Hoya Pubicalyx – Carla's Hoya haven
A Blog About Hoyas & Other Houseplants
This trellising job is not working. Not for me and not for this plant. I purchased this Hoya Publicalyx in a 4″ pot from Pistil’s Nursery in April, 2022. It’s almost been a year and winding the plant around these flexible plastic 13″ trellises is not supporting the plant. It’s time to try something new.
I wandered through Lowe’s garden center and purchased four 4′ garden stakes. The bamboo cane holder came from Amazon. At first I set this up on the floor with the disk at the top of the stakes to see how it would look. These stakes are more flexible than I thought and the whole setup spun around in the middle. I think moving the plastic disk towards the middle of the stakes will keep it from spinning but I can’t be sure until I try. This might not work. I may have to go with a basic teepee trellis and skip the round disk.
First, I had to get this plant untwined from itself and unclipped from the trellis. It doesn’t look like much without the trellis but there is a lot of plant on the table.
Next I inserted the stakes in the spaces left behind by the previous trellis. On top of the counter height table the 4′ stakes are nearing the ceiling. You might thing this is a bit much but given the growth rate of this particular plant I can assure you it’s not. I didn’t mind that it flared outward. I would have would the vines with it this way except it wasn’t stable enough. The stakes needed support at the top.
Next I put the stakes through the intended holes but it pulled the stakes inward and made the structure too narrow. So, I used some garden wire to secure the poles to the cane holder which is 5.25″ in diameter.
I ended up with a structure that looks like this. It’s a little narrower than I imagined but it will have to do. I wound the vines counterclockwise. I used mostly garden wire to secure the vines.
The lower part of each vine is thicker and stiffer than the newer, upper parts. The upper part is somewhat fragile. I probably broke some vines and lost a few tender new leaves in the process but there will be plenty more before summer is over.
This plant is now trellised to 28″ up from the top of the pot and there is still room to grow. Since this is in a 7″ pot potted in chunky coconut husk mix I’m going to put this in a bowl and give it a 30 minute soak in lightly fertilized water. Recently I switched from water soluble tomato feed to Miracle Gro Azalea, Camellia, Rhododendron food. I use 1/4 tsp per gallon of water. There is very little difference between the two fertilizers. I want flowers so I’m trying something new.
This is it for today’s trellising project. If anyone is new to Hoyas and you are looking for an easy to grow, drought tolerant, sun loving plant that looks great, flowers and will take over an entire window in your home then Hoya Pubicalyx is an excellent choice. Be sure to trellis as it grows. It can be a challenge to trellis one of these once the vines age and stiffen. Below is a look back at my Hoya Publicalyx towards the end of summer 2022.
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About the blog
Carla’s Hoya Haven is a blog that documents an individual’s journey with houseplants and more specifically Hoyas. Don’t forget to follow me on:
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