Hoya Verticillata is a beautiful houseplant for homes and offices. This indoor plant is suitable for low-light places.
It does not need much natural light for its growth.
This makes it the best indoor hoya plant. Moreover, its air purification benefits are countless.
If you are worried about the indoor pollution of your home or office. Then you should definitely grow some Hoya plants at your place.
Hoya Verticillata is one of them and is easy to grow and maintain.
Today I will share my experience with Hoya Verticillata care and propagation. There are some diseases and pests that are enemies of these plants.
You’ll learn the easiest treatment and prevention methods.
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About the Hoya Verticillata Plant?
Hoya Verticillata is an evergreen plant that needs low to medium light for its entire life. The leaves are dark green and bright with light yellow veins.
Asia and Australia are native lands of the Verticillata plant. This indicates that this plant can be grown in a variety of growing conditions.
To know about the growing conditions of any plant always check its natural birthplace. Because we need to give mimic those conditions indoors.
Under good growing conditions, it produces 6 to 10 cm long oval-shaped leaves. Increase the amount of light that it gets to encourage Hoya Verticillata flowers.
Flowers grow in cluster form; they are white with pink to the brown center part. The warm season is its flowering time.
Most people grow it indoors to purify the indoor air. It has unique air purification properties like other hoya species.
It absorbs the toxins from the air and uses them to make its food. Then release good fresh oxygen into the room.
Hoya Verticillata Care Needs
Light Needs
It is a low-light plant means Hoya Verticillata does not need direct sunrays to grow. It will grow fine in moderate light.
Place it a few feet away from a sunny window and you will see bright green leaves.
But if you want your plant to produce a white cluster of flowers. Then you need to expose it to bright light.
I expose my plants to morning sunlight from 7 am to 10 am. Then they only get indirect light for the rest of the day.
This technique pushes my plants to grow more leaves and flowers.
Also, the flowers on my plants stay for longer than normal.
Some offices and residential apartments do not have sunny windows. In this case, grow lights are very helpful to grow houseplants.
These lights are designed to full fill light needs of indoor plants.
Grow lights are a one-time investment and you can use them to grow any type of plant at any time of the year. An inexpensive grow has more than 100000 hours of life span.
Nowadays we have many advanced artificial plant lights, go for LED grow lights. They are inexpensive and do not need maintenance.
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Watering Hoya Verticillata
It is a succulent plant and needs less water as compared to other houseplants. But the trick is it needs moist soil throughout its active growing season.
The need for water also depends upon the growing environment.
If your plant is growing in a warm or hot environment then it will need more water than on normal days.
But if there is not much light in the room and grow room is cool. Then your Hoya Verticulata will not need much water.
Summer is the time when your hoyas need lots of water. They use the water to convert the light energy into their food.
They need lots of food because they are growing leaves and flowers.
You should only use filtered water for potted hoya plants. These beautiful plants have sensitive root balls.
The roots of verticilata cannot work hard to absorb nutrients from hard water.
Therefore, to save your plant’s energy it is best to use soft water that you use for drinking and making food.
Potting Soil
The quality of potting soil will decide the health of your verticulata hoya plants.
In its natural habitat it grows on trees, this indicates that this plant needs lots of oxygen.
So, you need potting soil that is light in weight and has lots of air pockets for natural airflow. I do not use commercial potting soil mixes.
Because they are costly for me and I like to make my soil formula. This is way cheaper than factory-made soil mixes.
My formula is:
1 part perlite and 2 parts of peat moss.
Or
1 part of potting soil + 1 part of perlite + 1 part of coco coir.
As you can see in the formula, I only use lightweight well-draining ingredients. Because too much water is deadly for hoya verticulata roots.
Temperature
Hoya Verticulata is a warm weather plant and we all know the weather of Australia (its birthplace). A warm environment is easy to maintain indoors.
But this does not mean turning ON the heat and putting your plant in front of heat vents.
Artificial heat is deadly for verticulata. It will only make your plant dehydrated and you will end up with yellow and weak plants.
The ideal temperature range for hoya verticulata is 60 to 85 degrees F. Maintain room temperature in this range and have a beautiful thriving plant.
Below 60 F is not a suitable temperature because it affects the transpiration system of plants. Your plant starts slow breathing and absorbs less water and nutrients.
This makes it weak, wilting, and prone to hoya diseases.
Do not place your plant near AC vents or heat vents. Also, protect your plant from sudden temperature changes and cold and hot winds.
Humidity
In its natural habitat hoya verticillata enjoys high humidity. But having 70% moisture in indoor air is not possible.
It is also not good for our internal organs.
The good news is thick leaves of this plant help it to grow in moderate home humidity.
In short, your hoya verticillata can easily grow healthy in general home humidity (40% to 55%).
