Hoya kerrii is a Tropical plant with unique heart-shaped leaves. It is also famous as Valentine Hoya or Sweetheart plant. You can grow it at home and give it as Valentine’s present. Hoya kerrii care is easy even for non-professional growers.
If you buy this plant from the garden store. You will only get a single heart-shaped leaf in the pot. When you give it the proper care it will grow like a bush and produce multiple heart-shaped leaves.
In this article, I will explain how you can grow and care for the Hoya Kerrii Valentine plant.
About the plant
I made the mistake of buying this plant with a single heart-shaped leaf. I tried my best but it does not want to grow. Therefore, you should buy a plant with few new leaves. These plants are easy to care for and grow in an indoor environment.
Because these plants have a well-developed root system.
Valentine plant is best to grow in hanging baskets. When it reaches maturity, it developed many heart-shaped leaves per stem. The vines running down the sides of the pots look amazingly beautiful.
If you give it the proper care and maintenance then your plant can grow up to 12 feet. Just imagine having 12 feet long vines full of heart leaves. My plant has 6 feet long vines and I do not want it to grow more. So, I pinch the new growth to keep it short.
Whereas other plants are picky about the material of their plant pot. Valentine plants do not have such specific needs. It grows well in all types of pots. My plant is in a plastic hanging container and it really likes its home.
Light Needs
Like other plants, it also needs some amount of light to grow. But the good thing is it can grow in partial light, low light, medium bright light. Your sweetheart plant can adapt to different light environments.
This gives the freedom to grow it in any part of the home, office, or apartment.
Remember that direct sunlight can damage its beautiful leaves. Yellow or brown leaf edges are the result of extremely bright light.
For best Hoya Kerrii care you need to make a balance between bright light and dark shade.
If you have a light meter at home, you can easily measure the amount of light in the different parts of your home. Then according to the results, you can decide the best place for your sweetheart plant.
Potting Soil
The soil you use for your cacti and succulent plants will also work for this plant. In short, you need soil that does not become wet on watering.
If you have bark, peat, perlite, or expanded clay balls in your garden room. Then you can definitely use them. These ingredients will full fill the requirements of the plant.
You do not need to make home potting soil if you do not have good experience with potting soil. There are many potting soil manufacturers that make the best cacti and succulent soil. Buy any best brand soil and use it to grow this plant.
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Watering
As you can see in the image this plant has thick fleshy leaves. These leaves have the tendency to store a good amount of moisture in them. Then this plant uses this moisture to full fill its watering needs. This means you do not need to water it frequently.
Water it like you water your other succulent plants. Let the few inches of the soil dry then take a jug of water and pour it into the base. Do not go for the deep watering technique.
It cannot survive in wet soil this is the reason I use cacti or succulent soil.
Because in case of accidental overwatering this soil only absorbs a limited amount of water. And allow the remaining water to drain out of the plant pot.
Fertilizing and Hoya Kerrii Care
First of all, I want to make it clear that I do not use fertilize my Hoya Kerrii plant. Because cacti and succulent plants and other small size plants do not need fertilizers.
I Use pre-fertilized soil and I do not need to buy them on the side.
But this does not mean a little bit of fertilization will not be beneficial for the plant. To improve its disease-resistant power, you should fertilize it 4 times per year.
If you do not want your plant to grow more than 2 feet then no need to fertilize it.
A nutrient boost is necessary if your plant is more than 4 feet long and is continuously growing.
Temperature & Humidity
For indoor growing, plants keep the room temperature between 65 to 80 degrees F. In this temperature range, your Hoya Kerrii plant grows perfectly fine and produces shining fleshy leaves.
If your plant is growing outside in a hanging basket then you need to be careful about the weather changes. Once the temperature starts dripping down and it comes to 60 degrees F. Immediately move your plant inside.
For humidity no need to make any changes in your home. The reason is this plant has a succulent like nature. So, the natural home humidity is enough for it. Any extra increase in the level of air moisture will only cause harm to this plant.
In highly humid environments valentine plants easily get infected by leaf fungal diseases.
Repotting
Repotting is not necessary if you are regularly trimming the plant. But if you want it to grow long vines then you need to repot your plant.
For repotting use any pot that is easily available or you have at home.
For succulents, I use terracotta pots but for this particular plant, you are free to use any pot. Once you start repotting also change the potting soil.
The soil becomes depleted with time and loses all its nutritional value. After repotting give some water to keep the soil moist and put it in filtered bright light for 24 hours.
This technique helps it to quickly adapt to its new home and prevent wilting or repotting shock.
Propagation
Propagation Hoya Kerrii is possible with leaf cutting. But why I do not like to propagate is, leaf propagation technique takes months to develop new roots. I do not have this much time to spend on propagating just one plant.
Cut the leaf of the plant and plant it in the potting soil. Then keep the soil moist and put the plant in low bright light and warm room.
Then wait for a minimum of 7 to 8 months for the leaf to develop roots. If it looks shriveled and you see multiple wrinkles or the edges turn yellow. This means your leaf is not going to develop roots and all your efforts get wasted.
This is an inexpensive plant so it is best to buy it from the market.
Conclusion
Hoya kerrii care is simple and easy for all levels of gardeners. But the problem comes with the propagation. Simply grow it at home and give it as a valentine’s present.
If you grow succulents before in your life then you find them easy to care for.
The most important needs of Hoya Kerrii are balanced light, watering, and the best soil.
