Hoya - an exotic plant native to Southeast Asia, grows in India, the Polynesian islands, the Australian continent. The common name is wax ivy.
The tropical flower of Hoya belongs to the subfamily Lastovny (Swallow). Depending on the variety, it occurs in nature in the form of grassy vines, epiphytes and shrubs.
Distinctive characteristics of the evergreen hoya plant are dark green glossy leaves (pubescent, leafless) and beautiful voluminous umbrella-shaped inflorescences (pink, white, yellow, maroon).
The climbing vine can reach a length of 2-10 m, the height of the bushes does not exceed 60 cm. The perennial is characterized by average growth rates of 20-30 cm per year.
Average growth rate, 20-30 cm per year. | |
It blooms from early summer to early autumn. | |
Easy to grow plant | |
Perennial |
Beneficial features
Photo of hoya in a potMedicinal plant:
- Helps to eliminate nervous disorders, head migraines, chronic skin diseases (furunculosis, carbunculosis).
- the aroma of inflorescences of the plant is considered an aphrodisiac.
According to superstitions, Noua is an energy vampire, a plant enrolled in a group of green "husband men". Lovers of flowers, deprived of prejudice, consider hoya a guarantee of family well-being, a charm of the house from envy.
Features of growing at home. Briefly
Tropical hoya at home cultivation is unpretentious. But even undemanding houseplants need proper care. The main criteria for its content are as follows:
Temperature mode | + 24 ° С - in the summer, + 10-16 ° С - in the winter. |
Humidity | high level of humidity at temperatures above + 24 ° С. |
Lighting | protection from direct sunlight, bright diffused light. |
Watering | moderate - 1 time per week - in the summer, 1 time in 2 weeks - in the winter. |
Priming | breathable (turf + peat + humus + sand), mandatory use of drainage. |
Fertilizing and fertilizers | liquid nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers, the beginning of feeding after leaving the dormant phase, regularity - 1p / 2 weeks. |
Transfer | transshipment is required 1p / 3 years, a favorable period - the middle or end of spring. |
Breeding | cuttings, bends, leaves with a formed axillary kidney. |
Growing Features | Ampel plant is grown on supports in hanging baskets. |
Hoya care at home. In detail
Tropical unpretentious flower will help revive the greenhouse, fill it with juicy shades of greenery and lush flowering, embellish the interior of the house.
Below are recommendations that will help gardeners to grow a beautiful plant and create the most favorable conditions for its growth, close to natural.
Bloom
Hoya quickly adapts at home. This flower can not be called rarely blooming, on the contrary, it does not skimp on the formation of inflorescences. In one season, one plant can throw from one to fifty buds.
Bright and multi-colored umbrellas from five-petalled flowers resembling asterisks in diameter can reach 8-11 cm. One bud can have about 7-50 flowers, therefore it is not surprising that it can weigh more than 200 grams. Due to the formation of large and heavy buds in diameter, it is not recommended to rearrange the plant at flowering times.
On the flowers hoyi Nectar accumulates in large quantities, which cover the petals. This creates the effect of coating the flowers with wax, in bright light, the blossoming buds sparkle.
Flowering lasts several months (3-4), is persistent and fragrant. A blossoming bud pleases the eye for three weeks, after which it falls off, and a new one is formed in its place. The distinguished aroma of nectar has a sweetish taste, with a large number of inflorescences the smell can be cloying and intoxicating.
Temperature mode
Home Hoya is thermophilic. It does not tolerate drafts and sudden changes in temperature in the room. Comfortable air temperature for the growth of this flower + 24 ° C. During the rest period, which falls during the winter months, it is best to keep the hoya in a cool place at a temperature of + 10-16 ° С. The average amplitude of the temperature regime is +15 - 20 ° С.
Despite the tropical origin of the flower and its thermophilicity, it reacts poorly to heat. Therefore, in heat-resistant weekdays, it makes sense to protect the flower from excessively scorching sunlight, sometimes to shade.
Watering and spraying
The active phase of growth and flowering at the optimum temperature should be accompanied by abundant watering of the plant.
- The regularity of soil moisture should not exceed once a week.
- The next watering is required at a dry depth of 2-3 cm of the upper layers of planting soil.
- Water the plant with well-maintained soft water at room temperature.
If the air temperature in the room exceeds + 24 ° C, the flower needs additional recharge with moisture.
- To fill its deficit, water pallets, household improvised dehumidifiers are used.
