Wax plant is a beloved trailing plant belonging to the Hoya plant family. It’s a classic beauty with fragrant clusters of star-shaped blooms. Wax plant gets its name from its thick, shiny leaves. Perfect for a hanging container, wax plant vines and drapes gracefully. It’s a popular houseplant, and in warmer climates, it can be enjoyed outdoors.
Wax plant, also called Porcelain flower, is native to Asia where it enjoys the tropical regions of China, Philippines, and Indonesia to name a few. They are easy to grow and care for, and they’ll reward you with happy growth – especially when you can replicate growing conditions similar to their natural habitat.
How to Grow and Care for Hoya
One important element in a wax plant’s native climate is warmth and sunlight. Before you rush out to buy yourself a wax plant, make sure you have an area that will provide the warmth and light it will love. And when you select a wax plant to purchase, make sure it’s nice and healthy to begin with. Inspect its foliage for signs of disease or damage. Peek underneath the leaves, too.
Once you’ve taken your healthy specimen home, hang your wax plant high enough to let its vines cascade freely. A bright window with indirect light is a wax plants preferred location. It’s easy going nature will find partial light is acceptable too, but less light may compromise your plant’s flower production.
Water your wax plant regularly. Allow the top half of the soil to dry between watering. A humidifier will be helpful for your wax plant if your home environment is dry. Beyond these steps, try not to handle your wax plant much.
Wax plants are particularly sensitive to any disruption of their root ball. In fact, wax plants prefer their roots to be bound tighter than most plants would find comfortable. Avoid repotting a wax plant for as long as possible. If your plant has reached the age where it should be flowering but it isn’t, or maybe it has flowered in the past but hasn’t, try giving it more light.
As a last resort, repot a wax flower plant. And be patient. Your repotted plant will probably appear a bit shabby for a while. It will usually snap back with the proper TLC.
Wax plant’s flowers are lovely. You may need to wait a bit for them, but they’ll be worth the wait. Wax plants generally won’t flower until they’ve reached their mature size, and growth may take awhile. Once your plant has reached blooming age, you can expect your wax plant to flower yearly. When the flowers fade back, you might be tempted to remove the spent blossom. However, new flowers will bloom from that peduncle year after year, so leave it intact.
Wax plants are beautiful even without flowers. The foliage and vines are striking. And the ease of care of the wax plant makes this one of the most popular houseplants. If you would rather enjoy your wax plant outdoors, make sure to bring it inside when temperatures dip down to the mid 40’s.
If you’d like to start a new wax plant, they are easy to grow from stem cuttings. After you snip a few stems off, dip the cuttings in a rooting hormone. Tuck the cutting into an excellent draining soil, such as a potting mix with sand and perlite or vermiculite. At least one of the cuttings should take root. Mist your cuttings with water often until roots develop, or cover your cuttings with plastic for moisture.
Hoya Pests, Diseases, and Problems
Wax plants are irresistible to the fluid sucking mealy bugs. Mealy bugs are identified as little white fuzzy spots attached to the leaves. Insecticidal soap and oil sprays will often do the trick. For a more persistent infestation, enclose your plant in a container along with a fumigant card. The vapors will kill the little pests in no time.
Hoya Varieties
There are a lot of Hoya varieties, including many color options and even mini varieties. Here are two popular ones:
‘Hoya australis’ is native to Australia. Its delicate soft flowers diffuse their fragrance into the evening air.
‘Hoya carnosa’ is a commonly grown hardy variety. This evergreen boasts large colorful leaves with long, white or pink flowers.
Want to learn more about growing the Hoya (Wax) plant?
Don’t miss these helpful resources:
Hoya from UF/IFAS Center for Landscape Conservation and Ecology
Hoya from University of Illinois Extension
Questions on Hoya from NDSU Extension Service
Where can you purchase a Hoya plant?
in most plant and flower shops . I have a few and love them . You have to leave them in one spot or they can take a long time to bloom .
We have one passed down from gran 80yrs old need to repot its starting to die. Any suggestions???? Don’t want it to die- legacy
Take cuttings from your hoyas regularly, it will improve your existing plant and provide you with offspring so you can continue the lineage, as well as share with family and friends! Place the cuttings in a glass with about 1 inch of plain water for a few days, to several weeks. If keeping in the glass for several weeks, change the water at least once a week, and keep from drying up. When ready, plant the cuttings in a new 4-5 inch diameter pot, with drainage holes, and a tray beneath. Use new substrate. I use “soil-less mix” that is also used for cactus and succulent plants, found at any garden shop. If growing a vine type hoya, such as the common hoya carnosa, only put 3-5 cuttings in the pot. If planting a hoya bella, plant as many as 10 or 12. Water well, and frequently for the first few weeks, but do not let pot sit in a water bed. Allow soil to dry a bit before next watering, but not bone dry. My new cuttings thrive in a North facing window. Hoyas are a wonderful plant, share yours with as many people as you can… they are not easily found in stores. 🙂
So what DO I do with spent flowers then? Can they be plucked without damaging the spur, or do I just leave them to fall off naturally?
My plant has been 3 years but never did flower yet, can you suggest what to do or is there any special fertilizer for this kind of plant in order to bloom?
I put 2 leaves in soil about 2 years ago
They both have lots of roots but no plant stem
What must I do
What are the long thin pods on my plant they open and fuzzy things with seed come out
I am in South Africa, Pretoria. Thank you for the information. My mother has one wax plant for over 35 years, staying in Cape Town. So beautiful, and this year is has flowered more than before. I was asking her to replicate for me much as she fears tempering with her best friend. One day, i will own one, what a nature’s blessing
please go on giving messages to learn me the details
I have had a Hoya for about 10-12 years now! I got it at a grocery store on the reduced rack, it was dying so I took a chance to see if I could revive it! I just repoted it a couple of weeks ago because it started to dye! I made 3 new plants from cuttings for family! I also put put 4 cuttings in water to see if it would root. I checked on it last night and to my surprise every stem I put in water has roots! I can’t wait to share with my family!!! This plant is so beautiful in bloom!