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Hoya Rotundiflora – 7 Best Tips For Plant Growing & Caring

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Hoya Rotundiflora got its name from its unusual rectangular leaves. The size of the leaves is up to 3 cm. The flowers are white five-petal, and the inner crown is vanilla-pink with a pink center. 

Flowers collected in medium-sized inflorescences have a pleasant aroma. The internodes are 2-10 cm long. At a distance of 0-2 mm below each node, there is a pair of inactive air roots 1-2 mm long.

The pubescent leaves are oblong-guitar-shaped, 3-5 cm long and 1.5-2.5 cm wide, fleshy and leathery. The upper side of the leaf is dark green, and the lower side is light green with a darker edge 2-3 mm wide. 4-6 pairs of weakly noticeable secondary veins depart from the central vein at right angles.

Hoya Rotundiflora
Hoya Rotundiflora via Reddit

A flower umbrella has up to 20 individual flowers with a low aroma open. The corolla diameter is 7-10 mm, which unfold up to 2 cm. Corolla lobes are white, lanceolate, turned back, papillary pubescent; the apex of the lobe (approximately 1 mm long) has a smooth, ciliated edge. 

Likewise, the crown is a fleshy, creamy white or pale yellow, with a dark pink center, about 3 mm in height and 6.5-7.5 mm in diameter. 

Landing rules

The most critical condition for total growth and development is a correctly selected substrate. It would be best if you had a unique nutrient mix made from pieces of wood, peat, coconut fiber, and green earth. 

Some people grow Hoya Rotundiflora in ordinary expanded clay, watering it with special fertilizers.

The substrate should be air permeable, loose and light. The foam plastic is required for drainage and can be mixed directly with wood and soil. In such a substrate, the plant will already give buds from planting in good lighting in the second year.

It is necessary to put a flowerpot with epiphytes on sunny windows – East, Southeast, South. The Hoya Rotundiflora will not die on the north window, but it will never bloom either. The best option is hanging the planter with a vine above the windowsill and letting the vines hang down freely. 

Care tips for Hoya Rotundiflora

Hoya Rotundiflora is a very tenacious plant, but you will have to fulfil all the required conditions to see it in bloom. Otherwise, the plant can release new leaves for years, build up green mass, but not form a single bud.

Hoya Rotundiflora 4
Hoya Rotundiflora via Reddit

1. Humidity

The Hoya Rotundiflora loves humid and warm weather. In nature, these conditions stimulate the flowering of this epiphyte. 

At home, from spring to autumn, Hoya Rotundiflora must be sprayed at least once every 3-4 days with warm water. It makes no sense to put pallets next to it because this will not help the plant.

In winter, when the air in the apartment becomes dry, many flowers suffer. However, Hoya Rotundiflora perfectly tolerates this time without additional moisture. It enters a dormant period in which only temperature, lighting and rare but abundant watering are essential.

2. Temperature

In the natural environment, Hoya Rotundiflora is not accustomed to a sharp temperature drop. The most optimal temperature is + 22-25 °С in summer and + 17-20 °С in winter. During the dormant period, the plant must be slightly more excellent. Then flowering for the next year is assured.

3. Lighting

Hoya Rotundiflora needs a lot of light. Its fleshy leaves consume large amounts of solar energy. Likewise, they cannot normally live in the shade. The flowerpot will have to be placed in the brightest, direct sun for flowering. This plant is not afraid of burns, and it does not need to be shaded.

Hoya Rotundiflora 2
Hoya Rotundiflora via Reddit

4. Watering

Water Hoya Rotundiflora every two days in summer. With a properly selected substrate, flooding does not threaten it. The water instantly passes through it and drains, not allowing the roots to rot. You can water it over the top or dip the flowerpot in water for 15-20 minutes.

Before the first buds are laid in the spring, Hoya Rotundiflora is bathed. The pot is kept under a warm rain or entirely immersed in water, having tied it up with a foil at the roots so that the soil does not wash out.

5. Top dressing

Starting in spring, the plant is fed with particular nutrients. Hoya Rotundiflora is sensitive to overfeeding, from which it stops blooming and gets sick. Therefore, if it is not possible to buy special fertilizers, it is better not to fertilize the flower.