- To help the plant cope with a lack of moisture, you can also use the foliage washing.
Please note: the foliage of a houseplant tolerates water well when sprayed and washed, and the inflorescences blacken from moisture, therefore, these procedures for caring for the hoya must be performed carefully.
Lighting
Bright diffused light favors the abundant flowering of hoya, shading helps protect foliage from burns. Based on these characteristics of the plant, you should choose between the desire to enjoy the abundant formation of buds or juicy and large foliage.
The most comfortable place in the house is the south-east side. You can grow an ampel plant in the shade, but the growth rate in this case will be significantly reduced.
In the summer, you can create a flower's natural conditions for growth - take it out to the street and place it in a place protected from direct sunlight - near shrubs or trees with a not too dense crown.
How to wipe off dust
Numerous wax leaves of hoya are an excellent dust collector. Periodic cleaning of tropical handsome foliage is required. The leaves of the flower can be wiped with wet wipes made of natural fabric or washed in the shower. The procedure is recommended to be performed once a month.
Pot
Indoor flower hoya is cultivated in large and small flower pots made of plastic or clay with drainage holes.
- If the main goal when growing a flower is plentiful flowering, you need to select a close pot. Small-sized capacity inhibits the development of the root system, which allows the plant to spend all the nutrients received on the formation of buds, and not on the development of new shoots.
- If hoya is more interesting as an eternally green climbing vine, a spacious pot (containers) is the right decision when planting and transplanting a plant.
Priming
Hoya accepts breathable light substrates. For planting or transshipment of a flower, you can buy a ready-made mixture or cook it yourself. When choosing, slightly acidic and neutral soils should be preferred. The composition may be different:
- turf + leaf land + peat + sand + humus (1/2/1/1/1);
- peat + perlite + tree bark + coconut fiber (1/1/1/1);
- garden earth + perlite + vermiculite + moss (2/1/1/1/1).
Fertilizer and fertilizer
Additional nutrients need only the active phase of growth and flowering.
- Balanced mineral fertilizers (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium) are applied to the soil in a liquid consistency.
- It is impossible to irrigate the root system with nutrient compounds. The prepared mixture is poured into the pot, following the edge of the rim.
- When performing top dressing, it is necessary to follow the instructions of manufacturers of fertilizers for indoor plants, experienced flower growers contribute half the specified dose.
Transfer
Hoya is transplanted in the spring once every three years, when it comes to a healthy plant. Young samples are transplanted annually. An emergency transplant is necessary for the plant in cases of infection with its diseases and for unknown reasons for its wilting.
The transplant process consists of several steps:
- selection of flower pot;
- filling the tank with drainage;
- extracting a plant from an old pot;
- inspection of the root system;
- placing the plant in a new pot;
- filling the tank with new soil;
- watering the plants.
The ratio of soil and drainage (3/1).
How to crop
In the removal or pruning of shoots, the plant needs:
- when damaged by diseases and pests;
- with excessive growth.
To shorten and remove shoots, use secateurs. Slices are made between the nodules of the stem. Shoots on which buds were placed are not subject to removal. During the next flowering period, new inflorescences will form on them.
Rest period
The proper maintenance of Noua during the dormant period subsequently ensures its abundant flowering. In winter, the plant does not fertilize, do not transplant, reduce the frequency of its irrigation, provide a temperature regime not exceeding + 16 ° C.
Is it possible to leave the hoya without care
If all conditions of detention are met, then a beautifully flowering perennial can safely be left in a shaded place for several weeks, after it has been watered, fertilized and provided with a moisture retention in the pot, sprinkling the top layer of soil with moist expanded clay.
Hoya breeding
Using cuttings and layering, you can get additional Noua samples at home.
Hoya propagation by cuttings
Cuttings are effective in mid spring or early fall. Lignified cuttings must have at least four leaves. Slices of the stem are made a couple of centimeters below the leaf node.
When the cuttings are prepared, you need to do the following steps:
- stimulate root formation of cuttings by holding them for at least 24 hours in a root solution;
- choose the basis for rooting (water, sand, soil substrate);
- place the cuttings in a container with a base and cover with a film;
- provide a temperature regime in the room not lower than + 20 ° С;
- after a month, transplant the rooted cuttings into a flower pot with previously prepared nutrient soil;
- pinch the tops of young shoots to stimulate flowering.
