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Hoya Krohniana (7 Caring Tips & 3 Propagation Methods)

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Hoya Krohniana is an uncommon and rare wax plant with lovely small and heart-shaped leaves featuring silver markings. This plant is also known for growing the long vining stems that make it attractive in the hanging baskets.

It has fleshy stems, which are woody at the base. The size of the alternate, petiolate leaves sometimes reaches two meters in length. The leaf plates are oval, and in some cases, the leaves may vary in size and shape.

The length of the incised leaves can reach seventy centimeters, and in an apartment – two meters. Also, the length of the bud can reach eight centimeters, and the inner side of the petals is yellow while the outer side is green.

As a rule, the leaves of a Hoya Krohniana are colored in different colors, but the upper ones have a darker shade. It has beautiful decorative leaves. But it cannot grow without support.

Hoya Krohniana
Hoya Krohniana via Reddit

Care tips for Hoya Krohniana

1. Lighting

Almost all green plants require sunlight. And Hoya Krohniana will require its share. Enough light is needed, which should be 1 to 2 hours, and the lighting should not directly hit the leaves.

The midday sun should generally be wary of. You also need to know that the brighter the greenery color, the more light is required. Plants with the darkest coloration can be placed in shaded areas.

2. Temperature

Hoya Krohniana is a thermophilic plant. It adapts perfectly to the summer heat as long as the room is kept at optimum humidity. The plant does not require special temperature conditions. It will feel most comfortable at a temperature of 20-25 ºC.

Temperatures above 25 ºC in summer are undesirable. To prevent the Krohniana from overheating, its leaves are sprayed and washed with frozen water. In winter, the room temperature should not drop below 15 ºC. The plant does not tolerate drafts, so it is better not to take it outside.

3. Watering

The frequency of soil moistening directly depends on the air temperature. The hotter the room, the more often you will have to water.

Hoya Krohniana loves to be watered with frozen water at room temperature as the top layer of the soil dries up by 0.5-1 cm, i.e., about 3-4 times a week. Water this plant when the top layer of soil in the pot dries up noticeably.

In the summer, the plant is watered abundantly, but it is necessary to drain the excess water from the pot an hour later. In winter, accordingly, watering is reduced.

Spraying the leaves every other day or two is very important. After watering, drain excess water from the pot. It is better to put four expanded clay pebbles in the pallet to raise the pot, and the excess water cannot harm the plant.

Use a damp sponge to wipe down the leaves once a week. During the period of relative dormancy (end of November to end of January), watering should be reduced by 2/3 but do not allow the top layer of the soil to dry out completely.

Hoya Krohniana 2
Hoya Krohniana via Reddit

4. Humidity

Under natural conditions, hoya Krohniana grows in the tropics; therefore, it needs high humidity. The plant must be regularly sprayed, especially during the heating season.

If there is dry air in the room, the plant’s leaves will become small. Younger specimens will love the shower. To increase moisture, you can moisten a stick with coconut fibers, which supports the Krohniana.

Do not forget to wipe the plant’s leaves with a damp cloth. For spraying, use soft, warm water. Such a hygienic procedure improves the appearance of the Krohniana and increases the humidity. It is better to avoid polishes for leaves, and they may contain harmful substances.

5. Fertilizers

Hoya Krohniana prefers animal excrement, insect waste products, rotted tree foliage, and rainwater. Unfortunately, in room conditions, this cannot be provided to it.

During the period of intensive growth, hoya Krohniana will not refuse feeding. Fertilizers provide it with a range of nutrients. Likewise, they are brought in from March to September. You can also feed the plants in other months, but less often.

Once a month is sufficient if the plant is in a warm room. For top dressing, you can use complex mineral fertilizers. Also, fertilizers are suitable for decorative deciduous plants.

To make the Krohniana stretch in height, fertilizers with a high nitrogen content are used. If the plant needs to be compact, it is limited to nitrogen fertilization.