But if your home humidity is low, you can use a plant humidifier or pebble tray technique.
Fill the tray with small pebbles and water. Then place your plant pot over it. The hot air in the room evaporates the water.
This makes air bubble around the plant, giving it some relief.
I do not have enough time for my indoor plant. So, I use a plant humidifier and I found it the best solution for low humidity.
Fill it with water, place it next to your plant and turn it ON.
Fertilizing Hoya Verticillata
Fertilize your plant only in spring and summer these are its growing seasons.
Also, use liquid general-purpose houseplant fertilizer. Dilute it as per the instruction on the bottle. Use fresh drinkable water for dilution of the solution.
Once in 30 days is enough for this plant to support its structure and leaves.
To prevent overfertilization which is common with hoyas. You should only use general fertilizer. Do not use high concentrated fertilizers that promise flowering.
They contain a high amount of phosphorous which is not good for this evergreen plant.
Nitrogen is the main nutrient that it needs to grow its leaves and stems. For flowering, every fertilizer bottle has a good percentage of potassium and phosphorous.
Do not fertilize your hoya plant in the winter season even if your plant looks weak. Weakness is not a sign of nutrient deficiency.
In fact, various reason like root fungus or compact plant pot results in weak plants.
Pruning
To keep your plant at a controlled size you may need to prune it frequently or occasionally.
Use sharp shears or a pair of knives to trim your plant. Before using these tools use rubbing alcohol to disinfect them.
This will reduce the chances of plant diseases up to 90%.
Remove the overly grown part and also dry and dead yellow leaves. I only cut yellow parts of my Verticillata hoya and brown leaf tips.
When my plant has brown leaf tips, I do not cut the entire leaf. I just cut the brown tip and in 10 to 20 days my plants regain their health.
Toxicity
Hoya Verticillata is generally safe for pets and humans. But it contains latex which is a skin irritant.
Contact with this white milky substance causes rashes on the skin, redness, irritation, and itching. Immediately wash the affected area neem or Dettol.
Apply aloe vera gel on the skin to treat irritation, redness, and itching.
How often to repot Hoya Verticillata?
You will only need to repot your plant once in 2 years. Do this to refresh the potting soil because over time the soil loses its nutritional values.
Changing the soil every 2 years is extremely beneficial for indoor plants.
For repotting use 2 inches large pot and fresh soil of the same high quality. The soil formula is mentioned above in potting soil section.
After repotting it may show discomfort signs but they are temporary. Give your newly potted plant regular care and it will stand firm in 4 to 7 days.
Hoya Verticillata Propagation techniques
You have two options one is to propagate your plant from seeds which is a tuff job. The second easiest method is propagating Hoya Verticillata from stem cuttings.
Because I am not running a garden center and do not sell plants for profits. I prefer going for stem propagation.
Below is the step-by-step process:
- The first thing is locating a healthy stem that is vibrant and has a healthy leaf.
- Use sharp shears to cut 4 to 6 inches long stems
- Cut multiple stems because sometimes we fail in propagating a single stem.
- Put the stems in the galls of water and place the gall away from sunlight in a high humid place.
- Direct sunlight will trigger fungus growth in the still water.
- Change the water of the glass jars once it gets dirty
- Repeat the process until you see new tiny white roots
- Plant your propagated stem in a plant pot once the roots grow more than 1 inch long
- It will take 3 to 4 weeks to grow the appropriate size roots
Pests and Diseases
Fungi
It is a result of too much moisture in the growing material. Fungi development is generally high in the rainy season.
Your plant will become weak with yellow and curled leaves.
In this situation cut the damaged parts of the plant and repot it in new fresh soil.
To prevent this condition, limit the use of water in the rainy season. Also, check the soil before watering your Hoya Verticillata.
Leaf Spot
Phyllosticta Zingiberi is fungi that damage the inner tissues of hoya leaves. This damage results in small spots that look rusty or red.
Use copper fungicides to treat your hoya plant.
To prevent this condition use neem oil spray twice in 30 days. Neem has anti-bacterial properties and it is safe to use on plants.
Verticillata Pests
Sap-sucking pests are common in Hoya Verticillata. For best Hoya Verticillata care you should keep the surroundings clean.
Remove dirt and dust from your plant leaves. This will prevent the chance of pest attacks.
If your plants are already infected then use insecticidal soap to rinse your plants. Then allow them to drain extra water.
Use this soap once in 30 days. After the treatment spray neem oil on the entire plant.
Your plant will become healthy in less than 2 weeks.
Conclusion
It is easy to grow and care for Hoya Verticillata. But you need to be careful in the winter season. Keep your plant clean to avoid diseases and pest infestations.
Moderate indirect bright light is enough for the plant.
This evergreen hoya variety adds good greenery to your indoor environment of office and home.
