Hoya Callistophylla Care - Plant Care Guide

The key to hoya callistophylla care is to never let it sit in water logged soil…

Hoya Callistophylla Care Summary

Light needs:	Bright indirect sunlight.
Watering needs:	Check weekly, water if soil is dry.
Fertilizer:	A balanced fertilizer once a month in the spring and summer.
Soil:	A mix of soil, perlite and orchid bark.
Humidity:	60%.
Temperature:	15-28°C (59-82°F).
Where to buy:	Try one of these Rare Plant Shops.
Common issues:	Overwatering due to wet soil.

Introduction

Originally hailing from Borneo and growing epiphytically, the hoya callistophylla is an impressive hoya with big leaves for a small plant that have dark green veining giving it an almost dragon-skin look.

Light Needs

Bright indirect sunlight is best for a hoya callistophylla. They grow fine in medium sunlight, but to encourage flowering and the best growth you want to give them bright indirect sunlight.

How Often to Water

Check the soil once a week but only water it if dry. These plants are not fans of wet soil! Hoyas are epiphytes and grow in trees in the bark in the wild, so they hate to be in heavy wet soil. You must let them dry out before watering them again. Also make sure you let the water pass through after watering, and tip out any excess water left in the external container to make sure the soil does not get water logged.

Tip: make sure you do not water the plant until the soil is completely dry all the way down, as the biggest killer of hoyas is root rot. If in doubt, underwater it!

Hoya Callistophylla Fertilizer

Feed your hoya callistophylla a balanced fertilizer once a month in the spring and summer to encourage growth and flowering.

Soil

This epiphytic plant must have great drainage, it cannot sit in wet soil. A mix of soil, perlite and orchid bark is ideal.

For more on hoya soil (what to buy and how to make your own) see our guide here: Hoya Soil.

When To Repot

Repot them every 2 years in spring. They are not fussy about repotting and can be allowed to get a bit pot bound.

Humidity

60% is best for a hoya like this, they are tropical plants. They will be ok with less, but will do much better when put in a humid part of the home.

Temperature

15-28°C (59-82°F) is best, so they will be just fine in almost all homes.

How To Propagate Hoya Callistophylla

They are fairly easy to propagate, if slow growing like most hoyas. The best thing to do is to take cuttings with 3 or 4 nodes, and take the leaves from the bottom two nodes but keep leaves on the top ones. Then put the cuttings in water so the leaves are not touching the water, and the naked nodes are under the surface. It should take a month or so to start rooting, and then in two months you can pot the cuttings up into soil.

Is It Toxic To Cats?

They are non-toxic to cats and dogs.

Hoya Callistophylla Vs Kalimantan

The key to telling the difference between the hoya callistophylla and the kalimantan is the flowers of the callistophylla have much more red on them around the edges. These plants are really similar and it can be very difficult to tell the difference without them flowering.

Hoya Callistophylla Vs Finlaysonii

These plants are really similar, but the way to tell them apart is the veins on the finlaysonii are less bold than the callistophylla .

Hoya Callistophylla Vs Gunung Gading

The hoya gunung gading has really defined veining, and the leaves feel thinner to the touch.

Where To Buy

Try one of these Rare Plant Shops.

Hoya Callistophylla Care FAQs and Common Problems

Overwatering is a major problem for hoyas like this, they need to be in a very well draining soil and watered only when dry. They are epiphytes which mean they live up in trees in the wild and not in soil, so they get root rot really easily when left in wet soil.