6. Top dressing

Top dressing should be carried out after a good moistening of the earthen coma, which will avoid a high salt content in the substrate. Overfeeding and underfeeding of the Hoya Krohniana can be equally harmful.

If a small surplus of fertilizers can be eliminated by temporarily stopping the application of fertilizers, replanting and washing the soil will be necessary with a high concentration of nutrients.

When flushing, the plant must be placed for 15 minutes. Under a stream of warm water, it must pass through the drainage holes. You can place a pot with the plant in a container with water to the soil level until the substrate is completely saturated with water.

After which, the pot must be removed and wait until all the water has drained. The procedure is repeated three to five times.

7. Transplanting

Carefully remove the purchased Hoya Krohniana from the shipping pot, keep an earthen ball and not damage the roots.

In a new pot with drainage holes, put expanded clay with a 2-3 cm layer, transplant the plant, fill the voids with fresh soil, and install support in the center. Watering should be done with frozen water.

Propagation

1. Propagation by cuttings

Cut off 10 cm apical cuttings from an adult hoya Krohniana and dip them in peter peat liquid humic fertilizer. Soak the seeds for 10-12 hours.

Then immerse them in a mixture of neutralized peat and agroperlite. Pour moderately, cover with transparent cut plastic bottles and place the container in a room with a temperature of + 24⁰C and lighting for at least 14 hours per day.

As soon as you see new leaves forming on the cuttings, dive into separate pots with nutritious soil.

2. Propagation by layers

Choose a longer shoot with air roots and a plastic hairpin (you can break the front of a plastic fork) and press it to the soil’s surface. Sprinkle lightly with soil, compact, and pour over it.

After 1.5-2 months, everything will take root, and you have to cut off the shoot from the mother plant. Place the rooted plants in a separate pot and pour with settled water.

3. Reproduction by trunk fragments

When propagating by parts of the trunk, preparing the container and the substrate is necessary. For this, peat and sand mixed in equal proportions should be put in the box.

Next, on the surface of the substrate, it is necessary to lay the cut pieces of the trunk with the kidney upward, sprinkle them with sand, water and cover them with polyethylene or glass. After rooting, they are planted in different pots.

Diseases and pests

1. Diseases

  • Leaves turn yellow because of a lack of nutrients
  • The lower leaves fall off, and the upper ones become shallower because of lack of lighting
  • Brown spots on the leaves are sunburn, i.e., not the right place
  • The stems rot because of overflow and cold in the room
  • Leaves drooped due to insufficient watering
  • Brown spots on the leaves because of insufficient lighting

2. Pests

They cause buds and flowers to curl, leaves turn yellow, and gradually sticky discharge is visible. To prevent them, you need to brush the leaves of the hoya Krohniana with a gruel of soap, garlic, and water.

You can also spray it with yarrow infusion (100 g of the dried plant is poured with 1 liter of boiling water, closed with a tight lid, and infused for 2 days) or onion peel infusion.

  • Scale insect

The scale insect is a small sucking insect covered with skins of past molts and feeding on leaf sap. If you want to prevent it, treat the plant with insecticides like Confidor, Aktara, BI-58.

The plant is covered with a cobweb, the leaves turn yellow, and the hoya Krohniana may die. This could be due to high temperature or dry air.

To fight, you need to remove insects using soapy water, treat the plant with Actellic at the indicated concentration. For prevention, 50 g of tobacco, pour 1 liter of water, leave for two days, strain and spray the affected plant with the composition.

  • Thrips

Thrips is a 0.9 mm long sucking insect that feeds on plant sap, which makes it appear to be covered with a layer of greyish dust.


Conclusion

Hoya Krohniana is the unique plant you have the plant on the window sill. It can decorate large halls and lobbies. For a standard city apartment, this is the most suitable.

Hoya Krohniana does not need much space for normal growth and development. Also, it is grown in a hanging planter or basket like a common ampelous plant. In addition, it is shade-tolerant and unpretentious.