Hoya Temperature Tolerance | What is the Ideal Conditions for the Hoya Plant

Have you just bought a new Hoya plant and are getting worried about maintaining it in the right temperatures?

Then you have come to the right place. Let me tell you about my own experience of maintaining my hoya plants at the right temperatures.

While I was on a trip to Malaysia, I saw this beautiful plant that grabbed my attention with its gorgeous blooming. Being a plant lover, I bought this online to enhance my home garden. After placing it in my home I started getting worried about maintaining the plant at the right temperatures. Finally, after long research, I managed to make my first Hoya plant happy. This article teaches you how I did that.

Hoya plants are the natives of tropical regions in Asia that bloom beautifully. The texture of the foliage and the flowers of these plants resemble wax-carved objects. Thus these plants are generally called Wax plants, Wax vines, s or Wax flowers e.t.c. Caring for these plants is not a big task if it is maintained in a suitable temperature range.

It may be tricky to decide which is the right temperature range for your Hoya plant which is one of the 500 and above species of the Hoya genus in the Apocynaceae family. Because there are different temperature ranges for different species of Hoya plants.

After reading this article completely you will find a way to get out of this problem. So, let’s get started.

What inside this?

Ideal conditions for the Hoya plants

Hoya plants thrive well when they are grown in ideal conditions. According to the care guides of Hoya plants, these low care plants need some suitable growing conditions which include light requirements, watering, temperature, humidity, type of the soil mix, pruning, fertilizing, repotting, and other such elements which I am going to mention below. Check whether you are providing enough care for your Hoya plant.

Hoya plants need bright indirect sunlight for 2-4 hours daily. Water your hoya plant when the soil mix becomes dry completely. Being a tropical plant, it should not be watered with cool water. Let the water sit for a day before giving a drink to your plant. Your hoya plant will thrive if your home has at least 40% of humidity. Hoya plants should be planted in a well-drained soil mix to avoid root rots and other such diseases. So, adding perlite, peat, orchid bark, and charcoal to the normal soil mix makes it well-draining and suitable for planting Hoya plants. Use a balanced fertilizer to feed your plant.

Follow the instructions given on the container of the fertilizer before feeding the plant. Fertilizing twice in three months helps in the better growth of the plant. Any soil mix which was considered the best potting mix for your Hoya plant might become futile after some months. So, repot your plant once in 2-3 years to maintain the plant’s health. These wax vines grow rapidly in the growing season.

You can prune them slightly just before the growing season or flowering season to encourage growth. However, you can prune the dead leaves and old flowers year long. Do not replace your plant often as it causes stress and leads to a drop in their growth.

Last but not the least, is the temperature range that the Hoya plant loves to be in. Let us know it in detail to make the plant thrive in our homes.

Ideal temperature range for the Hoya plants

Hoya plants are tropical plants, which thrive in slightly more temperatures. But, it is not easy to say a suitable temperature range for plants like Hoya which has about 500 species. Because the ideal temperature range changes from species to species. The species that are grown naturally on hills at heights, should be grown at cooler temperatures.

If the species of your Hoya plant belongs to places with high temperatures then it is better to maintain them slightly above temperatures. There are some species in the Hoya genus that prefer moderate temperatures to thrive. But, whatever might be the species of the Hoya plant, temperatures below 50 degrees can harm the plant badly and temperatures above 95 degrees Fahrenheit will also harm the plant.

Many Hoya plant growers say that growing the plant at room temperature helps the plant to thrive. Thus room temperatures from 60 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit, become the ideal temperature range for growing these plants. Depending on their native places, these plants have a temperature tolerance range, but it is different for different species. Let us know about it.

1. Hoya temperature tolerance

Hoya plants can tolerate slightly above or below temperatures than their preferred range. Many gardeners say that these plants have good temperature tolerance depending on their species. In the USDA Hardiness Zones 9-11, these Hoya plants can be grown outdoors and in the USDA Hardiness Zones 10-12, these plants grow as perennials. Some species of these Hoya plants can survive even in temperatures around 20 degrees Fahrenheit. While others get damaged in temperatures around 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

Confusing! Right? Okay, let me give you a tip to know about your Hoya’s temperature tolerance, firstly, ask the name of the species and the origin place of the Hoya plant where you buy it. This will help you to know everything about your plant. The temperature of the origin place of your Hoya plant will impact the temperature range that suits the plant.

