Fragrant hoya - care at home

Hoya came to our homes from southeast Asia: from the south of Indonesia and China, from New Guinea, Thailand, from the islands of the Malay Archipelago, some parts of India. In addition, it can be found in the north of Australia. Unpretentious hoya, care at home for her is simple.

This unique in its kind blossoming liana belongs to the family Lastnovevyh (Asclepiadaceae). Hoyi crossed very reluctantly. Therefore, their varietal diversity is limited to about 200 varieties. The appearance of the plant is a fleshy stem, which eventually becomes stiff, surrounded by parallel leaves. Peduncles grow directly from the stem. Inflorescences consist of flowers sitting on long petioles, umbrellally growing from the peduncle in the amount of 3 to 20. Their size depends on the variety and variety.

There are lianas with very large flowers 8-10 cm (Red Imperial) and with small ones - up to 1 cm (Hoya Kerry). And in Hoya Nicholson the size of the entire inflorescence is up to 4.5 cm. In most of its flowers the flowers of this plant are fragrant, smooth and glossy, dissected, five-lobe. But there are varieties with pubescent flowers, for example, Kaudata, Mirabilis. Out of all stands Hoya Multiflora. Its complex two-level stellate flowers can not be confused with any other variety. Do not lag behind her and hoya Kampanulata - her inflorescence, like every flower, resembles a parachute, because the bracts are fused, slightly dissected. The color of the petals of hoyi varies from dark burgundy-gray to white and yellow-white. One flower bud can bloom for several years, so do not remove it after flowering.

The shape and color of the leaves are also very variable. There are hoyi with small leaves up to 3 cm (Curtisi), and giant varieties such as Lambi, which have leaves with palm. Their shape can be round, oval, long, like a pea pod (Shepardi), heart (Kerry), swirling (Indian rope). The color of the leaves can be even-green, mottled yellow-green, green in white, or with strokes.

Rules of cultivation and care

Hoya flower is a house plant. It is not suitable for growing in the Russian garden, because it loves heat, is afraid of winds and scorching sun. Under the direct sun leaves turn red and get powerful burns, and the wind can slow down its growth. This creeper has a rather small root system, so it does not need large pots. The plant is a meter long, and even with sprouts, can easily grow in a 9-centimeter pot (volume from 0.45 to 0.5 liters). Demanding watering hoya, care at home should provide some rules. Soil for cultivation should be easy, but moisture-consuming.

Liana does not tolerate overflow - she will not grow in a wet pot. It should be with enough holes to drain water. However, these are very moisture-loving plants. The following composition of the soil for hoyi is possible: garden soil or common soil should be diluted with sphagnum, vermiculite and fine expanded clay (2/1 / 0,5 / 0,5). It must be remembered that in its content it is very similar to succulent and does not like too much fat soil. Therefore, if you have chernozem at your dacha, then we advise you to add such a small amount of land.

Very variable hoya, care at home depends on what it looks like. If you have a plant with thick fleshy leaves - you should not allow constant overmoistening. The soil between the watering should dry completely. It will not be bad if the plant is dry for several days. For 4-5 days with him nothing will. But this is a good prevention of decay. Such hoyi like to luxuriate under the oblique sunlight. For a plant with thin leaves, you can recommend more frequent watering and less sunlight. And on the northern window this liana will grow normally. When drying, thin-leaved species can lose foliage.

Hoyi with light-green leafy leaves like a bright, but not scorching sun, abundant watering without stagnation of water. They do not like overdrying, which leads to rapid dehydration and wilting of the leaves. Plants with leaves of pubescent dark green prefer the usual content. These are shade-tolerant species that can be watered as the earth coma dries out.

Do not tolerate a large number of mineral substances hoya, care at home does not provide for frequent and abundant feeding. To feed them it is necessary very accurately. It is best to buy fertilizers for succulents or orchids for this plant. If you do not want to buy, but want to use what you have, you can feed fertilizer for decorative and for flowering (alternately). But in this case, the solution should be made 4-5 times weaker than the recommended solution on the label.

Methods of reproduction

The optimal way to multiply hoyi is vegetative by means of cuttings. But it is practically impossible to grow it from a leaf cuttings, because the leaf does not have cells that provide the appearance of a growth point. Therefore, even if your leaf will give roots, one percent of a hundred, that it will take root and germinate. If only you did not get a leaf with a piece of stalk. Then it is difficult to grow hoyu from a leaf, but it is possible.

For rooting, the presence of a cuttings with two pairs of leaves is best - then the likelihood that the stem will be taken is high. Plant it in a small pot in the same soil composition as for the adult plants described above. But the land there must be added even less. For faster rooting, it is better to cover the stalk with a jar or wrap the pot in a transparent package, providing a greenhouse condition. When the stem begins to grow, it can be planted in a permanent pot. In this case, one should take into account the fact that too much hoya will not only bloom, but it will grow very slowly, too, since with a large amount of planting soil this "cunning" liana prefers to increase the root rather than the above-ground part.