Hoya Brevialata: Best Grow & Care Guide

Hoya Brevialata falls under the smallest variety of Hoya, for it has beautiful succulent-like small thick leaves that flourish even with negligence and little care.

With proper care, you can enjoy the lush foliage with star-shaped caramel-scented inflorescence every spring and summer.

Thus, stay with the article to learn easy and proficient steps to care for trailing Hoya brevialata.

Overview of Hoya Brevialata

Hoya brevialata being native to Southeast Asia, falls under the largest family of flower Apocynaceae same as Jasmine. 

Hoya Brevialata: A Complete Care Guide

Look out for comprehensive tips below for caring for Hoya brevialata indoors.

1. Sunlight & Temperature

Being a plant with tropical roots, Hoya Brevialata prefers to stay in scintillating light for most of the day with a warm feel.

This Hoya can not tolerate more than 8-9 hours of light daily.

Meanwhile, try to protect Hoya from scorching light as it leads to sunburns on the tips and edges of the leaves.

Also, avoid low light as it leads to Hoya’s stunted growth, with internodes extending longer in search of the light source.

The best is to keep the plant near South facing windows with curtains to prevent extreme sunlight and provide constant warmth.

Because they demand stable temperature as fluctuation makes the plant stiff and lethargic, causing wilting and drooping with the yellowing of the leaves.

Cold drafts are also intolerable for Hoya brevialata, although they can thrive in extreme heat.

So, you can shift Hoya to the greenhouse or terrarium, cover them with frost blankets during winter days and install grow lights for dark rooms.

2. Watering & Humidity

The watering need of Hoya brevialata is not too complicated due to its succulent nature, but the humidity needs to be high.

You would have to cut back on watering and water bi-weekly on winter days as they have entered semi-dormancy.

But before all, check if the soil has dried as it may lead to an overwatered condition where the root may rot with leaves falling and petioles turning brown and weak.

On the other hand, the Hoya brevialata may be underwatered if leaf tips turn yellow with wrinkling and curling.

So balance the watering schedule by giving a cup of water every 12 days without direct light and 1.1 cups of water every nine days with natural sunlight.

Also, you can follow the top-watering approach timely to remove salt residues from the soil, which is impossible in the bottom-up approach.

Monitor the humidity in your room using a hygrometer and keep a humidifier if the level is low.

Alternatively, you can use a pebble tray filled with water below the pot to keep humidity in check.

3. Soil & Fertilizer

The secret behind the healthy growth of Hoya lies in the soil quality you provide them with timely feeding.

You can use commercially available mixes like Hoya Potting Mix, Miracle-Gro Mix, Bonsai Jack Soil, and Noot Organic Mix.

Meanwhile, you can prepare homemade recipes with peat moss and perlite in a 1:1 ratio or perlite, potting soil, and coconut husk in a 1:2:1 ratio.

Also, enrich the soil with the right fertilizer like Nano Powder All Purpose, Scotts Super Bloom, Fox Farm Liquid, and Indoor Plant Food.

But do not overdo fertilization, mainly during winters when you must cease feeding completely.

Overfertilization leads to defoliation, with an accumulation of salt on the soil surface, and under-fertilization makes the stem weak, and the leaves lose their greenery.

So dilute the fertilizer to 50% of the recommended strength before application for optimum results.

4. Potting & Repotting

Hoya brevialata is quite a hardy plant and can stay in the same home for a year or two.

Nevertheless, the Hoya brevialata shows the signs like roots poking from the drainage hole, soil drying out quickly, and stunted growth, demanding repotting.

So choose at least a 2-inch wide pot and perform it every two years in the spring and summer when the plant is not flowering.

However, prevent shock while repotting, as the plant may undergo stress leading to wilting and yellowing.

Start the process by watering the pot day before repotting to loosen the root grasp.

Tilt the pot upside down and take the root balls out gently.