The species like Hoya Bella, hoya carnosa, hoya engleriana, and others thrive in cooler temperatures (when grown continuously) ranging from 50-77 degrees Fahrenheit. The species like Hoya Eriostemmas, Hoya anulata, and others do well at slightly warmer temperatures and are continuously maintained at temperatures between 70-95 degrees Fahrenheit. Hoya albiflora, Hoya Aldrich, Hoya archboldiana, and others prefer moderate temperatures and should be grown in the temperature range of 60-90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Hoya plants, depending on their species and their suitable temperature range, can tolerate slightly above and below temperatures. But a large difference in the temperature will damage the plant.

2. Growing Hoya plants

After knowing the temperature range of your plant, you should know how and where to grow them. Provide your plant basic care wherever you place it and it will thrive.

3. Growing Hoya plants indoors

Being a tropical plant, hoya loves to stay in warm and dry conditions. If you live in cooler climates, you better place them indoors near plant heaters to make your plant happy. Also, it is not a good idea to leave your plant outdoors under the hot sun.

If you place your Hoya indoors, make sure that the plant is getting enough light. Hoya plants need bright indirect sunlight for at least 2-4 hours a day to survive. In cooler climates, the plant can get direct sunlight in the early mornings and the late afternoons, through the windows. Avoid placing the plant on a windowsill, if you live in hot climates. Because intense sun rays will damage the plant.

The pots of these plants should not be rotated to get adequate sunlight to all the parts of the plant, after producing the buds. Also do not relocate them in such cases. Because the plant undergoes stress and the new buds may fall off. Maintain good drainage for the plant. Maintain the temperature range to encourage the growth of the plant. Make sure that the temperature does not fall below 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. Growing Hoya plants outdoors

Tropical plants love to stay outdoors, under proper care. As I said before, do not place the plant under direct sun. Hoya plants cannot tolerate intense rays for a long period. If you plan to place them outdoors, you can place them under a shade that gets enough light. This prevents the foliage from burning.

Watering it enough will make the plant thrive outdoors. Especially, if you live in cold countries, placing it outdoors with adequate care is a good idea. But, in tropical climates, placing the plant outdoors may need your attention to avoid sunburns on the foliage.

The plant cannot tolerate temperatures below 55 degrees during the nights of winter, so I recommend bringing the plant indoors.

5. Winter care for Hoya plants

Hoya plants don’t love to be in cold temperatures. So, they go dormant in the winter. They stop growing and producing flowers. But, you should provide enough care as usual even then. However, you can stop fertilizing it. Make sure that your plant is getting bright light for 4 hours a day.

You need to change its watering schedule as the soil in winter may not dry quickly. Water it slowly until it expels the excess water out of the drainage holes and waits for the soil to dry completely to water it again. Pruning, repotting or propagation in these months is not a good idea. Bring it indoors if you place your hoya outdoors.

FAQs

Q1. What temperature should Hoya plants be?

Ans. A temperature of 55-75 °F is ideal for your Hoya. It will stop growing if the temperature drops below 50 °F. Also, vents and drafts should be avoided.

Q2. How cold is too cold for hoyas?

Ans. As tropical plants, hoyas cannot tolerate cold temperatures of 50°F or lower for long periods of time.

Q3. Can hoyas be in full sun?

Ans. A hoya plant prefers medium to bright indirect light. They do well with about two hours of direct sunlight in the morning or evening, but too much sunlight may burn or yellow their leaves.

Q4. Can Hoya survive freezing?

Ans. There is no way hoya can survive in freezing temperatures.

Conclusion

Hoyas are beautiful vines that spread positive vibes with their beautiful blooming. It might be a little tricky to maintain the plant in suitable temperatures if you are a new Hoya plant grower. Even I faced the problem too. In this article, I shared some tips to solve the problem from my own experience. I hope this will help you to maintain a healthy Hoya plant.

I hope you like this article, if you have any further questions in mind, feel free to comment down below, and please share this article with all of your plant lover friends and family because they might find it useful too!

Author

Purnima
She is a Forestry and Agriculture graduate with over two years of experience in designing, planting, and maintaining an indoor plant and herb garden. She is an evergreen plant lover and plant parent.
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