Hoyas in a Grow Tent – Carla's Hoya haven

For those of us who collect Hoyas there comes a point when we realize we need more humidity, especially if we live in a area with low humidity or dramatic changes in humidity levels from one day to the next. Many Hoyas are thick leaved, have a succulent quality to them and do well in average household humidity. Other Hoyas do poorly without ridiculously high humidity. I don’t recommend adding these to your collection unless you have a plan to accommodate their special needs or you happen to be the Hoya whisperer.

Adding a humidifier to every room is not a practical solution if you want to
prevent mold growth around the windows. I figured this out the hard way. My first thought was to buy a paludarium after watching the entire playlist Big Terrarium Build by Yoga and Plants with Roos on YouTube. I was really enthusiastic after the first few videos but after watching them all I realized I needed to look into this further before investing in a big glass box for my dining room which is the last bit of free space in my home. Most Hoyas are too large for a paludarium. Areas close to bottom can be too moist and those closer to the top can be too dry and the custom background work is a bit of an art form. I wanted something easier to manage on my own and a grow tent turned out the be the most practical solution.  And yet, I still toy with the idea of buying that big paludarium.

Why this grow tent and not that other grow tent many Hoya fanatics are so
fond of in their YouTube reviews? Because the MarsHydro tent I ordered never showed up. I ordered it off their website hoping it would ship from their warehouse UPS or FedEx. Alas, it was out of stock in their main warehouse so they shipped it from an Amazon warehouse and somewhere between there and here it disappeared.  Porch pirates?  Maybe.  I bickered too long and when I finally got online to file a police report I was past the 10 day limit. So there you go, I’m out my $114 and my grow tent.  Everybody’s an entrepreneur, eh?

The second grow tent I ordered was from Gorilla Grow Tent. I wanted a
strong one since I would be hanging gridwall panels and plants. I got a 20% discount for being a military veteran.  The tent shipped UPS and arrived in just a few days. The driver required a signature. I got my tent and I was happy.

I’ll cover Grow Tent Setup for Hoyas in another post.

Whichever grow tent you choose it’s helpful to watch several reviews and setup videos before purchasing so you know what you’re buying and what actual users think about that particular tent.

Doug Chamberlain from Vermont Hoyas has a great video on Grow Tent Basics on YouTube.  This is a good place to start for getting ideas on how to set up your grow tent.  Additionally, there is a wealth of knowledge on his web page about growing Hoyas.

Wolfgang’s Mama on YouTube has a great vertical setup in her grow tent.  Watch New Hoya Setup Tour in Grow Tent: Growing Vertical for a great tour.  This is the setup that convinced me a grow tent was what I needed rather than a paludarium.

Basie Plants on YouTube has a video on his Grow Tent Setup for Hoyas. He uses a combination of fencing for trellis and shelving units.  I like the rabbit fencing.  If I were to do another tent I might try this.