Hoya Rotundiflora Care InfographicHoya rotundiflora of the Apocynaceae family is a beautiful hoya with curvy leaves and unique flowers. As long as you grow it in the right conditions, this is a low-maintenance hoya genus plant. If you properly care for your hoya rotundiflora plant, it can grow close to 20 feet long.
Continue reading to discover the optimal conditions to grow hoya rotundiflora plants.
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What Is Hoya Rotundiflora?
Hoya rotundiflora is an epiphytic plant popular in the hoya genus. It can grow from 12 feet to 20 feet depending on how you care for the plant. The hoya leaves look blunt and shiny just like those of a plastic plant, and it produces multiple beautiful flowers that hang upright. The Hoya rotundiflora flower is white and has a pink center.
Hoya Rotundiflora Care Requirements
Hoya rotundiflora is truly a low-maintenance plant just like others in its genus. This plant adapts to a wide range of temperatures, humidity and lighting levels. Nonetheless, you need to grow it in the optimum growing conditions if you want it to grow quickly without problems.
Here is everything that you need to know plus more to grow some hoya rotundiflora plants without problems:
– Soil Requirements
Hoya rotundiflora soil should be moist and well-drained. As an indoor plant, you will be growing your hoya in a container, so you cannot use regular garden soil for it. You will have to search for a suitable potting mix. You can easily find a suitable potting mix for Hoyas in various gardening stores.
If you cannot find a hoya-specific potting mix, however, you may have to make one yourself. You can amend your garden soil with a combination of equal parts perlite, vermiculite and sand. Take note of the substrate pH and make sure that it is either slightly acidic or neutral (6.1 to 7.5).
– Water Requirements
Watering hoya rotundiflora plants, just like other plants in this genus, should be occasional instead of regular. As a general rule for plants in the genus hoya, you should wait until the substrate is fully dry before you water the plant again. You can use a moisture reader or your finger to tell if you should water the plant or not.
Wait until close to four inches of the substrate is dry before watering the plant again. You have to water your plants in the growing season of spring and summer so that they can grow well. During winter, you do not need to water your hoya plants, but if you see the need to, do not overwater them.
You can observe the leaves of your hoyas to know if the plant needs watering or not. If the leaves are full and succulent, you do not need to water the plant because it is an indication that the plant does not need watering yet. For frail or weak hoya leaves, however, water the plant.
– Light Requirements
The availability of light for your hoya plants is very important. These plants love bright and indirect sunlight, but they can also tolerate direct sunlight as long as it is not too hot and not for more than six hours. In the hot summer months, consider shifting your hoya rotundiflora plants away from direct sunlight.
In addition, you must remember that these plants prefer a well-lit room to a dark one. This means that you should not grow them in a place where they cannot get enough light. If your plants cannot get enough sunlight, you can support their growth by installing a grow light or bulb above them.
– Humidity Requirements
Hoya rotundiflora plants prefer humidity levels above 50 percent, but they can tolerate lower levels as long as the humidity does not drop below 40 percent. Note that the optimal humidity level to grow healthy hoya rotundiflora plants is around 70 percent.
Do not grow these plants in a dry place. Instead, look for a mini humidifier in any shop nearby and install it close to your plants. If you do not want to use a humidifier, all you need to do to increase the humidity of your plant’s surroundings is to mist droplets of water close to or around your hoya rotundiflora leaves. It is best to do this around noon.
– Temperature Requirements
Before buying any hoya rotundiflora plant or bringing it home, the first thing that you must consider is its temperature needs. If you do not live in or around USDA hardiness zones 10a and above, you should consider growing other plants instead of hoya rotundiflora plants.
The only way you can grow hoya rotundiflora plants outside these zones is by growing them in a greenhouse or other types of controlled environments.
Make sure that your hoya rotundiflora plants grow in a room with temperatures ranging from 65 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Most hoya species are tropical or subtropical, so they will surely prefer warmer places. Remember that your hoya rotundiflora is not cold-hardy.
– Fertilizing Requirements
Hoya rotundiflora plants are not heavy feeders, so you do not need to spend so much on the plant’s nutrients. If you make their potting mix with nutrient-rich ingredients such as slow-release fertilizer or compost, you do not need to fertilize your plants until the substrate becomes nutrient-depleted.
