Variegated hoya compacta is an easy-to-grow vining plant with twisted, curly, and waxy foliage. What makes it stand out the most are the beautiful flowers it bears in clusters.
The plant will be happy in outdoor sunny spots. To let it perform at its best, keep this Carnosa variegata pest-free. The foliage may offer tiny sucking pests hiding places. It is not a demanding specimen when care details (as described below) are up to date.
Knowing a Variegated Carnosa Compacta
The color shades on this one occur on the edges of the foliage and rope-like vines. You can quite easily tell this is a hoya compacta by its creamy white and pink leaf edges. The vines are traditionally pink or entirely white.
This hoya carnosa is not a classical climber and thus does not or may not require staking. Nonetheless, you may want to have the foliage spread over wooden trellises to maximize trapping of light energy.
When mature, small sweet-scented flowers are borne on its vines. They are normally white and pink blooms. In perfect growth conditions, these plants are springtime and summertime bloomers.
How Fast does Variegated Hindu Rope Grow?
It takes about 2 and a half years for this one to bear flowers. This is also the average period it takes a well-tendered variegated HINDU rope to mature. Ultimately, your plant care and diligence may dictate how fast the plant will grow.
In particular, due to the slow-growth nature, this one makes an excellent hanging or trailing houseplant. In hanging baskets, these houseplants are suitable for exploring closed balconies and bright patio (pergola) during the summer.
Does Hoya Compacta like to be Root Bound?
This hoya variegata variety likes it when it is root bound. This does not mean that your houseplant can withstand total neglect.
Where do Compacta Variegata Originate?
Being members of the Apocynaceae family, these beautiful compact plants are indigenous to the Asian and Australian rainforests. They are vastly and well-adapted to USDA zone 10 through 12.
How to Care for Hoya Compacta Variegata
Are hoya compacta plants difficult to care for? Definitely, no.
Potting Mix, (Pots) + Repotting
This variegated Hindu rope is an epiphyte with a smaller root ball size. If you are a beginner, selecting the most appropriate pot size will set your care needs checked.
Before housing your plant, here are crucial points to put into consideration:
- The current size of the plant
- Lighting conditions in your home
- Humidity and warmth
- The type of potting mix (medium)
As a houseplant, this one does not prefer any, in terms of the potting material. You can use a plastic pot with adequate drainage holes. Terracotta and clay ones are also ideal.
Even though, like many others on your houseplant list, Hindu rope plants have a watering problem. Owing to the waxy nature of their foliage and small roots, root rot is a major weakness.
When to Repot
Pertinent to that is the repotting mix. Since the plant grows small roots, pay attention to the upper bulk of the potting mix. I don’t encourage people to repot a Hindu rope around the flowering time. Just wait until after it has flowered. Well, that should be the end of the 2nd or in the 3rd year.
How to’s Steps
What you need:
1 part each of peat moss + complete compost 1 part of course sand (for terracotta pots) 1 inch bigger new pots
Go for ready orchid commercial potting mixes for the best growing experience.
Alternatively, DIY a well-aerated mixture. Use perlite, finished loamy compost, coconut coir chips, and peat moss.
Suppose your plant is 2 – 3 years old. This means that you’re repotting a mature one for the first time. The repotting procedural steps are more or less the same:
- Carefully slide the plant out of its current pot
- You should cut the plastic container or knock break those clay pots (if the plant can’t out that easily)
- Add your fresh repotting mixture to a new pot in bits
- Hold the plant by the top of the root ball and replant it without pressing it down
- Add more potting media around the root ball leaving not more than 3/4 inch upper space
- Water thoroughly until water flows out of the holes
If you have used a terracotta or clay pot, use a 0.6 or 0.8 measuring cup.
Watering Hoya Compacta Variegata
How often do you water a compacta variegata? To get the right water needs for this variegated plant, use a combination of pot size, evaporation or how often the potting media top 1/2 inch dries out.
If your houseplant’s pot size is 6 inches wide, make it drink up to 1 cup of water in 14 days. Water sparingly if you have grown your Hindu plant in a pot without holes.
During the cooler months, allow the top inch of pot soil to dry out completely. Cut back further and water the plant once in a while.
Providing Warmth & Humidity
Humidity: Variegated Carnosa Hindu ropes are comfortable in household humidity. As such, they do not need extra humidity. With most living rooms, this plant will be happy even at 40%.