At the end of summer, all feeding is stopped. The plant needs rest, and during the rest period, it requires a minimum of nutrients. It is allowed only to wipe or spray the leaves with a special agent in a spray or napkins in the fall.

6. Transfer

A plant up to 3 years old is transplanted every year. This is necessary to replace the substrate and renew its nutrient composition. In this case, use the same pot. Hoya Rotundiflora does not grow roots too quickly. It will be uncomfortable in a large container and wait longer for flowering.

Before transplanting, the Hoya Rotundiflora is watered, then removed from the pot. It is unnecessary to shake off the substrate around the roots to avoid damaging the smallest roots. 

New nutrient composition is poured into a flowerpot, a plant is placed there and carefully sprinkled on top. If there is a knot in the center, it is important not to fill it up.

In one pot, they also keep 2-3 cuttings at once. So, the bush will be lusher, which will not interfere with growth and flowering. At the same time, the pot should not be significant.

In a suitable substrate with regular watering and top dressing, the Hoya Rotundiflora will have enough nutrients.

7. Shaping and pruning

Sometimes Hoya Rotundiflora overgrows and needs constant pruning. It is usually advised to leave 5-6 sheets on each shoot (40-50 cm) and remove the rest with a special pruner. 

It would be best to cut the branches strictly between the nodes without damaging them. The removed part serves as a handle in water or is immediately placed in nutrient soil.

If the task is to grow Hoya Rotundiflora so that the shoots hang down freely, then pruning is not required. 

For the splendor of the bush, plant 2-3 plants in one pot and put them in different directions. Then the composition will turn out to be lush and harmonious. In this case, you do not need to cut the vines.

Hoya Rotundiflora 3
Hoya Rotundiflora via Reddit

Reproduction Methods

Hoya Rotundiflora reproduce easily. Cuttings take root quickly in water or substrate, and seeds germinate well. The main thing is strictly following the technology and not neglecting the basic rules.

1. Seeds

The challenge of this method is that it is challenging to find Hoya Rotundiflora seeds on sale. Home planting material must be kept to the desired condition on the bush, collected and properly dried. 

It is better to sow them in the same year, even in the autumn period. After lying down for the winter, seed germination will be halved.

First, a substrate for sowing is prepared – sphagnum moss is mixed with loose earth. Moisten it, sprinkle seeds on top, and deepen it a little. Do not sprinkle it on top. The container must be covered with foil or glass. The substrate mustn’t dry out.

In a warm place with a + 25 °C, shoots appear for two weeks. Until this time, spray the soil with warm water as the top layer dries. After the sprout appears, the container is placed in the light. 

2. Cuttings

After each pruning, the removed shoots are rooted in water or soil. The stalk is placed in water so that the tip is moistened and the entire lateral surface between the leaves. They do not put it but put it in a container (plate or bowl) with water on the bottom.

You can root the cutting directly in the substrate. The main thing is to water it often and not dry out. Also, cutting is placed in the substrate slightly sideways so that the tip and base meet near the leaves. The wrong location of the cutting does not allow getting roots from it. 

3. Layering

If there is any doubt about the rooting of the cutting, it would be better to propagate the Hoya Rotundiflora by layering. This is the most reliable method available even to a novice florist. 

A liana is taken away from the main bush and added dropwise into a container with a substrate placed next. In this position, they are kept until new leaves appear on the shoot, that is, 2-3 months.

The main thing with this reproduction method is not to cut off the shoot from the mother bush too quickly. 

Also, the difficulty lies in that both flowerpots during this period cannot be moved, carried, or rearranged. The mother bush will nourish the cuttings until roots form on it, then they are easy to separate.


Conclusion

Hoya Rotundiflora is a unique plant with rectangular and slightly pubescent leaves at a young age. The leaves are thick, leathery, and dark green with a lighter inner side. 

Also, the veins on the leaves are almost invisible. Also, the inner crown of flowers is creamy white with a pink center, and it blooms mainly in summer and lasts about a week.