Hoya Bilobata: Ultimate Grow & Care Guide

Hoya bilobata is a climbing evergreen perennial with a honey scent and tiny pink and clustered flowers.

If you can help with its basic requirements, this Hoya can meet your expectation of making great hanging indoors for a house.

To keep this wax plant to its fuller size, you need not extend your schedule, and you can successfully handle it if you go through this article.

Overview of Hoya Bilobata

Hoya bilobata is one of over 200 species of Hoya and receives its name from the Arab meaning modest plant with two-lobed leaves.

Let’s take a quick into the plant’s overview!

Hoya Bilobata: Plant on Sale

You can start your Hoya-keeping journey with this wax plant by getting one from the places below!

Hoya Bilobata: Ultimate Grow & Care Guide

What I like about the Hoya bilobata is that it is easy to care for and populate if you need a mini jungle at home.

All you need to provide this plant with a tropical environment, and here is a detailed guide for you!

6-8 hours of indirect bright sunlight	Water your plant every week
60-95 degrees Fahrenheit	60-80 %
Light, airy well-draining soil mix with 6.1-7.5 pH level	Monthly all Purpose fertilizer
Repot every 2-3 years	Propagation via stem cutting and seeds

1. Sunlight & Temperature

Hoya bilobata needs 6-8 hours of bright indirect sunlight, including 3 hours of morning sunlight daily with a temperature of 60-95°F.

However, the problem arises when the temperature drops below 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

The leaves of the plant show curling, drooping, and stunting symptoms if exposed to inappropriate temperatures.

However, Hoya bilobata might show several symptoms, like discolored foliage, stunted growth, and browning of leaves if it meets inadequate and excessive lighting conditions.

Tips to Maintain Ideal Light & Temperature 

• Allow your plant to have a bright light shade when placing it outdoors.
• Cover it with a draft or any other coverage to avoid sun stress.
• If you live in a snowy environment, allow your plant to have direct sunlight outside.
• Use heating pads or frost blankets to shield it from the freezing temperature.
• Add mulch to the soil, raising the temperature by allowing the sunlight to pass through it.

2. Watering & Humidity

As Hoya bilobata is a tropical plant, it will need adequate watering as it faces dissipation throughout the day, and water will soon be required.

Tips to Provide Proper Watering & Humidity 

• While hydrating, let your Hoya’s container flood with water and drip through the drainage.
• Let the top 2 inches of the soil dry and allow it to soak from top to down.
• Similarly, mist your plants with a cup of water during spring or summer to enhance humidity.
• Place the container in a pebble tray or install an artificial humidifier.
• Place the plant in areas like the kitchen or the bathroom to increase humidity and give the space a chic look.

5. Soil & Fertilization

Hoya bilobata is an epiphyte that relies on the branches of trees for its growth. Its growth habit makes the plant liable to survive on a minimal substance.

Feed your plant every two weeks during Spring & Summer with light, all-purpose fertilizer to prevent disorders like slow growth, weak stems, and discolored foliage.

However, overfeeding can result in root rot, brown leaf tips, and wilted stems.

Tips to Provide Proper Soil & Fertilization

• Create soil mix from the cactus mix, perlite, and orchid in a ratio of 1:1:1.
• Or, you can use Miracle-Gro Indoor Mix, Better Gro Orchid Mix, and Espoma Orchid Potting Soil.
• Water your Hoya plant enough a day before fertilizing and leave it for a whole night. 
• Avoid fertilizers from touching the foliage and stems.
• Feed your plants with J R Peters Jacks Classic, JR Peters Blossom Booster, and JR Peters Blossom Booster.

7. Extended Repotting 

You must repot Hoya bilobata every two to three years for healthy growth during spring and summer. 

Keep the pot size 2-3 inches wider than the previous one when repotting.

When you notice the tiny roots of your Hoya start popping out of this container, realize it’s time for Hoya to move into a new home.

However, ensure your plant has no flower buds when repotting, as it can cause repotting shock and drop off the tiny buds.

Steps to Repot Hoya Bilobata

• Water your plant adequately before a day of repotting.
• Now, carefully turn the pot upside down and place your hand on the top while removing your plant from its container.
• Gently use your hands and loosen the plant’s roots. You can also trim off any roots which are extended or broken.
• Place pebbles at the bottom of your terracotta pots to slightly cover the drainage holes of your pot.
• Also, pack your terracotta pot with 1/3 of the well-draining soil mix into the new container.
• Place your Hoya bilobata gently in the middle of the pot and surround the plant with the soil using your hand.
• Finally, hydrate and place your plant in place with indirect but bright sunlight.

8. Rare Pruning

Hoya bilobata might become a long and bushy view if you do not guide it into a proper shape.

Pruning will help the plant retain its healthy shape and remove the rugged or diseased leaves and stems. 

