Hoya Obovata is a rare blue flower that grows in the jungles of Java and Bali. It’s often difficult to find, so you may need to search for it online or at a specialist nursery.
If you’re lucky enough to spot a specimen, be prepared to pay high prices – they can fetch up to $200 per bulb! Once you’ve grown your own Hoya Obovata, enjoy its beauty and rarity!
Key Points
- Common Name: Wax plant, porcelain flower, hoya
- Scientific Name: Hoya species.
- Soil: Potting mix for succulents and cacti
- Light: Indirect or partial sunlight
- Water: A low level
- Food: Fertilizer high in phosphorus or balanced
- Temperature and Humidity: Pleasant summers, cool winters, moderate humidity
- Propagation: Tip cuttings
- Safety: Nontoxic
How to grow Hoya Obovata?
If you’re looking for a unique flower to add to your garden, try Hoya Obovata. This rare blue flower is beautiful and challenging to grow, so be prepared for a long and tedious process.
- First, you need to find a suitable location in full sun.
- Second, remove all of the existing vegetation around the root system.
- Third, plant two or three bulbs directly into the soil mix, ensuring they are well-spaced! Keep watering sparingly during the growing season, and be patient – this flower takes a long time to bloom. If you’re up for the challenge, give Hoya Obovata a try!
Growing Hoya Obovata Wax Plant Indoors
Hoya Obovata Plant Care
Wax plants are surprisingly easy indoor plants to care for. You’ll be able to grow this plant for many years after learning a few tips!
Light: Bright indirect light will not harm hoyas but prevent them from blooming. Artificial grow lights work well. You should keep the light on for 14 hours daily for your wax plant about 8 inches (20 cm) below the light.
Providing darkness at night is also important. Rest is essential for plants as well. Please don’t move your plant once it has formed flower buds. Flower buds can shrivel up or fall off when light levels change.
Water: Ensure the potting mix is thoroughly moist from spring through fall, but let it dry out between waterings. Despite their thirst, flowering Hoya plants do not like soggy soil. Ensure that your pot has drainage holes and the tray is empty. Your tropical plants should be watered at room temperature.
They can be shocked by cold water. Enough water should prevent the soil from completely drying out in winter.
Humidity: Prefers 50% humidity relative to surrounding air. Make sure your room is humidified with a cool-mist humidifier. The pot can also be placed on a humidity tray. Avoid getting the flowers wet by lightly misting the foliage with room-temperature water.
Temperature: Hoya carnosa should be kept warm throughout the year (65-75°F/18-24°C), and the minimum temperature should be 60°F/16°C. Place your plant away from heat/AC vents and drafts from doors.
Soil: 2 parts sphagnum peat moss, 1 part perlite added to improve drainage.
Fertilizer: Dilute high-potassium water-soluble fertilizer by half monthly from spring to fall.
Propagation: Take 3 (7 cm) cuttings from stem tips in spring. At least one pair of leaves should be included in the cuttings. A moist potting mix will make them root easily.
Hoya Pests, Diseases, and Problems
If you’re growing hoya obovata, be prepared for pests, diseases, and problems. Wax Plant is not easy to grow and needs a lot of attention – this is why it’s often called the “Queen of Flowers.” Moreover, pests and diseases often attack wax plants.
Here are a few tips that can help you combat these issues:
- Use intense light in the early morning or late evening hours
- Keep humidity levels high
- Mulch around the roots to help absorb water and reduce moisture loss.
How To Repot Hoya Plants
Hoya prefers to be rootbound to produce flowers. They eventually outgrow their pots or hanging baskets; however, when roots grow around the drainage holes, it’s time to repot! Gently press against the sides of flexible plastic pots when testing plants.
Another indicator is time to repot if it’s firm and won’t move. It would help if you repotted your hoya in spring or early summer. Choose a pot that is only 1-2 inches wider and taller than your current one. Repotting shouldn’t be done any lower in the pot than before.
Hoya plants can develop roots along their stems but also need ventilation to protect them from harm like rot or decay.
Pruning Your Hoya Obovata
Hoyas are hardy but need prune care to stay healthy and happy. Eliminate any wilted, broken, or dead branches or leaves. Remove any unhealthy leaves as well.
Any additional pruning is simply ornamental, although it should be carried out carefully. On older flower stems known as spurs, hoyas produce new bloom buds. Those spurs will continue to bloom year.
To ensure that your plant continues to bloom, don’t remove those. Keep your hoya’s trailing length as long as possible. Those trailing arms are not only lovely, but they are also vital.
The plant will only fill its pot and begin to produce the star-shaped flowers we all desire if it expands in size.
Troubleshooting Hoya Plants
There are very few problems associated with Hoya plant care. It’s suitable for gardeners of all levels of skill. There are, however, a few issues you may encounter. This section will help you figure out what went wrong.