If you are searching for hoya rotundiflora fertilizers, go for the balanced ones (20-20-20) and make sure that they are either liquid or are soluble in water. You may not see a nutrient deficiency in your hoya rotundiflora plants, but if you do, you can correct it quickly by using foliar fertilizer.
– Pruning
Hoya rotundiflora is not a fast grower, but it surely grows. To help prevent a bushy or messy growth, you have to prune the plant once a year. Pruning also involves keeping the hoya neat by cutting off dead and decaying leaves. Remove yellow and brown leaves from the plant.
Take note that if your hoya rotundiflora leaves are yellow and brown because they are sick, pruning them off will not heal the plant. Before pruning off such leaves, find the cause and solve it first. Later in this guide, we will discuss some problems that can make your hoya rotundiflora plants sick.
– Repotting Your Plants
There will come a time when your hoya rotundiflora plant may look like it has stunted growth and the substrate may look very deteriorated. These are indications that it is time to repot the hoya rotundiflora plants.
Even though hoya rotundiflora plants can tolerate their roots getting bound or trapped to a limit, you do not want to wait until the plant starts growing slowly before you repot them.
Soil or substrate problem is the most important reason to repot your hoya rotundiflora. When the soil looks too compacted or you think that there are soil-borne diseases in the substrate, you need to change it to a new one.
To change your hoya rotundiflora pot and substrate, get a new container (with drainage holes) and then follow the same procedure above for planting your hoya rotundiflora.
– Suitable Mulch
Mulching can help prevent your hoya rotundiflora plants from competing with weeds for nutrients. Mulch is also very beautiful and will add to the aesthetics of the room. Use colorful rocks to mulch your succulents.
– Leaf and Bloom Care
Everyone loves the hoya rotundiflora leaves, so you need to care for them so that they can stay fresh and beautiful. You can help your hoya rotundiflora plants to stay beautiful by ensuring that you feed them with high-quality nutrients, prune them when they’re due for pruning and grow them in the right light, humidity and temperature conditions.
You can also mist the hoya rotundiflora leaves occasionally but do so only in the morning and make sure that the leaves are dry before the sun sets for the day. As for the blooms, just enjoy the view as you do not have much work to do as long as the plant has enough phosphorus.
Hoya rotundiflora plants produce flowers in the spring and summer months. Note that each bloom can take up to two or three days before it becomes mature.
– Getting Your Hoya Rotundiflora
Hoya is a popular genus in gardening stores, so you can always find your hoya rotundiflora in any store that you go to. You can even get it online if you wish. Pay close attention to the health of your plant when you see it because growing this plant successfully depends on the state in which you meet it.
Carefully observe the hoya rotundiflora leaves for spots or foreign objects. Make sure that the leaves are smooth to the touch, and the stem should be firm and not weak. You should select healthy hoya rotundiflora plants with more leaves as they will find it easier to adapt to a new environment (i.e. your home).
– How to Plant
Have you finally gotten your hoya rotundiflora plant as well as its substrate? Congratulations! You are now ready to grow your plant. If the plant came with a pot or container, you can make use of that one for a year or two until you are ready to repot it.
If your hoya rotundiflora plant came in a nursery bag, you should prepare a pot with drainage holes and follow the steps below:
- Pour some substrate to fill the bottom 3 inches of the pot.
- Carefully remove the hoya rotundiflora from its nursery bag.
- Place the hoya plant on the suitable substrate inside the pot.
- Cover its roots with more substrate.
- Wait for three to five hours and then water the plant.
- Keep your hoya rotundiflora plant in a cool place where it can anchor without stress.
- When your hoya rotundiflora anchors in the substrate successfully, you can place the pot in any location of your choice. This location will need to have the appropriate temperature and humidity levels.
When your hoya rotundiflora plant anchors successfully, it will become firm and will not look frail or weak.
– Hoya Plants
The name “Hoya” refers to the botanist it was named after, Thomas Hoy, while “Rotundiflora” refers to the round or curvy leaves of the plant. While its leaves are not round like a circle, you get to feel their curvy nature when you touch them.
