Hoya Tsangii Care Tips That Actually Work

Sharing is caring!

The Hoya Tsangii comes from the Hoya genus and from the Dogbane family, Apocynaceae. This plant has stunning foliage that is slightly textured. The leaves of this plant are green, but when put under direct sunlight, the edges turn slightly maroon.

This species is epiphytic when kept under its natural habitat. Epiphytic means that the plant will grow on another plant, but since Hoya Tsangii can also be grown indoors, they simply need some support.

 

 

Basic Plant Care for Hoya Tsangii

 

How to care for Hoya Tsangii?

Hoya Tsangii is very easy to take care of since it requires only very little water. The plant must be kept in a bright spot but not under direct sunlight. Direct sunlight must only be provided when the blooming season starts as the plant’s flower blooms under direct sunlight. The ideal temperature is between 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit (21 to 26 Celsius).

 

Soil

The Hoya Tsangii like their soil to be simple, meaning it should be lightweight and well-drained. Using a fast-draining potting mix such as sand, perlite, or compost bark are some of the easiest ways to ensure that your soil is kept well-drained throughout the plant’s life.

This plant thrives in soil that has a pH of 6.1 – 6.5 (slightly acidic) to 6.6 – 7.3 (neutral). The soil PH of this range is easy to maintain as you simply do not need to over-fertilize the soil.

 

Watering

For Hoya Tsangii, a fixed water schedule is not a must. This plant does not need to be watered every day, throughout the week. This is one of the main reasons why the Hoya Tsangii is considered to be a low maintenance plant, as a few days of neglect won’t cause any damage to the plant.

However, during extremely hot summer days, you must water your plant more frequently since Hoya Tsangii does not survive well in dry climates. Try not to overwater your plant as it can cause the roots to rot.

Owners of Hoya Tsangii like to mist their plant frequently as it increases the surrounding humidity of the plant. Misting the plant also allows you to clean off the plant’s leaves.

But, even when you mist your plant, you must take precautions as misting them too often can cause fungus or bacteria to form on your plant.

 

Light

Hoya Tsangii needs to be kept under bright indirect light for the majority of the time. However, once the plant is in its blooming season, you must provide a few hours of direct sunlight so that the blooms can form.

The flowers of Hoya Tsangii only bloom under direct sunlight, but make sure that you keep the plant under direct sunlight early in the morning and not in the afternoon.

The best place to keep your Hoya Tsangii is near the north window, where bright indirect sunlight is provided. Do not keep your plant too far from the window as it will not grow well.

 

Temperature

Temperatures ranging from 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degree Celsius) to 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26 degree Celsius) are considered to be the ideal temperature range for Hoya Tsangii. This plant is capable of surviving low temperatures as well but is extremely sensitive to frost.

When winters arrive, it is best to keep your Hoya Tsangii indoors under room temperature. Outdoors temperature of 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degree Celsius) is tolerated by Hoya Tsangii.
 

Humidity

Hoya Tsangii loves high humidity levels, as it is essential for this plant’s growth. Since the leaves of Hoya Tsangii are succulent, high humidity levels allow them to retain water within them. Thus humidity levels are one of the most important things that you must take care of for Hoya Tsangii.

Try and keep your humidity levels between the range of 40% to 60%, as this is the ideal range for the plant, especially during the summer season. However, avoid misting your plant during the winter season as the weather is not dry or hot; thus, the plant is able to retain more water in its succulent leaves.

Going overboard with the misting will cause your plant to develop fungus or get affected by other bacterial diseases.

 

Fertilizer

Hoya Tsangii needs to be fertilized well during the growing season as it helps them grow a lot faster and healthier. Make sure that the fertilizer that you use is well balanced in nutrients.

But, it is important to remember that generally, Hoya Tsangii does not need to be fertilized often; in fact, you need to fertilize it either weekly or on a monthly basis.

To avoid over-fertilizing your plant, you should try to make a schedule for your fertilizing sessions. I create a checklist for each month and add a tick box for “fertilizer” at the end of the month.