With that said it is reasonable to maintain humidity levels between 35 – 60% in your indoor spaces. This is the recommended healthy humidity for humans.
If you have this plant in any of the outdoor rooms, you can group the surplus from your houseplant list. And you will want to install the handy temperature and humidity tools.
Temperature: As I mentioned, hoya compacta can grow persistently in sunny spots outdoors. Yes, it likes it hot but not that scorching hot.
As such, the houseplant will be comfortable in a 70°F – 85°F during the day is ideal. A temperature drop during the night should not be an issue. Bring your plant indoors when it is cold (60 – 65 °F. As is the case with night shifts in warm and cold areas, it is prudent to have a reliable plant app to simplify your gardening.
Light (Foot Candles) for your Hindu Rope
In sunny locations, you can place this plant 3 inches away from north-facing windows. It is possible to induce blooming by increasing the lighting duration from 6 to 12 hours of sunlight.
If your home is poorly lit or can’s receive sufficient light, use fluorescent light. Invest in devices that give at least 400 foot-candles, full spectrum light. Such that, this plant can get 10 – 12 hours of light exposure a day. To encourage blooms, increase those lighting hours to 14 from 12.
In absence of at least 6 hours of constant indirect light, your plant may drop leaves. It will struggle to thrive.
Feeding a Hindu Rope Plant
Hindu rope plants are slow feeders. By the time this variegated plant requires new potting media, it has used up all the available nutrients. Consequently, you need to be precise in the selection of the potting mixes.
Depending on the quality of your initial soil blend, you could replenish them when the plant has grown twice bigger.
However, with feeding and regular fertilizing comes the risk of poisoning the houseplant. Sometimes the signs of over-fertilized houseplants can go unnoticed. Even though, take note of the following:
- Tips of newly emerged vines dying off
- Presence or formation of white crusty or stuff-like residue on the potting soil
- Your plant growing smaller new leaves
Quick Fix: Hold back fertilizer application of any form. Ten thoroughly flush the plant in the subsequent 6 or so waterings.
Does Variegated Hindu Rope Need Pruning?
Pruning this variegated plant is not a must. After flowers have faded, you can prune them if you have to. Nevertheless, you can get rid of dead, or remove damaged unwanted old growths.
When and what not to prune:
- When flowering or about to
- Do not cut or damage the vines with spurs
If you prune more often than not, it will eventually take longer for this Hindu rope to bloom or perhaps not flower significantly.
Propagation
What you need:
- Cut 3-5 inch stem cutting
- Disinfected pruning pair scissors/sharp knife
- Water glasses
- Propagation mix
Growing a new plant from variegated hoya compacta involves easy manipulation of the vines. There are two cheap means to achieve this.
a) Stem Cuttings + Water
Using water as a means of propagation is the cheapest and simpler way to root your Variegated Hoya Compacta cuttings. Have your healthy cuttings and here are the steps:
- Locate the lower part 1 – 2 inches below the node and make a cut
- Then remove the lowest leaves off each stem cutting
- Submerge each one in a clear glass of water, ensuring the lowest node is wholly in water
Check to see that no leaf or part is in direct contact with water
- Situate your new-to-be plants in warm and humid rooms
- Regularly check the water levels in each glass and replace them as is necessary
Depending on various conditions in your area, your cuttings should have rooted in 2 – 3 weeks. In the 3rd or 4th week, transplant your cutting into a fresh, well-aerated potting mix. Use small pots
Continue caring for your cuttings until they have grown leaves.
b) Rooting in Soil Directly
An alternative cheap way of doing this is using a lightweight, moist propagating medium.
Key Care Details at a Glance
- Potting Medium: Lightweight, excellent-aerated, good-draining growing medium Container/pot: Prefers small-sized pots with a good drainage system. This will encourage tightly packed roots and blooming - Light: Situate your plant in bright indirect sunlight or use fluorescent lights at 400 foot-candles - Warmth/Temperature: Expose plant’s foliage to daytime warmth of 70 °F to 85 °F (21 to 30 °C). Keep the plant in rooms at 60 - 65 °F (16 -18 °C) during the night. - Humidity: Strive for average household levels (40 - 60 percent). - Watering: Water when the soil is almost dry during the growth phase, infrequently during winter. - Fertilizing/feeding: Feed monthly with diluted water-soluble fertilizer only in spring and summer. Withhold feeding in the resting phase. - Propagation: Use healthy stem cuttings to root in water or propagation medium