Propagation by layering
A more simplified method of reproduction is the formation of layering:
- shoots of a flower smooth in a curved arc;
- bend the top of each arc to the first layer of soil and sprinkle with soil;
- within two to three weeks, roots are formed on the sprinkled shoot section;
- part of the stem with roots is separated by secateurs and transferred to a separate pot with previously prepared nutrient soil.
Layering can be done with the help of small incisions on the stems of the flower. When moistened incised areas (winding stems with moss), stimulation of root growth occurs.
Diseases and Pests
Hoya's vitality can be affected by both adverse conditions and diseases:
- rot roots and stems - excess moisture, excess fertilizer;
- leaves turn yellow hoyi - irrigation mode not observed;
- petals and buds crumble - rearrangement of the plant to a new place, moisture when watering or spraying fell on the inflorescences;
- slow growth of stems - scarcity of soil for nutrients, non-observance of proportions when applying fertilizers;
- leaves turn pale green - insufficient application of nitrogen fertilizers;
- brown traces on the leaves - excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation (burns);
- leaves hoyi curl and dry - low humidity, lack of watering, high temperature in the room;
- does not bloom - insufficient lighting, wintering conditions are not met, flower shoots are cut off;
- deformed leaves - lack of moisture;
- brown leaf edges - fungal infection;
- dark dots on young leaves - bacterial spotting;
- leaves are covered with white coating - Powdery mildew defeat.
They can affect mealybug, spider mite, scale insects, root nematodes.
Types of home Hoya with photos and names
Species of tropical hoya are plentiful. Below are descriptions of the most striking representatives of indoor plants of the genus Noua.
Meaty hoya, or wax ivy
Hoya carnosa - liana, the length of lignified stems can reach 6 meters. Leaves of dark green color with a cream or yellow rim, oval, fleshy, waxy. Star-shaped flowers (20-30 pcs.) Are collected in umbrella inflorescences of dark pink color. Long flowering (summer-autumn).
Hoya is beautiful
Hoya bella is a small epiphytic shrub with curly, flowing thin stems. It has small oblong-shaped leaves of green color (3 cm), white inflorescences with a purple crown (7-9 pcs.), Collected in an umbrella-shaped bud. Flowering steady, falls in the summer.
Hoya lace
Hoya lacunosa - epiphyte. It has dark green rhomboid foliage reaching a length of 6 cm. Flowers in white inflorescences (15-20 pcs.) And a yellow crown in the center are covered with pile, collected from umbrella buds. The lashes of the plant are dense, do not curl on their own. Flowering is characteristic from late spring to mid autumn.
Hoya multi-flowered
Hoya multiflora - bushy plant with wavy waxy leaves of dark green color, reaching a length of 10-12 cm. Thin lignified stems do not curl - upright. Grown as an ampel plant, reaches a height of 60 -70 cm. The inflorescences are yellow-white (up to 40 pcs.), The lower part of the flowers is curved, the buds formed are umbrella-shaped. It has a pleasant lemon aroma during flowering. The formation of buds falls at the beginning of summer, mid-autumn.
Hoya Kerra
Hoya Kerrii is a large vine, stems reach a length of 2 m. It has large light green leaves with a heart-shaped shape (12 cm long, 9 cm wide) and thin stems with many aerial roots. The inflorescences are small, resemble flat stars, the middle is dark, the lower petals are downy, in the bud there are 25 flowers. During flowering, it produces a chlorine scent. Abundant flowering is observed in the summer.
Majestic hoya
Hoya imperialis is a vine with curly thin stems reaching a length of 8 m. Large foliage (20 cm long) oblong in shape with a dark green color, glossy. Umbrella inflorescences consist of ten large flowers of a violet hue, the core is white. During flowering, a fruity aroma is emitted. Buds are formed in spring and summer.
Hoya Australian or Southern
Hoya australis is a 10-meter-long liana with large dense, oblong wax leaves of 15 cm in length. The color of the foliage can be either light or dark green. In one umbrella bud, there are up to ten flowers of a white-pink or cream shade, they produce a spicy aroma. It blooms mainly from late summer to November.
Fluffy hoya
Hoya pubicalyx - a climbing vine 7m long, with large oblong wax leaves (length 14 cm), green color with silver spots.It is characterized by a variety of shades of inflorescences - from light pink to maroon and even black maroon. A basket inflorescence is formed by 30 flowers emitting a perfume aroma. It blooms in summer.
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