Hoya Walliniana Houseplant Care - Complete Guide

Last Updated on April 15, 2022 by Admin

The Hoya Walliniana is a vining epiphyte that is often found in hanging baskets or climbing up trellises or poles.

It features dark green leaves with some speckles.

Like the Hoya surigaoensis and the Hoya sipitangensis, the plant’s leaves will turn color when sun-stressed.

In this case, they usually turn a light pink-red in the borders first.

Although, depending on how much light they get you can only have a few leaves showing these hues or almost the entire plant.

Either way, it is a lovely look which is why many growers will intentionally sun stress the plant.

The Hoya Walliniana is native to Southeast Asia, particularly in the forests of Borneo.

How do you care for Hoya Walliniana? Keep the plant in a well-lit location. It thrives on medium to bright indirect light especially if you want it to flower.

Keep it slightly root bound, high humidity and feed with an orchid fertilizer to improve the likelihood of flowering. Avoid overwatering as it is prone to root rot.

Table of Contents

Hoya Walliniana Plant Care

Light Requirements

The Hoya Walliniana enjoys medium to bright, indirect light. This allows it to grow full and produce its many leaves.

It is also worth noting that like the Hoya sipitangensis, Hoya Walliniana’s leaves will turn reddish purple when sun-stressed.

This is a lovely look on the plant which is why many growers will intentionally give the plant a little more light.

However, it is important to avoid overdoing this.

That’s because in its native habitat, the Hoya Walliniana is an epiphyte that climbs up larger plants and trees in the forest.

Therefore, it lives under the canopy of the larger trees and their vast leaves overhead.

This also means that the plant does not receive direct sunlight. Instead, the light it gets comes from the gaps between the leaves and the branches above.

This is the reason why it grows best in filtered, dappled or indirect light.

In contrast, it cannot tolerate a lot of direct sunlight especially during the hottest times of the day. Therefore, try to keep it away from a south facing window.

Outdoors, the plant will grow best in semi-shade or partial shade. Avoid full sun.

Excess exposure to the strong rays of the sun can eventually scorch its leaves. While the plant will survive this, you’ll end up with an ugly vine with brown, burnt leaves.

Temperature

The Hoya Walliniana is a native of Southeast Asia, particular Borneo.

As with other parts of the region, the prevailing climate there is warm to hot. In the summers, it can get scorching hot as well easily hitting 100 degrees Fahrenheit days.

As such, the plant likes warm to hot weather.

And it prefers temperatures between 65 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Since the plant lives under the shade of the larger trees, it is able to get some reprieve from the heat, which explains its more moderate temperature preference.

On the hand, the Hoya Walliniana’s temperature tolerance for the cold is limited. It has problems once things drop under 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

Again, this is due to the climate conditions it is accustomed to.

There is no cold weather in Southeast Asia, only warm, hot and rain. They also don’t have winters.

In fact, you can easily go out in a t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops every day during December and January, and still feel very comfortable.

This is why the Hoya Walliniana likes living outdoors in USDA Hardiness Zones 9 to 11. The weather in these regions is very similar to its native habitat.

In contrast, avoid leaving the plant outdoors during winters if you live below Zone 9. It cannot take the cold, freezing temperature.

Humidity

The Hoya Walliniana likes high humidity, ideally between 60% and 75%. This comes as no surprise given that Southeast Asia is not only known for hot weather but also very humid conditions.

As such, try to keep humidity levels up for this plant.

Unlike some hoya varieties, the Hoya Walliniana has thin leaves.

This means that is does not store water in its foliage. Therefore, it is less tolerant of low humidity compared to other hoyas.

So, try to avoid going below 50% humidity as much as possible.

Its leaves can easily wilt as well as turn brown on the edges when the moisture in the air is not sufficient.

If you have low humidity in your home, it is a good idea to mist the plant regularly. But be careful not to overdo it since excess moisture in the leaves can lead to fungal problems.

On the other hand, if you’re busy or are often at work then you can use a pebble tray of humidity tray instead.

Both are more hands-off compared to misting.

How Often to Water Hoya Walliniana

Water is the most important thing to pay attention to with the Hoya Walliniana.

That’s because the plant likes water. And it likes consistently moist soil. But it cannot tolerate wet, soggy soil.

Therefore, be careful with watering too much or too often.

Since the plant is an epiphyte, its roots are not designed to take a lot of moisture. And they will suffer if you leave them wet for long periods of time.

That’s because in the jungle, epiphytic roots don’t live in the soil. Instead, they hang in the air or wrap themselves around trees. This allows the plant to climb and cling onto large trees.

As such, the roots get a lot of oxygen to breathe.

Additionally, they dry very quickly after getting wet by the rain since they’re exposed to light and airflow.

This is not the case if you grow the plant in soil. If the soil stays wet, the roots end up sitting in lots of moisture.

So, to avoid this, always allow the soil to dry slightly between waterings. Wait until the top 1-2 inches of soil has dried before watering again.

By doing this, you prevent the roots from drowning in too much liquid.

Hoya Walliniana Potting Soil

The Hoya Walliniana needs soil with good drainage and aeration. Ideally the soil should be light and airy or chunky. It also appreciates rich soil with nutrients.

In order for the plant to efficiently absorb the nutrients in the soil, keep soil pH between 6.1 to 7.3.

Well-draining soil is important since the plant’s epiphytic roots don’t like wet feet. Thus, it helps by quickly draining the excess moisture.

But at the same time, it retains most moisture to keep the roots happy.

A simple potting mix recipe that works very well for this plant combines:

1 part potting mix
1 part coconut coir
1 part perlite

In case you want to use fewer ingredients, you can use this soil mix recipe instead.

