How to Care for Hoya Australis – Easy Guide

You may come across a fascinating plant known as Hoya australis in Indonesia and Australia. The Apocynaceae family includes this plant, which, if left unchecked, can reach impressive heights. The Australis Hoya, of which there are at least five cultivars, is divided into five subspecies, each native to a different region of the continent. These areas are Bathurst Island, Papua New Guinea, Queensland, the Kimberley, and New South Wales.

The leaves of the Hoya australis Lisa variety, which come in shades of green, yellow, and chartreuse, make this plant so desirable. The tropical vine’s attraction is bolstered by the Hoya Lisa bloom’s pleasant scent and lovely look. Growing Hoya australis Lisa is easy, even if you’ve never had an indoor garden. This is as easy as it sounds. As far as growth needs go, it’s rather forgiving, so long as you don’t completely forget about it.

Colorful flashes of lime and chartreuse, bright yellow, and cream can be seen throughout the waxy Hoya australis Lisa’s foliage. The hues are scattered here and there. When they first appear, juvenile leaves impart a pink tint to the overall color scheme.

These semi-evergreen leaves are thick and leathery, allowing the plant to retain water for use even when rainfall is scarce. As a result, it may be tolerant of submersion depths greater than most other materials. Cleaning the leaves of the Hoya australis Lisa with a moist cloth once a month will keep them looking fresh and healthy. Apply a damp towel with a few drops of neem oil.

How to Care for Hoya Australis

Care for a Hoya australis is easy. You only need to give it some water and fertilizer every so often once you’ve transplanted it into a pot with loose soil and good drainage and found a spot shielded from the sun. You can expect a beautiful houseplant in return for your minimal care in caring for a hoya.

Light

Hoya australis is a vining plant that prefers to thrive in the open air, where it can climb up trees. The light must be bright but indirect to encourage new development. The white flowers open up best in the morning or late afternoon sun. Hoya plants require full sun to moderate shade due to the waxy quality of their leaves. Growing it indoors requires positioning it within a few feet of a sunny window. If natural light is insufficient, you could supplement it with artificial light.

Watering

Hoya australis Lisa’s watering needs reflect the conditions in which the first Hoya australis vines evolved. Plants in rainforests may not only be able to endure but thrive in dry soil due to the rapid drainage of the soil in these environments. A Hoya Lisa may usually be revived even if you forget to water it and the soil dries out entirely. This holds even if you forget to water it. The water-storing capacity of the leaves comes in handy during dry spells.

During the summer, when the Hoya australis Lisa plant is actively growing, watering it when the top half of the soil has dried out. You should water the soil sparingly during the winter when it is dormant.

Soil

Using the right soil makes it much simpler to give your Hoya Australis the water it needs to thrive. Your Australis will do best in a well-drained organic soil mixture like most other succulents. The extra sand and perlite in a potting mixture made especially for succulents and cacti will help it perform well.

Additional perlite, fine moss, or coco coir added to a basic indoor potting mixture will help drainage. Fine moss is another viable option. If the soil looks chunky, you can add chunks of bark from an orchid plant. Preventing root rot necessitates keeping the soil from becoming too damp and heavy. Don’t forget that Hoya Australis operates as an epiphyte in the wild, meaning that it climbs on the surfaces of other plants and trees. It’s important to mimic natural conditions in your garden, so incorporate some organic matter into the soil. Utilizing premium-quality indoor potting soil is the key to success here. For good measure, throw in some worm compost.

Container

Although the roots appreciate air gaps in the soil, they don’t need much pot to grow. Select a pot that is only 1 or 2 two inches wider in circumference than the hoya plant’s root ball. Make sure there are holes in the container for drainage as well. There is no need to care about the type of container your hoya is kept in. Still, tend to overwater your plants out of affection. Terra cotta may be a good alternative because it has a humidity impact and can help protect your plants from being overwatered.

You can give your hoya something to climb, such as a moss pole or our recommended basic trellis set, or let the vines trail on the ground. As long as the plant’s vines have space to trail outward or downward, they can be cultivated successfully in a pot suspended from the ceiling, placed on a shelf or countertop, or even in a hanging basket.

