Hoya Carnosa Jade Plant & Flower Care

Last Updated on April 15, 2022 by Admin

The Hoya Carnosa Jade is a subspecies of the more popular Hoya Carnosa plant. And while it looks very similar, the plant has lighter green colored leaves compared to the dark green foliage of the regular Hoya Carnosa.

Also, just so you know the Hoya Carnosa Jade goes by many names. So, whenever you see any of the names below, they’re all referring to the same Jade Hoya Carnosa plant. These include:

Jade Hoya
Hoya Jade
Hoya Jade plant
Hoya carnosa Jade flower
Jade Wax plant
Hoya carnosa Green Jade
Hoya Green Jade
Green Jade Wax plant

That said, the Hoya Carnosa Jade features glossy, oval-shaped leaves that are initially light green in color. They will turn to a more forest green later on.

Also, plant will grow to about 5 to 6 feet indoors thanks to its vining stems. in their natural habitat, the plant is a climber that will go up tree trunks in order to get more light.

Therefore, it will happily climb up a support like a pole or trellis if you give it one.

Although, many growers prefer keeping in a hanging basket as its trailing stems look amazing this way.

Of course, a big part of the plant’s beauty are its star-shaped flowers with red centers. These grow in clusters that form spherical balls.

Their unique look is one of the reasons people love growing hoyas.

Table of Contents

Hoya Carnosa Jade Plant Care

Hoya Carnosa Green Jade Light Requirements

The Hoya Carnosa Jade will thrive in bright indirect light. And the brighter the light, the more beautiful the leaf color will get. Additionally, this will give the plant a better chance of blooming.

That said, avoid too much light, especially strong, harsh sun which will dull the plant’s green foliage and cause it to lose its waxy appearance as well. If the intensity is too much, it can likewise burn the foliage.

As such avoid direct sun for more than 1-2 hours on a daily basis. Also keep it away from the mid-day and summer sun.

This is a common mistake because the Hoya Carnosa Jade is often labeled as a succulent or grouped together with them due to its thick leaves.

And yes, its succulent-like leaves allow it to store water to make it more drought tolerant.

However, unlike succulents, it cannot tolerant high intense heat including that from 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. On the other hand, succulents like that.

Thus, it is very important to remember that the plant is not a succulent despite its looks. And you should not care for it like a succulent.

That said, the best location for your Hoya Carnosa Jade is a well-lit room provided that it does not come into contact with the sun’s rays.

Outdoors, it will grow optimally in partial shade.

Temperature

The Hoya Carnosa Green Jade is a tropical plant. it comes from Southeast Asia where the temperature is warm to hot depending on the time of year. The region also does not experience snow.

In fact, the weather stays fairly warm from December to February, hitting lows of 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

As such, the Hoya Carnosa Jade plant is used to moderate weather conditions as it lives under the shade of larger trees in the forest. The large leaves and plants take more of the sun’s intense rays which is why the plant is not used to very strong light (unless you gradually acclimate it).

So what does this mean?

Indoors, the best temperature for the Hoya Carnosa Jade is between 60 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. And while it can tolerate hotter temperatures, it is happiest and will grow the fastest when kept in this range.

However, you’ll want to keep it away from the cold.

Try to avoid temperatures below 55 degrees as the plant’s growth will slow down or stop altogether in locations colder than this.

Therefore, you want to be careful about leaving it near air conditioners, vents and areas where it can experience cold drafts or breezes (like open windows).

Outdoors, it does best in USDA Hardiness Zones 10 to 12 because these regions have sunshine all year round. They include locations like Florida and Texas where there is no snow during winter.

This will let you grow the plant outside all year long if you want to.

Humidity

Humidity is another aspect of Southeast Asian weather. There, humidity tends to stay between 55% and 75% on average, going up to around 85% when it rains.

As such, this is what your Hoya Carnosa Jade would like in an ideal world.