 

Repotting

Hoya Tsangii does not need to be repotted too often since they like to be root bond; in fact, the majority of Hoyas love to be root bound. Your Hoya Tsangii will not need a new pot every year, so your money will be saved. The fewer times you repot your plant, the better the blooms will be.

I tend to repot my Hoya Tsangii when:

• My Hoya Tsangii tends to become dry quickly. When you water your Hoya Tsangii, you need to make sure that the soil is dry before the next session, but if you notice that the soil is becoming dry a lot faster than before, then it is time to repot your Hoya.
• The roots of my Hoya Tsangii start to come out of the drainage holes.
• The plastic pots that I use are not as flexible as they once were before.

Sometimes you may have to wait years before you end up repotting your Hoya Tsangii; this is because the rate of growth may vary depending on how well you are taking care of the plant.

Whenever you decide to repot your Hoya Tsangii, make sure you do not go for a size that is 2 inches larger than its previous pot.

 

Pruning

Your Hoya Tsangii will grow a lot more if you prune it every so often. But sometimes, the issue is not related to lack of growth; rather, it’s related to overgrowth; however, even in this situation, pruning your plant is a good idea.

When you decide to prune your plant, make sure that you take care of the following points:

• Never cut off the plant where the spurs have grown out. This is because the flower will grow from those spurs. Every year the number of flowers on those spurs will increase.
• If you have to cut off a spur due to it being located at a damaged area of the plant, then you can cut it off. Cutting the spur off won’t kill your plant; sometimes, it encourages new growth, which gives your plant a fuller appearance.
• Your plant will grow new branches from the areas of your plant that you have pruned off. These new branches will also have spurs present on them.

Once you have taken care of all of the said above points, you will need to start pruning your plant now. To do this, you will need sharp cutting equipment such as gardening scissors and shears. Proceed to cut a part of your plant right below the node.

Make sure that when you cut the plant, it is kept at a good angle, or else you may end up damaging the plant. Never chop off 2/3 of your plant when you are pruning it. During the pruning process, you may also cut off any unhealthy part of your plants, such as dead leaves, infected areas, and wilting flowers.

 

Propagation

Hoya Tsangii is extremely easy to propagate. One of the easiest methods for propagating Hoya Tsangii is by using stem cuttings. If you want to propagate your plant through stem cutting, follow these steps:

• The spring and summer seasons are considered to be the best seasons for propagating your Hoya Tsangii as it is the growing season.
• Take a pot and fill it with soil. Make sure that the soil is a well-draining mix. The potting mix should include perlite or vermiculite in it.
• Water your pot well and place the pot to the side to let it drain out until the soil becomes moist.
• Cut a stem off of your adult plant. Make sure that the stem has two to four leaves present on it.
• Keep the length of the stem between four to five inches long (ten to thirteen centimeters long).
• Remove any leaf that is present at the lower part of the stem, as this will go into the soil.
• You can dip the leaf-less end of the stem into a rooting hormone. However, this step is not necessary and can be skipped. But using a rooting hormone will allow quicker growth.
• Plant your stem in the soil, and do not touch it once you have potted it.
• Water your plant to keep the soil moist the majority of the time.
• Never over-water the soil as it can become soggy and cause the stem to rot.
• Place the pot under bright indirect sunlight near a window. Do not keep your pot under direct sunlight during the growing period, as you need to focus on growing your plant further before thinking of the blooms.

 

Blooms

Hoya Tsangii is considered to be the daintiest of Hoyas since it has small rose oval leaves that become maroon under direct sunlight. If you keep your Hoya Tsangii away from direct sunlight, then you won’t really see the maroon edges.

This plant grows clusters of flowers from its spur. These flowers are stunning to look at it since they are brick-red in color and have a yellow center.

 

Growth

Hoya Tsangii has a moderate to slow growth rate. Their growth rate is accredited to their longer life span as compared to other plants.

This plant is capable of growing up to at least 8 to 12 inches tall. During its growing periods, the owners of these plants are encouraged to fertilize them as their growth will improve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Shanchita K (@plantcyclopedia)

 

Common Problems for Hoya Tsangii

 

Tarsonemid Mite

Tarsonemid mite is a common issue faced by Hoya Tsangii owners. This pest tends to wreak havoc in every garden that they enter, similar to the way spider mites do. However, the problems tarsonemid mites cause differ from the problems caused by spider mites.