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Temperature & Humidity

Since its native Australia enjoys mild winters and summers, the Hoya Australis does best when kept at a temperature of 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Any deviations above or below that range will stunt the plant’s development, possibly leading to its death. Household-typical temperatures can usually be relied upon to be secure.

Plants of the genus Australis can tolerate cool evening nights since they are adapted to growing at high altitudes. However, if you live in a cooler-than-average region, you should move the plant indoors to tolerate the frost. I plan to relocate the hoyas outdoors if the temperature rarely dips below sixty degrees Fahrenheit at night.

You might be surprised to learn that Hoya australis can thrive in slightly lower humidity levels, given that rainforests are often very humid. Keeping it in a humid environment is the best care approach and will help speed up its growth. But it works fine in a humidity range of 40-60%, the lower end of which is about equivalent to the humidity in homes. You can use a tray of watered pebbles, spray your houseplant, or keep a humidifier handy to artificially increase the humidity in a space. All of these could work. You may also think of something like my Ikea greenhouse box, a really easy DIY project that ended out great.

Fertilizer

The growing season is the best time to utilize a general fertilizer. Your plant can get by on a small amount of food. Mix the feed with one gallon of water using a teaspoon. For optimal flowering, use a balanced fertilizer with a nutrient ratio of 15-15-15, for example. The dormant winter period is when you shouldn’t worry about feeding your plant. Fertilizer should be applied to your Hoya plant between the months of spring and fall.

Will you use store-bought plant food on the Hoya plants to encourage growth? One teaspoon (or 5 ml) per gallon (or liter) of water is the recommended dilution ratio. The leaves of the plants can be sprayed or misted with them. A liquid feed high in potassium could be diluted by half and used to stimulate flowering.

Potting & Repotting

Hoya australis is a kind of holly native to the southern hem Lisa simply needs to have its repotting changed every two to three years. Hoya australis is not bothered by the fact that she is a little root-bound; she thrives in such an environment. However, if you see roots growing through the drainage holes, it’s time to repot Hoya Lisa because it has outgrown its current container.

Making sure a new pot has sufficient drainage holes should be your top priority while shopping for one. You shouldn’t go larger than one pot size, or two inches in diameter, at a time. With such delicate roots, a huge pot isn’t necessary. Use a fresh soil mixture and push it down tightly when potting a Hoya australis Lisa.

Pruning

The Hoya Australis should be pruned in the spring when it is just starting its growing season. You can remove dead or damaged leaves throughout the year. Aside from that, you should cut any stems that add to the vine’s unappealing appearance, as well as any stems that have leaves that are too small. A cut just above a leaf node can encourage broader, bushier growth.

Flowers past their prime can be trimmed, but fresh blooms will cut on the spurs you leave in place. You should only use a clean, sharp blade or scissors on the Hoya australis.

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Flowering

Flowering is more likely to occur when the Hoya australis plant is grown under optimal conditions. The blossoms, which can be either white or pink and waxy, have a pleasant scent. The blossoms appear in clusters. Hoya australis Lisa typically blooms in the late summer or early fall, but if you’re lucky, you might get flowers from this plant at other times of the year.

Flowering spurs or peduncles on Hoya australis should not be pruned off once they have completed flowering because new flowers will emerge in due time. To encourage flowering in your Hoya australis Lisa, provide 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark daily. Ideally, you’d devote 24 consecutive hours to this every day. You may need to use artificial lighting or block out natural light to achieve that state of harmony.

Size, Growth

If grown outside and allowed to climb vertically, the Hoya australis plant can attain a height of up to 30 feet and a growth pace ranging from moderate to rapid. The length of the vine can reach 9 feet when grown indoors; however, it may take up to 5 years for it to reach this size.

Propagation

The Hoya Australis stem cuttings or layers can be rooted in the spring and summer. All you need to do is clip a stem and plant it in a pot adjacent to the parent plant. Put a greening pin through the top soil layer to keep it firmly down. You can cut the forming roots to remove the stem from the parent plant.