The major pests and pathogens injuring the plant are mealybugs, Aphids, Spider Mites, Scales, Phytophthora, Pythium, and Cyanobacteria.

Use Ortho Home Defense Insecticide and Bonide Captain Copper Fungicide to eliminate the problems.

Moreover, use sterilized tools when pruning and avoid cutting more than 1/3 of the plant. Also, you need not prune your hoya during the wintertime.

Pruning requires tools such as Shears, Trowels, Gloves, and Containers.

Tips to Prune Hoya Bilobata

• Firstly, allow the Hoya flowers to fall naturally without cutting and pinching spurs and peduncles.
• Examine your plant’s dead leaves and diseased parts and cut off the wilted, dead, or damaged leaves, branches, and vines.
• Trim the main stem above the plant leaves and buds to promote foliage density.
• Now remove excess trailing foliage to shape it neat and compact.
• Also, reduce more than two-thirds of the total growth if the plant grows heavily.

Propagation Methods for Hoya Bilobata

You can propagate the Hoya plant through seeds, leaf, and stem cuttings.

Propagation through stem cuttings can be the easiest method for you, and here are some ways to do it.

Propagate Hoya Bilobata Via Stem Cuttings

You can utilize the stem-cutting method by rooting the cuttings in sphagnum moss, soil, and water at your convenience.

Step 1: Take Stem Cuttings

• Firstly, sterilize your pruning and cutting tools to avoid infection and disease.
• Get a stem cutting from your Parent plant and cut the stem 5 inches above the node, leaving at least 1-2 nodes with few leaves.

Step 2: Choose the Medium

You can choose the rooting method in water, soil, and sphagnum moss.

1. Propagation in Water Medium

• Take any water-filled container or a jar, preferably a clear jar, to note your cutting progress.
• Ensure the nodes are submerged, and the leaves are not in contact with water.
• Place your clear jar in a location with bright indirect light.
• Change the water every 2-3 days to prevent root rot and disease.
• After 28 days, you’ll notice the development of the roots and then transfer your plant to a soil-based medium.

2. Propagation in Soil Medium

• Prepare a well-draining soil mix of 50% peat and perlite in a terracotta pot with drainage holes.
• Before repotting, place your 5 inches cutting in a rooting hormone to fasten the development of the cutting’s roots.
• In your soil mixture, poke a hole with a chopstick, place your cutting, and firm up the soil around the cutting.
• Place your cutting in a well-lit location and keep it moist until you see root development. However, be sure not to wet the cutting, as root rot can occur.
• You’ll notice the root development in 2-3 weeks.

3 . Propagation in Sphagnum Medium

• Prepare a container and fill it in half with the sphagnum moss. Similarly, moist the moss but be careful not to overwater it.
• Place the cuttings till the nodes are in the moss.
• After about four weeks, you’ll notice the stem developing roots.
• When the roots have grown to 1-2 inches, you can transfer the recently rooted stems into their ideal soil medium.

The video below also helps you a lot!

All About Hoya Bilobata’s Growth

The plant grows trailing vines that reach a length of about 60 cm (2 ft), making it an ideal plant to place in hanging baskets.

Similarly, the luscious hibiscus-like leaves of the Hoya are oval with soothing light green and leathery and velvety in texture.

The velvety leaves will expand to 1.7–2.2 cm long and 1.3–1.8 cm wide, and the stem extends long and creepy, 18 inches in height.

One of the great beauties of the Hoya is its ever-sweet fragrant blooms. These blossoms are tinted with pink hues and are spaced apart with smaller umbels.

Likewise, each flower cluster of the plant is filled with 25 flowers 6-7 mm in diameter, giving out a mellow aroma during the nightime.

Toxicity of Hoya Bilobata

According to ASPCA, Hoya bilobata (Wax plant) is non-toxic to dogs and cats.

Overconsumption of plant leaves or any parts of the plant can cause stomach upset in humans and pets. if you feel any emergency for yourself or your pet, you can get help from the contact below.

• ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, 888-426-4435
• Pet Poison Helpline, 855-764-7661

Hoya Bilobata vs. Burtoniae

Hoya species are best to keep as houseplants, boast long trailing leaves with clustered tiny flowers, and share many similarities.

The bigger difference is the growth and bloom features discussed below!

They also share some similarities, which you can witness in the table.

FAQs about Hoya Bilobata

Should I submerge Hoya bilobata in water?

For Hoya bilobata, bottom watering is ideal.

Fill a bowl with water, put it in the plant’s pot, and allow the plant’s root to absorb the water through drainage holes. Also, you need to control over.

Why are the leaves of my Hoya plant turning red? 

When the leaves of your Hoya bilobata have gone red, it indicates that they have been scorched by direct sunlight.

In this case, you need to move it to a different location where the direct light does not affect the Hoya bilobata.