Hoya care at home: photos of wax ivy, soil composition and pot selection, fertilizer and watering, indoor flower transplantation, plant propagation methods

Hoya is an evergreen vine capable of clinging to tree trunks. In this way, a plant in nature seeks support. The surface of the leaves of hoya is as if covered with wax. For these qualities, the plant is called wax ivy. Hoya can be found in many homes. It is unpretentious and in good conditions and with proper care actively blooms. Growing wax ivy is a simple and rather fascinating process. This article describes the process of caring for this beautiful plant.

How to care?

In order for the hoya to successfully develop in the house, it is important to provide the plant with conditions as close to natural as possible.

Lighting

Wax ivy needs diffused light. The best place for a plant is a western or southeast window. Placing on the north side will impede the flowering of the hoya. Wax ivy does not tolerate direct sunlighttherefore it is better not to grow it on the south window. If there is no choice, a flower should be shaded. Hoya normally perceives a small shadow, you can place wax ivy against the wall in the southern room. An excess of light is indicated by blanching of the leaves.

Daylight hours during flowering should last at least 12 hours a day, in winter - 10 hours. On cloudy days it is advisable to include a phytolamp or a fluorescent lamp for the plant.

Watering

From March to October, you need to moisten the earth to the best of abundance, with a frequency of once a week. In summer, the hoya should be watered only after the top layer of the soil dries up one to two centimeters from the surface. During flowering, more water is required.. An earthen lump should always remain a little wet.

From November, watering should be reduced to two times a month and the soil should be moistened two to three days after the top layer dries. Wax ivy belongs to drought-resistant plants, however, in winter you can not leave it completely without watering. This can lead to the death of the roots.

The water that has accumulated in the pan must be drained so that the root system does not rot.

For watering, use soft water at room temperature. Tap water must be settled for a day. In spring and summer, you can spray the plant, avoiding moisture on the flowers.

It is useful to arrange showers for the Hoya, which will allow it to clean it of dust and dirt. To do this, you need:

Place the flower pot in the bathroom on a comfortable surface.
Gently wipe the leaves with a soft cloth dipped in a mild soapy solution.
Then rinse the plant slightly.

Twice a year, before and after the flowering period, the hoya needs to be bathed. To do this, you need:

Fill a large basin with hot water heated to a temperature of + 35 ° C.
Lower the pot with the plant.
Pull the stems out of the water after 10 minutes, leave the earthen lump for another half hour.

Such spring bathing is favorable for growth and can accelerate the onset of flowering. The procedure performed in the fall helps the hoya prepare for the winter.

Temperature

A comfortable summer temperature for hoya should be in the range of +22 to + 25 ° C. Hot days, the flower will be easier to transfer if you increase the humidity level in the room. It is important to ventilate the room in which the plant is contained, but not to allow drafts.

In winter, the temperature should be between +16 and + 18 ° C. This is necessary for annual summer flowering. If the temperature is higher, the plant will not bloom. Why Hoya does not bloom and what a flowering plant looks like you will learn here. Values below + 10 ° C are fatal to wax ivy.

It is advisable to place the pot with the hoya away from heating appliances.

Soil composition

Wax ivy loves a loose, well-permeable substrate, neutral or slightly acidic. Perlite, pine bark, charcoal, vermiculite, coconut substrate must be added to the purchased soil. Of the ready-made soil mixtures Hoye suitable land for orchids.

The soil can be formed independently by choosing one of the composition options.

Option 1:

moss-sphagnum or peat - 1 part;
perlite or vermiculite - 1 part;
expanded clay or polystyrene - 1 part.

Option 2:

universal substrate - three fifths;
vermiculite or perlite - one fifth;
expanded clay - one fifth.

When choosing soil, it is recommended to consider on what soil the hoya grows in nature. It is important not to forget about drainage.

The smaller the pot for growing ivy, the smaller the soil structure should be.

Pot

Hoya shoots grow faster in a larger flowerpot. However, the plant begins to bloom only when the roots occupy the entire volume of the pot. If the priority is plentiful flowering, the choice should be stopped on a small container, with a diameter of 6 - 10 centimeters. Every spring, you need to transplant the young hoya into the pot two to three centimeters more than before.

