare genus Hoyas, this plant makes a beautiful houseplant and it is very easy to care for so long as you consider its growing requirements. Hoya fitchii is a popular indoor plant prized for its tolerance to various growing conditions, its leaf color and texture, and the succulent appearance of its flowers.

Read this article to learn all you need to know about this beautiful plant.

What Is Hoya Fitchii?

Hoya fitchii is a beautiful plant with leathery green leaves that is native to the Philippines and other nearby regions. Hoya fitchii was named after Charles Marsden Fitch, a popular photographer and the person who discovered the plant. Hoya fitchii has been cultivated across the world recently.

You may want to consider growing some Hoya fitchii if you are a new-timer because it is very easy to grow and care for.

Hoya Fitchii Care

Even though your Hoya fitchii will grow healthiest and fastest when you grow them in their optimum growing requirements, they can tolerate a wider range. This means that you will get a beautiful plant without much attention. Here are some good ways to grow and care for Hoya fitchii plants:

– Water Requirements

Watering your Hoya fitchii is important, but make sure that you do not overwater it, you should only water your Hoya fitchii plants when the top of the substrate looks and feels dry. Do not overwater the Hoya fitchii plants so that they do not suffocate.

You can water your Hoya plant every three to five days according to the size of the pot and exposure of the Hoya plant to sunlight. You can mist a few drops of water on your Hoya fitchii leaves to make them fresh but only do so in the morning so that the droplets can evaporate off in the day.

Remember that your Hoya fitchii plant pot should have drainage holes. To prevent water from spilling on your table, desk, or shelf, you can place the pot on a saucer or tray and remove excess water from it if water spills.

– Light Requirements

Hoya fitchii plants love a bright but indirect light. Note that you can change the color of your Hoya fitchii leaves by exposing them to bright light as it reddens the leaves. Make sure that your plants receive at least four hours of sunlight daily or six hours of artificial light in a well-lit room.

It would help to protect your Hoya fitchii plants from the afternoon sunlight in the summer months. Keep your plants farther from the window. You can also place them in your east or north-facing windows in summer so that they can receive just the right amount of sunlight and not too much in summer.

– Humidity

The role of humidity in plants is something that a lot of plant lovers look down on. With the right amount of humidity, your plants will grow fast as they can make use of their water and nutrients without excessive transpiration of water.

Hoya fitchii plants can tolerate a wide range of humidity, but grow best in high levels. As a tip, the minimum level of humidity in the room should be 60 percent. You can keep your Hoya fitchii plants close to a humidifier to give them just the right humidity or you can mist their surroundings regularly.

Do not mist water droplets on your Hoya leaves until they start dripping.

– Temperature

Hoya fitchii plants love high temperatures. The suitable USDA hardiness zone to grow Hoya fitchii is zone 10-12. The minimum temperature that you should expose your Hoya plant to is 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Even if Hoya fitchii is a hardy plant, it is not winter-hardy, so you should not grow it outside in winter.

Low temperatures can give your Hoya plants stunted growth, you should make sure that you live in a warm environment or can provide the necessary temperature to your Hoya plant before you decide to grow it in the first place.

You should not keep your Hoya fitchii plants close to appliances or objects that can alter the room temperature quickly such as air conditioners, ovens, and heaters.

– Fertilizers

While every plant needs nutrients to survive, some plants such as Hoya fitchii do not require so much. Hoya plants can do just fine in their nutrient-rich substrate so long as there is loam and compost in it. If you want to give your plants extra fertilizer, however, you should feed them with a balanced water-soluble fertilizer for indoor plants.

Feed your Hoya fitchii plants once a month in the summer months with the fertilizer. Do not overfeed the plants so that their leaves do not turn pale or get burnt, since overfeeding Hoya fitchii plants is worse than not giving them fertilizer at all.

If you do not want to use inorganic fertilizer for your Hoya fitchii plants, you can add extra compost to their substrate.

– Pruning

As a fast-growing plant, your Hoya fitchii may grow out of control or even start growing leaves and branches from points you may not want. To help your plant remain beautiful, you need to prune off excess leaves and also reduce the height.

Another reason you should prune your Hoya fitchii plant is to remove dead and weak leaves. Search for leaves that are becoming brown or pale and remove them, in addition, prune off weak stems and make sure that the Hoya fitchii plant continues to look green and fresh.

You should properly sterilize your pruning knife or scissors before you use them to create cuts on the Hoya fitchii so that you do not expose the plant to any disease.

The Hoya fitchii plant is unique because it loves tight soil. This means that while repotting other plants, you may not repot your fitchii plant as it loves the tight substrate. Many other plants will get stunted growth if they are root-bound, you may have to wait up to three years before you repot your Hoya fitchii.