The genus “Hoya” is truly a very popular genus amongst indoor plant lovers as people will buy any plant so long as it has “Hoya” attached to its name. One reason why this genus is popular is that almost every hoya species is low-maintenance and has a striking and unique beauty.
Propagation
Would you like to get more hoya rotundiflora plants? Of course, you can always go to the store for more, but you can easily multiply your plants to get even more if you have a mature hoya rotundiflora. All you need aside from a mature hoya rotundiflora plant is a substrate rich in perlite as well as pruning scissors.
Use your pruning scissors to collect a stem from your hoya rotundiflora plant. Expose the stem cutting to the wind or moderate sun until it calluses. When the wound is dry, you should dip the hoya rotundiflora cutting into a rooting hormone and then plant it.
Plant your hoya rotundiflora cutting in a suitable substrate that is rich in perlite. You can use the substrate for mature hoya plants, but mix some extra perlite so that it can loosen a bit further. Water your hoya rotundiflora plant regularly until it starts to grow.
Your hoya rotundiflora plant should start to grow properly in less than a month as long as you do it properly. Note that you should propagate your plant in the active growing season. Also, do not expose it to too much sunlight as heat can stress the growing cutting.
Problems
The major reason plants in the hoya genus are popular is that these plants are very easy to care for. Nonetheless, there are some problems that you can encounter while growing your hoya rotundiflora if you are not careful. Here are some problems you should watch for when you have hoya plants:
– Pests
Pests such as scale, aphids, spider mites and thrips frequently attack and disturb hoya plants. If you do not quickly control these pests, they can damage or even kill your hoya rotundiflora plant. The easiest way to control your plant’s pests is to pick them off with your fingers as soon as you see them.
You can also get any pesticide product from a gardening store nearby. Go for products that are suitable for hoya plants, and make sure that you follow the instructions when administering the pesticides; do not use too much. Try your best to prevent pests from attacking your hoya rotundiflora plants.
– Overwatering
Try not to overwater your hoya rotundiflora plants. Always remember that hoya rotundiflora plants prefer a dry substrate to a wet one, so whenever you are in doubt if your hoya needs watering or not, wait an extra day or two before you water it.
Overwatering can lead to root rot as well as bacterial attacks, so it is in your best interest to avoid overwatering your hoya rotundiflora plants. Some indications that your plant has more than enough water is when its leaves turn yellow and it starts to weaken from the stem base.
– Insufficient Light
Another cause of yellow leaves and weak hoya rotundiflora plants is insufficient light. Even though your plants are comfortable under indirect light, they will get stunted growth or might even die if you do not give them sufficient light.
Some signs that your hoya rotundiflora plants are suffering from insufficient light are etiolation and yellow leaves. Also, the plant might grow in just one direction. Make sure that your hoya rotundiflora plant has at least six hours of indirect sunlight or 10-12 hours of artificial light daily.
If your hoya rotundiflora is suffering from too much light (i.e. sunburn), you will see its leaves drying from their edges as well as becoming brown.
FAQ
Does Hoya Rotundiflora prefer to be bottom watered?
Hoya Rotundiflora may prefer bottom watering as it prevents water from settling in its leaves, causing rotting.
Can Hoya Rotundiflora be propagated in water?
Yes, Hoya Rotundiflora can be propagated in water by taking a stem cutting and placing it in a jar of water until roots form.
Can I mist Hoya Rotundiflora flowers directly?
It is not recommended to mist Hoya Rotundiflora flowers directly as it may cause water to settle in the flowers and lead to rotting.
Conclusion
Now you have everything you need to grow some hoya rotundiflora plants. Make sure you remember the requirements of the plant. Nevertheless, here are some useful reminders for you:
- You should grow your hoya rotundiflora plants in a moist but well-drained substrate with a pH of 6.1 to 7.5.
- Water your hoya plants as soon as the substrate starts to dry out. Do not wait until the leaves become weak before you water your plant.
- This plant surely loves a humid room. It can tolerate slightly below average humidity, but the optimum humidity to grow it is 60 percent.
- Grow your hoya rotundiflora at 65 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. This is a suitable plant for USDA hardiness zone 10A.
- You should remove pests from your plants as soon as you see them. Do not allow pests to destroy your houseplants.
After reading this article, you are now officially ready for your hoya rotundiflora plant!