1 part potting soil
1 part orchid bark

Alternatively, if you prefer buying your soil from the store instead of getting one ingredient at a time them mixing at home, you can opt for either:

African violet mix
Well-draining succulent soil

Either of these work. But with the latter, make sure that it is well-draining since not all succulent soils will drain enough moisture to keep the plant happy.

In case that happens, have some perlite or bark on hand and add a few handfuls to increase drainage.

Fertilizer

Fertilizer is essential for a healthy Hoya Walliniana. That’s because it needs to get the nutrients to allow it to grow and flower.

The plant can get bushy with proper care.

Honestly, this is when it looks at its best. Additionally, using fertilizer will help it bloom as well.

However, the one thing you want to steer clear of is over fertilizing the plant.

Too much plant food is harmful for the Hoya Walliniana. So, never do this. Instead, just follow the instructions in the product label.

You can use a balanced houseplant fertilizer to feed the plant. It only needs plant food during spring and summer. So, stop once the summer ends.

Then start again next spring.

The warm months is when the plant grows very quickly. As such, this is when you want to focus your efforts.

If you want to encourage flowering, it is also a good idea to switch to an orchid fertilizer when you start seeing signs of blooming.

This will promote flowering. And it will help the blooms last longer as well.

Flowers / Blooms

As with other hoya varieties, the Hoya Walliniana also produces beautiful flowers.

The plant’s inflorescences are small but they grow in groups or bunches called umbels. This makes them stunning to look at collectively.

Each flower has a round shape that is peach in color. Some would argue white-cream. But you get the picture.

Meanwhile, the centers are red-pink in color. The surface of these flowers are fuzzy as they are covered with small hairs.

When they bloom, you’ll smell a sweet fragrance.

The Hoya Walliniana can bloom at different times of the year. But often, this occurs in the warm months because it likes plenty of light and warm, humid conditions.

Therefore, keep the plant in bright, indirect light and snug in its pot. It is more likely to flower in a tighter container.

Pruning

The Hoya Walliniana will grow into a long, dense vine. It can reach 10 feet if you let it.

Although, a lot of how the plant looks will depend on how you display it.

Many growers will either keep it in a hanging basket to let its vines trail downwards. Or they will give it a pole or shaped wire to climb up on.

Both setups allow the plant to show off its lovely long stems and leaves.

It becomes especially beautiful if you let the leaves turn pink-red from sun stress.

That said, the long vines does mean the plant will need some pruning. This can be regular or once every few months depending on the look you’re going for.

How to Propagate Hoya Walliniana

The Hoya Walliniana is commonly propagated through stem cuttings.

This makes it easy to do at home for free. Therefore, I do encourage you to propagate the plant at some point in its life.

What’s great with stem propagation is that you can grow many new plants at once. This is especially true with the Hoya Walliniana since it will develop lots of stems and long ones at that.

To propagate the Hoya Walliniana from stem cuttings.

Take a healthy stem with at least 1-2 nodes and 3 or more leaves.

Then, cut the stem just below the node using a sterile pair of scissors or pruning shears.

Let the cutting rest and the cut end callous a bit.

While waiting, fill a pot with well-draining soil. Please see the soil section above for recipes.

Now, plant the cuttings in to the soil with the nodes under the surface. After that, water the soil until moist.

You will need to water the plant whenever the soil gets dry. But don’t overwater it.

Leave the pot in bright, indirect light in a humid spot.

It usually takes a month or so for the roots to develop. But once you’ve planted the cuttings into the soil mix, all you need to do is take care of it like you do the parent plant.

How to Repot or Transplant Hoya Walliniana

Repotting is a low maintenance task for a few reasons.

One, the Hoya Walliniana does not have a huge, complex root system that will expand. Nor does its root system suddenly grow really quickly.

Additionally, the plant enjoys being in a snug pot.

So, you can let it be slightly root bound for a while.

This is why most growers will only repot it once every 2 to 5 years. And the only time you need to repot it is when it outgrows its container.

Try not to move the plant often or even annually. It does not like that.

Since it is also prone to overwatering, avoid overpotting the plant when you do repot. Instead, just pick a container that is one size larger than the current one.

Also, replace the soil with fresh, well-draining mix.

The best time to repot is during spring to early summer.

Is It Toxic/Poisonous to Humans, Cats & Dogs

No, the Hoya Walliniana is non-toxic to cats and dogs. It is also not poisonous to humans.

This makes it a pet-safe and a child-safe plant to have around the home or in your backyard.

That said, you still want to keep the kids and pets from consuming any part of the plant since it can cause them to vomit later on.

Hoya Walliniana Problems & Troubleshooting

Pests

Pests are always going to be a problem for houseplants, including the Hoya Walliniana.

Fortunately, it is not a pest magnet.

Nevertheless, it is not immune either.

Therefore, it is important to keep an eye out for these bugs by regularly checking on the plant and its leaves for signs of insects.

Mealybugs, scale, aphids and spider mites are common pest problems the plant experiences.

And you can treat them with insecticidal soil or neem oil.

Diseases

Overwatering is the most common cause of most disease. This includes all sorts of bacterial and fungal infections.

Additionally, excess moisture can also lead to root rot.

This is why it is the first thing to be mindful of (and avoid) as far as plant diseases go.

Overwatering can cause roots to rot by drowning them. Therefore, always allow the soil to dry partially before you add more water.

On the other hand, wetting the leaves or other parts of the plant without letting them dry quickly increases the risk of bacterial and fungal infections.

Hoya Walliniana Houseplant Care – Complete Guide