The major reason why you should repot Hoya fitchii plants is because of the substrate. Your plant substrate may deteriorate if you use a regular potting mix for indoor plants. Such potting mixes with barks and other similar materials can suffocate your plant roots if you do not change them in two to three years.

You should repot your Hoya fitchii plant every two or three years into a slightly larger pot with a brand new substrate.

– Soil Requirements

Hoya fitchii is a hardy plant that loves tight soil, so it does not need complicated potting mixes like other plants. You can simply bake and amend your garden soil for your Hoya fitchii plant or buy a suitable substrate from the store.

If you want to use soil (loam), make sure that you bake it to properly sterilize it so that no pathogen will attack your Hoya fitchii plant. After baking the soil, amend it with perlite, vermiculite, and some compost so that it can retain some moisture and nutrients while quickly draining water. This is a very suitable substrate for Hoya fitchii.

You can also buy an all-purpose indoor plant substrate for your Hoya fitchii plants. If you are lucky, you can find a suitable substrate for plants in the genus “Hoya” in the store.

– Mulch

Mulch helps to keep your Hoya fitchii safe from weed and dehydration. While you can grow your Hoya fitchii plant without mulch, you should add some mulch to add to the beauty of the pot.

You can use a single layer of inorganic mulch, also stones such as lava rocks and pebbles make good and beautiful mulch for your Hoya fitchii plant. They allow air to reach the roots of your plant and also prevent the substrate from becoming fully dry. These stones are not just beautiful, they do not decompose, so you can use them for a very long time.

Propagation

The three major and easiest ways to propagate Hoya fitchii plants are through stem cutting, leaf-cutting, and layering. Let us discuss how you can multiply your Hoya fitchii plants with these methods:

– Stem Cutting

The most common method to propagate your Hoya fitchii plant is by using its stem cutting. You should cut six or more inches from your Hoya fitchii stem and then wait for it to callus for five or more days. When the cutting is dry, you are ready to use it.

You should plant the Hoya fitchii stem cutting in a suitable potting mix, following this tightly pack the substrate around the base of the stem cutting so that it does not bend or fall easily. Gently sprinkle water on the cutting base for a few weeks until you see that your Hoya fitchii is showing signs of growth.

When the cutting has two or more pairs of leaves, you can start watering the normal way.

– Leaf Cutting

Another easy and undemanding way to propagate your Hoya fitchii plant is through its leaf cuttings, Collect a healthy and large leaf, preferably one near the base of your plant. Keep the leaf on a suitable substrate and then cover it with a thin layer of sand.

Continue to mist your plant leaf-cutting and you should notice some young Hoya plants growing from the leaf. While this method is fun and easy, it is not as quick as the previous method of collecting stem cuttings; however, it is an awesome experiment for kids and the family.

– Layering

Layering is another easy way to multiply your Hoya fitchii plants. All you need is to fill up another pot with a suitable substrate and you are good to go. Therefore, you all need some pins and a matured Hoya fitchii plant with long and healthy stems.

You should pin a stem from your Hoya fitchii plant on the new pot with the fresh substrate, it is key to make sure that you do not break the stem from the mother plant yet. Continue to water the pinned stem on the substrate until you see signs of growth.

After a month or when the pinned stem has started growing, you can snip off the stem from the mother Hoya fitchii plant. As you can see, this method is super easy.

You can now grow, care for and propagate your Hoya fitchii plants with ease. Just to make sure that your Hoya fitchii growing journey is smooth, continue reading to learn some Hoya-related problems you can experience.

Problems

Here are some Hoya fitchii problems that you can easily solve:

– Root Rot

Do not overwater your Hoya fitchii plants as they can get root rot. You will know that your fitchii plants have root rot when you see yellow Hoya fitchii leaves. Additionally, you should notice a brown patch growing from the base of your fitchii.

If your plant has root rot, remove it from the substrate immediately, prune off all the damaged roots that you can find, and then rinse the other roots with running water.

Wait for a day or two until the root is completely dry and then plant your Hoya fitchii into a new substrate. You should prune off weak leaves from the plant as well.

– Insufficient Light

Make sure that your fitchii has enough light because if it does not, it might die. You can tell that it needs more light when it grows in just one direction, as it may have a weak stem and the leaves are turning pale.

Make sure that your Hoya fitchii has at least four hours of sunlight daily or six hours of artificial light.

FAQ

– How to Plant Hoya Fitchii?