An adult plant needs a container with a diameter of 12 to 20 centimeters. When long shoots appear, transplantation into ampel pots is carried out.

It is preferable to choose a ceramic pot. This capacity provides air access to the roots of the plant.

The pot for adult wax ivy must be heavy so that the flower does not turn it over. Most species and varieties of hoya need support. It can be:

columns
gratings;
trellis;
arches or arches.

Long flexible shoots should be tied to them. You should not move the pot with the hoya from place to place, the plant will not bloom.

Fertilizers

Between March and September, hoyu needs to be fed. Suitable liquid complex fertilizers for orchids and flowering succulents. Feeding is required regularly, every two weeks.

A portion of fertilizer should be half the size indicated on the package. An exception is the lanceolate hoya, which perceives the usual dosage well.

In winter, top dressing is not needed. Subject to the use of nutrient soil, fertilizers must not be applied within two to three months after planting or transplanting the plant.

A signal of the excess content of substances in the soil are new small leaves. As a result of nitrogen deficiency, the leaves turn pale.

Pruning

The first pruning is required when the fourth leaf appears on a young plant. After flowering, the long shoots need to be cut off with secateurs, short ones should be left. The stalk should be cut between the nodules. Pruning contributes to the formation of new side shoots. You can not prune flower stalks after the inflorescences have dried - after some time new buds will appear on them.

When and how to transplant a room flower?

Young plants need to be replanted annually in the spring, adults - every three years. For each transplant, you need a new pot, which is two to three centimeters larger than the old one. The container should be disinfected. It is recommended to transplant the hoya by transshipment together with an earthen lump into a new pot. If it is necessary to completely replace the soil, during the procedure you must perform the following steps:

At the bottom of the disinfected new pot, place a layer of drainage, which should occupy one third of the tank. You can take broken shards or expanded clay.
Pour a small portion of the soil mixture.
If the hoya is contained in a plastic pot, you need to put a little pressure on it and take out the plant along with an earthen lump.
Carefully clean the root system of the soil, inspect.
If the roots are healthy, immediately transplant the plant into a new substrate. If there are dried and rotted areas on the roots, they should be removed and the cuts treated with chopped coal.
Place the hoya in a new flowerpot with earth and fill the remaining area with fresh soil.
Tamp the topsoil to better retain moisture.
Water the plant well.

Blooming wax ivy purchased at a store cannot be transplanted. You need to wait until the last flowers fade. If possible, it is better to postpone the procedure until spring.

Is it possible to grow in open ground?

The possibility of growing wax ivy in open ground depends on the climatic conditions of the region and the type of flower itself. If in winter the temperature does not drop below 10 ° C, you can keep the hoya in the garden.

Photo of Wax Ivy

Check out the photo of how this plant looks:

Diseases and Pests

Hoya is susceptible to the following diseases:

Powdery mildew.
It appears in the form of whitish spots on the leaves. In case of severe damage, the plaque spreads to the stems and buds. The cause of the disease is high humidity and low temperature in the room. Powdery mildew is quite successfully eliminated by fungicides. In addition, regular ventilation should be provided.
Viral infection.
Stains and thickenings appear on the leaves. It is urgent to isolate the plant. In the absence of improvements, the hoyu will have to be destroyed.
Bacterial infection.
The trunk and shoots become soft, sticky liquid is released from them, which smells unpleasant. The leaves darken and red spots form on them. It is necessary to spray the plant with preparations containing copper. Remove affected areas.

Hoya can suffer from an attack of pests: scale insects, worms, spider mites. All insects are easily controlled with insecticides.

You will learn about why a flower does not grow, its leaves turn yellow and fall, and what diseases and pests can be dangerous for Hoya, you will learn in a separate article.

Instructions on how to propagate the plant

Seeds

Seed propagation is not the most popular way to grow hoya.. This is due to the following disadvantages of the method:

Hoya seeds are rare on sale. At home, they practically do not ripen. This method is most suitable for breeding in large greenhouses.
The method is very time consuming.