However, it is difficult to maintain these levels of humidity if you don’t live in a tropical location, unless you have greenhouse, keep it in a terrarium or grow cabinet.

Fortunately, its thick, succulent-like leaves store water making it more tolerant to lower humidity.

This makes it do well in average room humidity. However, try to maintain humidity between 40% and 60% as this is optimal for the Hoya Carnosa Jade.

While it can tolerate lower than 40% the risk of dry, crispy leaf tips increases the longer it stays there or the drier the air gets.

Therefore, if you live somewhere with relatively low humidity or dry air, it is a good idea to mist the plant regularly or invest in a humidifier.

You can also group it along with other houseplants although this method is only effective if you have at least a few of them.

Another option is to place the plant near water or on top of stones in a water tray. As the water around it evaporates, the vapor increases humidity above and around the plant.

How Often to Water Hoya Carnosa Jade

The Hoya Carnosa Jade needs minimal watering for two reasons.

Its semi-succulent leaves store moisture
It is susceptible to overwatering

Therefore, it does not need daily watering unless you live in the tropics and leave it outdoors under a good amount of sun.

Instead, wait until the soil is almost dry before watering. This is the best way to ensure that you avoid overwatering the plant.

That said, if you like to water your plant (which some gardeners enjoy doing), you can water as early as when the top 2 inches of soil is completely dry. But, never before that time.

This will give you enough leeway to avoid watering too often such that the soil ends up soggy and mucky.

The problem with this is that by the time this happens, the roots will be standing in water. If left in this environment for long, they will rot due to the lack of oxygen.

As such, any time between the top 2 inches of soil drying out until the soil is completely dry will work.

You want to avoid the extremes which are watering before this time and letting he soil dry out completely for extended periods of time. Both are detrimental to the plant’s health.

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Hoya Carnosa Jade Potting Soil

In nature, the Hoya Carnosa Jade does not rely on soil. Instead, it grows on trees. Therefore, you can skip soil altogether if you want and let it grow as an epiphyte in your home.

However, in most cases, we like to keep the plant in pots because it makes it easier to move the plant and display it. It also gives you the versatility of hanging it up or adding a support to let the plant climb.

Therefore, the best soil for Hoya Carnosa Jade is light, airy and has good drainage.

This gets it as close as you can to its native living conditions.

The reason why good drainage is important is because as an epiphyte, the plant’s roots cling onto trees to climb. Therefore, they are somewhat suspended in the air.

So when the rains come, the roots get wet but will dry quickly because of the warm weather and air circulation.

In order to mimic this, the best way to water the plant is to soak the root ball so the roots get the drink they want. Then, allow the excess moisture to drain quickly after that.

The only way to remove water that fast it to use well-draining soil.

And to achieve this, you can use a potting mix composed of:

2 parts peat moss
1 part perlite

Fertilizer

The Hoya Carnosa Green Jade needs fertilizer to grow its best. However, it s a light feeder so you don’t want to overdo this. In fact, it is more harm to overfertilize than to not feed the plant at all.

Therefore, the best way to fertilize the Hoya Carnosa Jade is just to follow the instructions on the product’s label.

You can use a balanced houseplant fertilizer once a month during the spring and summer. I like to use a liquid formation which makes it easy to dilute to half strength since you only need to add more water to do so.

There’s no need to feed the plant during fall and winter.

Note that like other hoya plants, the Carnosa Jade plant will flower. And when you see it about to bloom, you’ll want to give it as much help as possible.

This means giving it a good amount of bright, indirect light. Also, switch from the standard houseplant fertilizer to on that is high is phosphorus. You can use an orchid bloom booster. But for the most part, any bloom booster the a good amount of phosphorus will help it bloom and last longer as well.

Pruning

The Hoya Carnosa Jade is a fast grower. It will keep get longer and produce more foliage over time. So, you do need to prune it.

How often will depend on the way you pot it.

