Wax plant is commonly known as a Hoya Carnosa. It is prominent for its waxy leaves and breathtaking beautiful flowers that assume a star shape. Those flowers flow white to pink color and have a distinctive smell. But then they don’t bloom readily when they’re neglected. Therefore I’ve compiled detailed information that will help you to grow a healthy wax plant.
Varieties of wax plant
There are over 100 known species of the Hoya plants. Hoya Carnosa, on its own, has some strictly identical cultivars like the Hoya Carnosa Rubra and Hoya Carnosa Variegata. They assume different leaf shapes and flower colors. But then the main focus is on the Hoya Carnosa, which has Large Dark Green Almond-Shaped leaves.
Hoya Carnosa
It is a succulent, vine family plant or merely a climbing type. It has thick almond-shaped dark green succulent leaves, which are distributed one leaf per node. The flowers create clusters of circular-shapes of varying star-shaped flowers. And those colors range from dark pink to near-pink.
Climate suitable for Hoya Carnosa
Missouri Botanical Garden asserted that the plant is acclimatized to all USDA Zones 10-12. The Hoya Carnosa is cultivated vastly in many parts of America. It is a garden plant that performs well in the shade but cannot flower unless it is given enough shade. Furthermore, it’s a seasonal bloomer; if it is not exposed to sufficient light, flower production may fail to take place. Due to its love to shade and fragile towards direct hot sunlight, it has become a darling of indoor cultivation.
Planting Tips
The plant is considered to be easy to grow and tender, but like any problematic plant, you have to become equipped with relevant knowledge on how to improve it. Imagine waking up in the morning, putting on your gown and padding softly to the verandah that has a Hoya Carnosa creeping nicely from a pot suspended on the pillar. Anyway, I believe you can picture those circular clusters of star-shaped pink flowers letting out a sweet scent. You can grow that flower of your dreams.
This flower can be grown outdoors or indoors, depending on where you want to place it. Firstly be conversant with this biggest tip of cultivating your wax plant. It is very sensitive to excessive light. For you to have this flower, it’s either you will purchase it or plant it. You can find it from online stores, or in nearby nurseries. Let’s just go through the tips of having your flower indoors and outdoors, respectively. And these essential tips will help you to grow and care for this marvelous plant.
Indoors Planting Tips
This flower can be grown on soil or substrate. For the Hoya Carnosa to assume its beauty, there are several things that you have to be conversant with so that you experience their brilliance in your home. A healthy brings a livid atmosphere at home, and a healthy carcinoma can bring that lively atmosphere if you know how to take care of it. Anyway, let’s get to a vital to-do or to-know things on your journey to owning a healthy wax plant.
1. Propagating your wax plant from cuttings
The most popular methods of propagating the wax plant are layering and stem in water. In layering, a stem cutting is placed in a pot of soft or light mix, maintaining moisture until it starts to shoot tiny roots. The other method is putting stems in water; this one is easy to monitor small sources shooting from the stem after a few days deep in water
2. Watering.
Keep up with the watering schedule, do not excessively water if the pottage mix has poor drainage. Watering is supposed to be proportional to the amount of light received. Overwatering, in most cases, causes root decay.
3. Pottage
If you are going to use pot(s), have a standard loamy potting mix that has excellent drainage. The plant does not have a problem with potage, but like any other plant grown in pots, you should repot twice when necessary to keep the soil rich in nutrients.
4. Pruning
To maintain an excellent look at this vine plant, make sure you prune out brown dead stems if there is no need, you can nicely wind or loosely tie them to the trellis or any appropriate support of your choice.
5. Temperatures
The Hoya Carnosa cannot withstand temperatures below 10 degrees. Thus you have to be watchful of that, especially in winter. Make sure it doesn’t get exposure to chilly or too hot temperatures
6. Light
The plant cannot withstand excess direct hot sunlight. They are much accustomed to shade and minimal diffuse light. Expose them to minimum brightness, or even a curtain-through view.
7. Troubleshooting
Just like any other plants, be on the watch for plagues that may disturb the health of our plant. As a plant that doesn’t require too much light, once they get exposure to excessive light, leaves may shrivel or turn reddish. Overwatering or lack of water makes the plant limp. The wax plant is likely to fail to flow if it doesn’t get enough light. Inhospitable temperatures make leaves fall off.
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