The advantage of this method is its good performance - about 80% of the seeds become a full-fledged plant.

Planting the seeds of this flower is carried out in the year of their collection, otherwise they lose their germination. Seed should be ripened and dried. Landing Procedure:

Prepare a loose substrate - a mixture of sphagnum and universal soil.
Plant the seeds.
After about a week, the seeds germinate and short stems appear. After this point, it is required to observe the watering regime. The soil should not be too wet, but drying should not be allowed.
Put the container with shoots in a warm bright place.
In order to prevent fungal infections, it is recommended to treat the sprouts with a drug containing copper in strict accordance with the instructions.
Three months later, when several pairs of leaves appear on young plants, the sprouts must be planted in separate pots. Sprouts in the sowing container can differ from each other both in size and structure. Only strong ones should be planted, small ones still need to grow up.

At home, you can try to germinate the seeds in sphagnum balls wrapped in a nylon mesh. It is recommended to transplant the sprouts to a permanent place together with the ball, which will help protect the delicate roots from damage.

Leaf

You can try to grow hoya from a single leaf. However, this method has a number of disadvantages:

The method is suitable only for certain types and varieties of hoya, for example, for the Kerry variety.
The process of forming a new process takes a very long time.
The result is unpredictable. There is no guarantee that a new plant will be obtained.

It is necessary:

Prepare a light substrate.
Take a leaf with a petiole and plant it at an angle of 45 degrees in loose soil.
It is recommended to use chemicals for root formation. Using a pipette, drip into the center of the sheet so that the liquid flows down.

The roots of the leaf can appear quite quickly, but there may not be further growth for a long time.

Cuttings

This is the most common way. Propagation by cuttings is carried out in spring or autumn.. The main advantage of the method is the ability to get a full, healthy plant in a short time. To cuttings quickly let out roots, it is recommended to follow simple rules:

Choose the shoots of last year.
Use a sharp sterile instrument.
Cut short cuttings with several leaves. On too long cuttings, the tip may dry out due to lack of moisture.
Choose cuttings on which there are two nodes. In this case, step back a little from the node and make a cut.

Rooting can be done in two ways:

in water;
in the substrate.

Rooting in water requires:

Pour warm, settled water into the container.
Add part of the activated carbon pill to prevent infections, as well as Cornevin or Epin to stimulate root formation.
Wrap the container with foil, making small holes for cuttings on top.
Remove the lower leaves from the cuttings, leaving the upper ones.
Dip the cut points in a growth stimulator.
Insert the cuttings into the pot vertically through the foil so that the bottom knot is in the water.
Put a plastic film on the container with the cuttings, leaving access to the air.
Keep the pot at a temperature of water and air not higher than + 22 ° C. From time to time open the greenhouse for the purpose of ventilation.

About a month later, roots appear. When the root system is just beginning to develop, you need to transplant a young plant into a pot. If you wait longer, the roots become long and break easily when planting.

This option is painstaking. You can simplify the procedure. Simply put the cuttings in a dark vessel, place it in a warm place and often spray. Add water as it evaporates. Hoya with a lignified stem is better to root immediately in the ground.

To root a stalk in a substrate, you must:

Prepare a new mixture of peat and sand, which is good for moisture.
To treat a cut in cuttings with a growth stimulator - Epin or Kornevin.
Sterilize the substrate and pot.
Plant the cuttings in the ground so that the bottom node is in the soil.
Put on polyethylene, leaving air free.
Put in a warm bright place. Keep at a temperature not lower than +22 ° C. Ventilate seedlings regularly.

In a few weeks, growth will be visible - new leaves will appear.

Wax ivy grown from cuttings blooms only in the fourth year of life.

All methods of breeding Hoya at home are described in detail in this article.

Looking after a hoya at home is pretty easy. This plant is unpretentious and great for decorating an apartment (about whether it is possible to keep the plant at home and what kind of care he will need, read here). In response to the care shown, wax ivy pleases the owner with spectacular flowering.