Tarsonemid mite is a microscopic creature meaning it can only be observed under a microscope. As compared to spider mites, tarsonemid mite is naked to the human eyes.

The best way to control tarsonemid mites is by practicing good sanitation methods and by throwing away any plant that has been heavily infected.

 

Caterpillars

Caterpillars cause damage to plants by eating away at their leaves and flowers. This is done by either consuming the whole leaf or even half of it. To know whether your plant is loved by caterpillars, you would notice that there are fecal deposits left behind by them.

It is important to get things under control beforehand, or else caterpillars can multiply easily. Devise a plan to keep the caterpillars and adults under control. For adults, keep the lights low at night as they tend to be attracted to bright light (moths tend to go after bright light).

Less attractive light will also stop luring the females into places where they may want to lay their eggs. If you manage to remove the weeds inside and outside your garden, then caterpillars won’t hang around for too long as the adult females won’t have a place to lay their eggs.

 

Root-Knot Nematode

The parasite root-knot nematode is from the genus: Meloidogyne. This parasite thrives in areas where the climate is hot, and the winters are not too long. Root-knot nematodes are given their name since they live underground and are stuck to your plant’s roots.

World-wide at least 2000 plants become susceptible to this parasite since they tend to latch on to the majority of plants that they lay their eyes on. Up to 5% of the global crop loss is accredited to this parasite.

Root-knot nematode damages the roots of your plants by developing what is known as “root-knot galls,” and these are capable of sucking out your plant’s nutrients. The infection caused by this parasite is lethal for a young plant, but when it comes to adult plants, they can only cause a decrease in their yield.

If you spot that your Hoya Tsangii has been infected by root-knot nematodes, then pick off some leaves from your adult plant and start a whole new plant. You cannot cure the plant once the roots have been infected; thus, it is best to get rid of it. However, you can control the spread of root-knot nematodes through the use of biocontrol agents.

 

Tips for Growing Hoya Tsangii

There are several things you can look into to allow your Hoya Tsangii to grow well; some of these include:

• Keep them under humidity levels ranging from 40 to 60%.
• When the blooming season arrives, keep the plant under direct sunlight. However, do not keep it under direct sunlight in the afternoon.
• Do not over-water your plant; this can cause the roots to rot.
• Hoya Tsangii does not need to be fertilized often; thus, do not over-fertilize them.
• Keep your Hoya Tsangii in well-drained soil that is lightweight.

 

Frequently Asked Questions about Hoya Tsangii

 

Is Hoya Tsangii toxic for humans and animals?

Hoya Tsangii is not toxic to animals or humans when it is ingested.

 

Should I mist my Hoya Tsangii?

Misting Hoya Tsangii is essential as they grow well in humid conditions. However, make sure that you are not increasing the humidity levels to the point where it harms the plant.

 

Should I put my Hoya Tsangii under direct sunlight?

Hoya Tsangii loves to be kept under the bright sun, but never under direct sunlight, especially the afternoon sun.

 

Why won’t my Hoya Tsangii bloom?

Your Hoya Tsangii may not be blooming because it may need more direct sunlight. Although the plant survives well under indirect sunlight, it needs direct sunlight to bloom. Just make sure this direct sunlight is not provided during the afternoon.

 

When should I repot my Hoya Tsangii?

You may not have to repot your Hoya Tsangii for years since they love to be root bound. The best way to know when to repot them is by simply observing the soil attached to the roots. If the soil does fall off of the roots when you pick up the plant, that means your plant does not need to be repotted.

 

Do the flowers of Hoya Tsangii have any scent to them?

Hoya Tsangii has a slight scent to the flowers that is hard to describe as some consider it to be sweet while others consider it to be slightly citrus.

Conclusion

Hoya Tsangii is an easy plant to take care of. Many people swear by them since they still end up growing well even if they are neglected, and their blooms are considered to be some of the prettiest blooms in the Hoya genus.