Growing Problems
Watering issues are the most common cause of growing problems. Overwatering a hole is easy. It can cause rot and kill your plant. Underwatering, however, causes leaves to wilt and turn yellow.
Hoya is an epiphytic plant, so do not overwater them due to their epiphytic nature. Water carefully and in limited amounts.
Pests
The majority of pests that attack hoyas are sap-suckers. The most frequent offenders are aphids, mealybugs, various scale insects, and spider mites.
Fortunately, neem oil may be used to manage all of these. Neem oil can be sprayed on all plant surfaces, which should eliminate or significantly reduce the population of these frequent pests.
The hoya is not a preferred host plant for whiteflies and thrips, yet they can become an issue if they are already in large populations in your yard.
Whiteflies and thrips can be controlled by insecticides, while neem oil can also control thrips. When dealing with caterpillars on your plants, use BT spray.
Snails and slugs are the only additional vermin to watch out for. To prevent this, use a beer trap or some bait.
However, exercise caution when using neem oil and insecticidal soap if you produce hoya to draw in local pollinators.
When using one or the other, dilute it, and only spray in the early morning when pollinators are still at work.
If not, you risk hurting or killing them. Whether or whether using this mix can still harm pollinators is a hotly contested topic.
Diseases
Sooty mold is the pathogen that affects hoya plants the most frequently. This black mold grows on thick leaves that are sticky from plant saps or insect honeydew.
Fortunately, sooty mold is simple to handle. Make use of a moist towel to remove the mold. If you’d like, you might apply a diluted seaweed fertilizer to the region where the mold developed.
Hoya leaves have been known to get botrytis blight. These first appear as patches of grayish fungal growth in the middle of the plant. It generates mushy leaves or leaf collapse as it grows.
Apply a copper fungicide to this. The dreadful root rot comes last. Avoid this by not overwatering, which encourages fungal growth and causes the problem.
Rot may be to blame if your plant wilts or develops sores on its stems or leaves that are black or brown. To lessen root rot symptoms, spray a copper fungicide on the plant’s roots and surrounding soil.
Your plant is beyond saving if the roots are black and mushy.
Hoya Varieties
Wax plants are among the most popular houseplants because of their attractive foliage and robust root systems. There are many different wax plants, each with unique features.
When growing wax plants indoors, choose the suitable variety for your climate and growing conditions – Hoya Obovata is a rare blue flower that grows well in temperate zones.
While we can’t go over everything here, let’s examine some of the most common homegrown varieties.
Hoya carnosa, ‘Wax Flower Plant,’ ‘Wax Plant,’ ‘Porcelainflower,’ ‘Hindu Rope Plant
Among hoya varieties, Hoya carnosa is famous for its sweet scent. A Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit was given to it.
A native of eastern Asia and Australia, this plant has waxy foliage and star-shaped flowers. In addition to being a vining plant, it is reputed to be an excellent air purifier.
Hoya australis, ‘Common Waxflower’, ‘Waxvine’
In its native Australia, the common waxflower attracts butterflies with its shiny, succulent leaves. Often found along the edges of rainforests and on rocky outcroppings, this hoya loves bright light. Waxvine is often grown as a houseplant but can also be grown outdoors in full sun.
Hoya cinnamomifolia, ‘Wax Plant’
The thick leaves of Hoya cinnamomifolia, which originates on the island of Java, resemble those of Ceylon cinnamon or “true cinnamon” plants.
Although this hoya is not commonly grown in gardens, it is notable for its distinctive outer petals, which range from green to yellow. Pinkish-red to dark red is the color of the inner petals.
Hoya kerrii, ‘Lucky-Heart’, ‘Sweetheart Plant’
Due to its leaf shape, Hoya kerrii is commonly known as “Lucky Heart” or “Sweetheart” in southeastern Asia. It is a very popular houseplant. A garden center sells this hoya as a single heart-shaped leaf in a pot. In this form, it cannot root, so don’t fall for it! Its flowers are pinkish to yellowish with a deeper pink center star.
Hoya serpens, ‘Green Wax Plant.’
The green wax plant proliferates in the Himalayas. The flowers of this plant have a greenish tint and appear fuzzy. A tiny bit of yellow at the center and hints of deep pink are the only bright spots in these flowers. Besides that, the flower is mostly cream or pale green. This plant produces more round and waxy leaves than the pale green flower.
Conclusion
Hoya Obovata is a beautiful, rare flower only found in the Philippines. If you want to add a tropical flair to your home, this flower is for you! By growing Hoya Obovata, you’ll be able to enjoy this flower in all its glory.
In addition, growing Hoya Obovata is a relatively straightforward process – all you need is plenty of light and water. So what are you waiting for? Get growing!