Remove excess soil and cut off damaged roots, if any, with the help of sterilized scissors or pruners.

Then, fill a terracotta pot with 30% potting mix, place the plant in the middle, and again fill the remaining gap by leaving a few inches on the top for fertilization.

Lastly, keep them in an area receiving enough bright light and humidity.

5. Occasional Pruning

Although your Hoya may not demand it, regular trimming of the plant during spring will help it grow better as they are prone to enemy attack.

Most of these pests appear when the humidity around the plant is too high for the plant.

You can control the infestation by pruning off the damaged leaves or treating them with insecticidal soap and neem oil.

Moreover, unusual humidity and watering conditions may summon several fungal and bacterial diseases.

Some common diseases this plant can be infected with are stem rot, root rot, and sooty mold, making spots appear on leaves and buds turn brown with irregular flecks.

For this, the best is to trim off the infected parts and separate them from other companion plants to control the spread.

You can also use fungicides like Bonide and Garden Safe to treat fungal infections twice a year.

Learn about other Hoya plant problems and solutions to grow the plants healthy!

Hoya Brevialata: All About Growth Rate

While Hoya brevialata grows sparingly during spring and summer, people still consider it a plant with moderate growth speed.

Meanwhile, the plant has cupped ovate, thick leaves that exhibit light green color with a succulent trailing growth habit.

The Hoya brevialata produces beige-colored flowers with shades of the red or yellow corona.

Although the flowers have a size of ~1 inch, they form a cluster and provide a beautiful appearance to the plant.

Also, the caramel smell from the flowers contributes to the scent, making it good for fragrance lovers.

Collect some spare time to read Hoya flower if you want to expand your research!

Toxicity of Hoya Brevialata

With beautiful blooms, beautiful foliage, and completely non-toxic, Hoya brevialata is a must-have plant in your household.

But pay attention to other risks like choking after chewing on the leaves or going near the pot after the fertilizer appliance.

In case of any plant-related emergency, call the following numbers for immediate support.

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

Propagation Methods of Hoya Brevialata

Buying new brevialata each time can be expensive and time-consuming but propagating Hoya on your own saves time and money.

The stem is the main role-playing on the propagation, performed during spring and summer.

First, you must choose a healthy stem and cut a few inches above the node at an angle of 45°. Make sure the cutting has 2-3 nodes and a few leaves.

Propagation In Water 

Get a transparent water container or jar to monitor how your cutting is doing.

• Fill 70% of the container with fresh and clean water and put your cutting inside it.
• You need to submerge the nodes inside the water and leave the leaves outside.
• Place the jar in a sunny location and change the water every 3-4 days to prevent contamination.
• In about a month, you will see the roots form on the cutting. Move the cutting to a soil medium, then.

Propagation In Soil 

Before you start, bring a small terracotta pot and prepare a well-draining potting mix for your cutting.

• Moisten the soil by watering it thoroughly and dip the cutting in a rooting hormone to ensure better rooting.
• Poke the soil in the middle with your finger and place the cutting there.
• Dab the soil around the cutting with your thumb and level the soil.
• Move the pot to a location with a lot of light and heat.
• In about three weeks, you will witness the root growth.

Meanwhile, Hoya plants from seeds can also be an option, but you will have to wait for at least two to three years to enjoy the blooms.

Also, here is the video guide for Hoya propagation!

Hoya Brevialata for Sale

Hoya brevialata is a rare plant, and you are immensely lucky if you get your hands on one of these beauties.

Look below for the list of online sites where you can get this plant.

Hoya Brevialata vs. Pallilimba

Hoya pallilimba shares an uncanny resemblance with Hoya brevialata to the extent of confusing you.

Both species have the same kinds of leaves and the same growth habit, with Brevialata being a bit paler compared to Pallilimba.

So the next time you get a notion of buying Hoya brevialata, you know what you need to check first.

If you wish to bring other Hoya plants home, read about 24+ Hoya Varieties first!