When you bring your Hoya fitchii home, you can leave it in the pot that it came with as it will be perfectly fine. You can, however, change the pot to match a specific size or color that you want, as you may also want to change the substrate to something different.

Make sure that there are drainage holes in your new pot, these holes will help prevent water from staying in the pot. You should make up to three drainage holes for your new Hoya fitchii pot for better results.

Pour a suitable substrate into the bottom four inches of the pot and then place the Hoya fitchii plant on top of the potting mix. Carefully fill the new pot with the substrate until your Hoya fitchii root is fully covered. Do not pour substrate above the crown of your Hoya fitchii roots. While transferring your Hoya fitchii plant, make sure that you do not damage any root.

– How To Identify Hoya Fitchii?

Hoya fitchii is very popular because of its vibrant bloom, emerald green leaves which look leathery. The leaves have some pale veins that match the emerald green color. A Hoya fitchii Leaf can grow up to two inches in length and an inch in diameter while the entire plant can reach 12-24 inches. 

Some new leaves of Hoya fitchii can appear red if you grow the plant in a very bright light. The flowers have the shape of a star. They are coppery peach-pink and can grow up to less than half an inch in diameter. Each flower has a coral-pink corona and there can be up to 25 flowers in a single umbel. 

These plants can bloom can last for one or two days and the plant can bloom in spring, summer, or fall according to location and growing conditions. Hoya fitchii is easy to grow, so it makes a recommended starter plant for new-time plant parents.

– What Are the Uses of Hoya Fitchii?

Hoya fitchii is a popular indoor plant common among plant enthusiasts. The genus “Hoya” is a popular indoor plant and the leathery feel of Hoya fitchii makes it stand out among the hoya types and people plant Hoya fitchii in their homes and offices.

With proper pruning and care, your Hoya fitchii plants can remain super attractive for long as they do not demand much maintenance. Hoya fitchii plants are resilient, tolerate a wide range of growing conditions, and can stay in one pot for more than three years without repotting.

Note that a Hoya fitchii flower can attract butterflies and other pollinators because of its scent and nectar. Hoya fitchii is a low-maintenance plant that beautifies its surroundings.

If you are looking for a low-maintenance but beautiful indoor plant, you should go for Hoya fitchii. Now, let’s say that you want to grow some Hoya fitchii plants, how do you start and what do you need to know? Continue reading to learn the basic care requirements of Hoya fitchii plants.

– How Do I Keep Hoya Fitchii Leaves Healthy?

Hoya fitchii leaves are leathery and you surely want them to remain that way. You can alter the color of the leaves from emerald green to reddish-green according to the light intensity. If you want leaves with a reddish tone, you should increase your Hoya fitchii light exposure, note that the reddish tone signifies stress in the plant.

You should use a slightly damp cloth to wipe your Hoya fitchii leaves so that they can continue to look healthy and fresh.

As for the plant bloom, the color can vary from yellows and oranges shades to pearlescent pinks shades according to the light exposure and other growing conditions. Note that your Hoya fitchii will only produce flowers when it experiences cooler nights and shortened days.

You do not need to deadhead your Hoya fitchii flowers as the Hoya fitchii plant produces multiple flowers in bloom and you do not need to extend it. Simply enjoy the view and smell of your Hoya fitchii bloom.

How can you propagate Hoya fitchii plants so that you can get a lot more without visiting the garden store? Continue reading.

– How Do I Select a Hoya Fitchii?

Before bringing a Hoya fitchii plant home, check its leaves and make sure that they are leathery and have no spots. The petioles and stems should be first. You should not collect plants with stems that look tall and weak because that is a sign of etiolation. Even though this plant is a hardy one, you should select the healthiest plant to ease your Hoya fitchii growing journey.

Hoya fitchii is very common in its genus and is popular in garden shops. You can easily get Hoya fitchii plants online or ask someone who grows some for some cuttings. Plants from shops or nurseries will come with pots, so you may use that pot or decide to transfer it to a better one.

Conclusion

When growing some Hoya fitchii plants, you should pay attention to the Hoya substrate as well as its temperature, water, light and humidity needs. Here are some useful points to remember:

• Unlike other plants, Hoya fitchii loves a tight soil or substrate. This means that you can grow it in a small pot.
• If you want your plant leaves to get a red tone, you should stress the plant by increasing the light brightness.
• You can propagate your Hoya fitchii with its stem cutting, leaf-cutting and also by layering.
• The minimum temperature that Hoya fitchii plants can tolerate for optimum growth is 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Water your plant only when the top layer of its substrate is dry.

Congratulations! After reading this comprehensive Hoya fitchii guide, you can now grow your fitchii like a pro.