In a hanging basket, you can let it grow longer as you want its trailing stems to drape. The same is true if you let it climb.

With the latter, pruning will most be minor unless you want to limit its size. Otherwise, most of the cutting will be to remove excess length and stems that go out to the sides too much.

The plant itself will grow to about 5-6 feet indoors. Therefore, you may want to trim it to keep it in check if you don’t want it to get that big.

Last but not least, make sure not to prune the spurs or peduncles after the flowers have faded. The Hoya Carnosa Jade, like other hoyas, bloom on old spurs.

This means you want to keep the spurs there to allow your jade wax plant to flower when it wants to. If you cut off the spurs, they will need to grow back before you have any chance of seeing flowers.

How to Propagate Hoya Carnosa Jade

The Hoya Carnosa Jade is easy to propagate and you can do so in a few ways.

However, stem propagation is the most effective. It is also the easiest to do at home.

All you need to do is:

Take a 3 to 5 inch stem cutting with at least 1-2 nodes and a few leaves on it. The best time to do this is early spring to give the new plant as much time as possible to grow before winter arrives.
Allow the cut end to dry and callous.
Then dip that end into rooting hormone. You can use the liquid, powder or paste form. They’re all the same but in different mediums.
Plant the cutting into moist potting mix. You can use a 1:1 ratio of peat moss and perlite or any well-draining soil.
Remove any leaves that end up buried in the soil.
Keep the soil moist but avoid overwatering it.
Place the cutting in a well-lit location with not direct sunlight. Ideally, the spot should be warm and humid.
If it is not warm enough, you can use a heating mat and place hat under the container. On the other hand, you can cover the plant with a plastic bag (with holes) to increase humidity. Make sure to remove the plastic every so often to avoid too much moisture from getting trapped in there.
It will take about 4 weeks or so for the new roots to grow enough and establish themselves in the soil.

Alternatively, you can also propagate the stem cutting in water.

After taking the stem cutting, place it in a water container so that that nodes are submerged but no leaves are wet. Remove any leaves that are too low and end up touching the liquid.
Leave the cutting in the same bright environment that’s warm and humid.
Over the next 3 to 4 weeks many roots should be growing
Once the roots get to about 1-2 inches long, you can pot up the cutting into soil.

How to Repot or Transplant Hoya Carnosa Jade

Repotting is only done on occasion as the Hoya Carnosa Green Jade enjoys being pot bound. This environment actually helps it flower. So, don’t be in a hurry to move it to another pot.

Also, when the plant is flowering, don’t move it at all. It is very sensitive at this time and any changes with the light and it can stop and lose its blooms.

Therefore, on average, you only need to repot it once every 2-3 years. If it is not struggling in the pot during that time, you can likewise leave it there longer.

When repotting, use a container that is 2 inches larger (nothing bigger). This will give the plant enough space to grow without leaving too much soil that puts it at risk of overwatering.

Is It Toxic/Poisonous to Humans, Cats & Dogs

No, the Hoya Carnosa Jade is not toxic to cats, dogs or humans. But while it does not pose any poisonous component, it is still not meant to be eaten.

This means ingesting parts of the plant can still result in the usual gagging, vomiting or discomfort. That said, you don’t have to worry about toxins.

Hoya Carnosa Green Jade Problems & Troubleshooting

Pests

Unfortunately, the Hoya Carnosa Green Jade is prone to pests. And the most common are mealybugs. You may likewise encounter spider mites, fungus gnats and aphids as well.

Sadly, there is not guaranteed way to prevent these bugs from coming around. So, your best defense is early detection.

And you want to quickly treat the plant and get rid of these insects.

You can easily spray them off with a light stream of water. Then, use neem oil or insecticidal soap.

Diseases

Diseases are more controllable. That’s because they are often caused by excess moisture.

But, the thing is that the plant likes humidity.

So, you do want to be more careful with watering the soil or wetting the leaves too much.

Both can lead to problems including root rot and other leaf infections.