You may not know, Hoya is a genus of more than 500 species of tropical plants with many different sizes and colors. Most of these plants are native to several Asian countries like the Philippines, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Polynesia, and New Guinea. In addition, many other species are also found in Australia.
Hoya plants are very easy to grow, easy to care for, and do not take much time to take care of every day. Therefore, many people love to plant this plant in a pot to decorate the house. The beauty of Hoya plants is that the leaves are bright green and drooping like an angel’s hair.
To help Hoya plants grow at their best, you need to create an ideal environment for this plant. In particular, humidity is one of the important factors that you need to pay attention to. Do Hoyas like humidity? What is the ideal humidity for this plant? All the details are already in the article below.
Do Hoyas Like Humidity?
As you know, Hoya plants are native to tropical forests, so they love humid environments. If you grow this plant in a dry environment, it will be difficult for them to grow healthy and green. Hoya plants can tolerate light moisture, but they can only survive and cannot grow quickly and healthily.
Hoya plants will also include many different varieties, so the humidity index of each type will also vary. So, the ideal humidity index for most types of Hoya plants is around 50%. Some other varieties may need higher than average humidity levels of about 60%. You must learn about the ideal environment of any Hoya plant before planting them.
Hoya Plans Need High Humidity
Hoya Patella and Hoya Wayetii are two varieties of plants that need an average humidity of about 60% to grow best. These two varieties of plants need higher than average humidity in the air. Therefore, scientists recommend that you grow Hoya Patella and Hoya Wayetii in a greenhouse to stimulate the best growth. Therefore, you should buy varieties of Hoya plants at reputable centers or nurseries to get complete information about their ideal habitat.
Hoya Plants Do Not Need High Humidity
Some other varieties of Hoya plants do not need high humidity in the air but they can still grow healthy. One of those cultivars is Hoya Carnosa. This plant has a normal growth rate in homes with standard humidity. Hoya Carnosa does not require excessive humidity, at normal room temperature it will still grow well.
To keep your plants healthy, you need to focus on creating an ideal environment for them. So, pay attention to each variety of Hoya plants in terms of moisture, light, water, and common pests.
How To Increase Humidity For Hoya Plants
The ideal humidity in the house is between 30% and 50% or slightly different depending on the area. However, the average humidity in the house should not exceed 60% because the fungus will grow quickly and cause disease in humans. Meanwhile, plants that are native to tropical forests need humidity of about 60% or more. Therefore, increasing humidity for plants is necessary but must ensure fresh space in the house.
It’s great if the area you live in has the ideal humidity for the plants you’re growing. However, unstable humidity conditions can still occur in an area at different times of the year. So you need to create an environment with ideal humidity by using a humidifier, misting, placing potted plants next to a fish tank or water tray, and grouping pots side by side.
Use A Humidifier
The simplest way to maintain ideal humidity for any plant is to use a humidifier. You can easily buy this product in stores or supermarkets.
You do not need to worry about the problem of too high humidity that can affect the air inside the house. Because you can buy small humidifiers specifically for one area. These small humidifiers only increase the humidity in a local area without affecting the humidity of other areas of the house. So you can still grow many different types of plants in one space without disrupting their ideal environment.
In particular, small humidifiers are usually affordable for most people. A humidifier will maintain constant humidity and create an ideal environment for Hoya plants to grow. Even when the outside temperature changes, it will not affect the humidity in the house. Your plants will always be kept in top condition without the stress of sudden changes in humidity.
In particular, the local humidifier does not affect the humidity of other rooms in the house. From there, mold will not have the conditions to grow and affect human health.
Mist For Plants
Misting is one of the simplest ways to increase moisture in plants quickly. You can increase the humidity a bit by misting the leaves and entire plants directly. To mist, you only need a spray bottle and water to create a cool and smooth mist.
You can mist several times a day to provide moisture to your Hoya plants on hot days. However, you need to avoid misting at night because a humid environment will create favorable conditions for fungi and pests to grow.
Misting cannot help increase humidity in the long run, but it only helps to solve the current humidity problem. So if you live in a dry area, misting is only a temporary solution to prevent plants from drying out and wilting. You should find a method of providing continuous and better humidity such as using a humidifier.
Place The Potted Plant Next To The Fish Tank Or Water Tray
To increase the humidity of the plants, you can place the potted plants near the aquarium or water tray to take advantage of the moisture evaporating from the water. This method is very simple and effortless, yet it is still able to maintain an ideal moisture content for plants. The mechanism of this method is that plants can take advantage of the moisture that rises from the water vapor in the air. So plants can grow in ideal humidity conditions.
To do this method, you just need to prepare a tray filled with gravel and fill it with water until it is half full of gravel. Next, place the pot on the top gravel part of the tray. You should not fill all the gravel with water because water can cause waterlogging and root rot for Hoya plants. Every time the water recedes, you only need to pour water into ½ of the pebbles to provide moisture to the plants. You should also clean the tray with water and gravel periodically because harmful fungi or bacteria can appear in the tray.
Grouping Potted Plants Next To Each Other
Placing potted plants next to each other is also a way to help maintain stable humidity in an area. When plants carry out metabolism and absorb air, they also produce moisture. Other potted plants can use this moisture to grow and take advantage of the water vapor rising from the plants.
However, you need to place the pots at a certain distance to avoid the space being too narrow and affecting the air exchange of the plants. You also need to check regularly to avoid pests that can spread from one pot to another.
Read this post: How To Propagate Hoya Kerrii
Conclude
Most types of Hoya plants need high humidity for best growth because they are native to tropical forests. The ideal humidity range is from about 50% to 60%. Some different varieties may need different humidity or regional variations.
To maintain the ideal humidity for plants to grow, you can use several different methods such as using a local humidifier to increase the humidity in the area where you plant your plants or misting. In addition, you can also increase humidity by placing pots next to fish tanks or water trays, or grouping pots.