Cuttings should be taken from young stems with at least two nodes where leaves will emerge. To root your cuttings, use a jar of water (the water in the jar should be replenished every few days) or moist soil and cut your incisions just below a node. Baby plants should be ready to be potted up in approximately a month after you set the cuttings in a warm and humid spot.

Propagating in Water

If you want to grow your cutting in water, you’ll need a transparent glass container and some dechlorinated water, like rainwater or distilled water. Then, you may either add some Propagation Activator to the water or dip the cutting end in the rooting hormone. Then, put the cut end of the cutting into the water, keeping the leaves above the container.

Keep it in indirect sunlight and swap the water once a week, adding more as needed. New baby roots should appear within a few months. Once the cutting’s roots are an inch or more long, you can put it in soil and care for it like a full-grown hoya plant.

Propagating in Soil

To successfully root the Hoya australis cutting in soil, you must make a special, sterile potting mix. The correct ratio is three perlites to one part peat moss or coco coir. Then, to give your cutting a boost and prevent it from becoming infected, you can either soak the end of the cutting that’s been cut in rooting hormones or add a tiny quantity of propagation booster to the water that you use.

Covering the top of the container with a bag or plastic wrap will keep the moisture inside. Make sure to open the windows at least once daily to let them breathe. If you want your cuttings to have the best chance of taking root, you should also put the pot on a heat mat.

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Can pets safely be around Hoya australis plants?

Yes! Pets (cats and dogs), won’t get sick by being around Hoya Australis plants. To be safe, you should keep it where curious pets and children can’t get to it because this plant isn’t meant to be consumed by either people or animals. Read my earlier post for additional information on non-toxic, pet-friendly houseplants.

Common Problems

Hoya australis is a moderately resistant plant that is not vulnerable to many diseases. However, it can be attacked by common home pests and will develop root rot if overwatered. The following is a list of indicators that could indicate a problem, as well as some advice on what to do if you notice any of them.

Pests

The Hoya australis species is vulnerable to pests like whiteflies, aphids, and Mealybugs. If you find any of these pests on your Hoya, you must take immediate measures to stop the problem before it spreads.

Mealybugs, seen on the bottoms of leaves, resemble small cotton dots. A cotton ball dampened in rubbing alcohol will remove them effectively. Aphids are tiny green insects that feed on the sap of succulent plants. Wash them with a forceful stream of water. Use yellow sticky traps to catch any more that show up later. Whiteflies are most commonly seen on the underside of the leaves. Take them out with a hand vacuum. Once a month, spray your home with an insecticidal soap or neem oil to keep pests at bay.

Root Rot

Root rot is a common problem for Hoya australis when the soil is overwatered. If the plant’s leaves have dark brown spots, and yellowing and/or mushy stems follow the spots, root rot may be the problem.

The hoya needs to be repotted into a fresh pot with well-draining soil. Cut as much old soil as possible from the root ball, and trim any mushy, dark, or stinky roots.

If you don’t think your plant would thrive in a brighter environment, you can restore it to its original light. (Within reason, root rot is a risk if your plant isn’t getting enough light to use the water it drinks.) Let the soil dry out more than usual in between waterings; the roots will recover faster and be shielded from further infection if you do this.

Yellowing of the Leaves

The plant may have received too much water, indicating root rot. Make sure your Hoya australis is getting enough light, and if you don’t see any brown spots or spongy stems, consider letting the soil dry out a little more in between waterings.

Instead of relying on a rigid schedule to determine when to water your plant, you should assess the soil moisture to see if it’s depleted. The frequency and duration of watering your hoya may vary with the season, the ambient temperature, the relative humidity, and the stage of development the plant is in.

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Why does lack leave on my Hoya australis vines?

The Hoya australis occasionally produce vines with no leaves when they first emerge. Why does this happen? This could indicate that the plant is searching for sunlight or something to climb up. You could want to consider relocating your plant to a more well-lit spot if the lighting conditions aren’t optimal. You might also consider providing the plant with a moss pole or trellis to climb up.

You also have the option to take no action. You don’t need to worry about your health just yet if you ignore this symptom, as it might not indicate anything serious. It’s possible that the leafless vine will start growing them once it discovers what it’s looking for, or it could happen by chance. You can cut this vine off at its base if you find it annoying.