Hoya Pachyclada Plant – Beginner Friendly Care Guide

Hoya Pachyclada make the perfect little plants to add to any indoor collection. They are compact, slow growing and throw off a brilliant show of blooms during their growing seasons.

Like other hoya plants, the Hoya Pachyclada is ideal for the novice indoor plant enthusiast due to the ease of care and minimal ongoing maintenance. It really doesn’t get any better.

Today at the Garden Bench Top, we are thrilled to be featuring these wonderful plants in all their glory. You can expect to learn:

• about the background and origins of Hoya Pachyclada,
• Hoya Pachyclada care tips and instructions,
• how to propagate hoya plants from cuttings, and
• frequently asked questions.

So if you are ready to get up close to this tiny gem, let’s get into it.

What we love about the Hoya Pachyclada

Unlike some of their Hoya cousins like the Australis Lisa and Sunrise, the Hoya Pachyclada is a low-lying plant that looks great as a petite compact pot plants.

Interestingly, their growth patterns are more similar to a succulent, rather than the typical long, fast growth of other hoya plants. The same goes for their watering requirements, as they tend to like it a bit more on the dry side rather than constant moisture.

The last, but certainly not least, favorite aspect of the Pachyclada Hoya plants, are their flowers. When provided with the optimal conditions to grow and thrive, these plants can throw off beautiful little bunches of blooms that fill a room with a lovely scent. And it isn’t just a one time thing – they will continue to flower throughout their entire growing season.

In our minds, all these unique qualities make them the perfect little indoor Hoya companion.

Name Guide

As a rule, we generally refer to plants and flowers by their botanical names. In this case, the Hoya Pachyclada is the scientific name for this particular species.

However, as it belongs to the Hoya genus, it can often be referred to as the ‘wax plant‘, which can be confusing, as this common name is also used for some other species within the same family.

Appearance

When you eye your first ever Hoya Pachyclada, you could be forgiven for mistaking it for a succulent or a leafy jade plant. This is because the leaves of the Pachyclada are quite an intense green color that tend to be thick and meaty. You can also see the waxy surface of the leaves when viewing them from a different angle, much like many cacti leaves.

The leaves can also come in a less common Hoya Pachyclada Variegated variety. You will recognize a variegated Pachyclada, by the distinct yellow edges and mottled yellow markings speckled across the leaves. Both versions are spectacular in their own right.

Hoya Pachyclada Flowers are a true delight to experience with a wonderful scent

The Hoya Pachyclada flowers are quite a spectacular sight to behold. Especially when they appear from such a small, docile plant. The flowers initially appear on a single stem, and you may not notice them at first. But as they develop, you begin to understand why this particular Hoya variety is so popular. The beautiful waxy flowers blossom into stunning clusters of tiny white star – shaped flowers with hints of yellow coming from the flowers Ovule.

Hoya Pachyclada Origin

The one thing the Pachyclada does have in common with its cousins, is where it originates. Hoya Pachyclada originates in the Southeast Asian regions of the world. If you want to view these magnificent plants in their natural environment, your best bet would be visiting the tropical forests of Thailand.

As you progress through our care guide, you will begin to appreciate a lot of our philosophy for care guide and instructions stems from understanding the plants origins.

Once you have an intimate understanding of where the plant naturally thrives, you will be able to adapt to the conditions you keep your plant appropriately. Such as increasing the humidity in your place or increasing watering frequency for particular plants.

This is a great segue into the next section – how to care for your Hoya Pachyclada.

Hoya Pachyclada Care

In this section of the care guide, we are going to step through the plant specific care instructions and tips for the Hoya Pachyclada.

Is the Hoya Pachyclada Difficult to Care For?

It doesn’t get much easier than a Hoya Pachyclada plant.

Once you have found them their happy place (a nice bright sunny position), all that you need to do is check in on their soil for moisture levels every now and again. And every other month, include some supplemental food while you are watering them.

Pachyclada are one of the easiest Hoyas to look after. Highly recommended for beginner to novice level gardeners.

They really are the quintessential novice plant.

If you are still learning how to become a responsible plant parent, a Pachyclada is one of the best plants to cut your teeth on. Even though they prefer a ready source of water, due to their similar characteristics to succulents, they can tolerate a missed watering every now and again.

Lighting

The Pachyclada Hoya is one of those varieties that like to do things their own way.

Unlike other members of the Hoya genus, these plants love a bit of sun. Most Hoyas prefer to be positioned in brightly, indirect light positions. Whereas, the Pachyclada can tolerate direct sunlight for short periods. It could possibly be their succulent similarities shining through here.

We recommend placing them in a sunny spot that receives around 2-3 hours of direct sunlight in the day. This can be extended a bit during the colder seasons.

As with most indoor plants, the key is to acclimate the plants into their new environment. So, gradually working them into their final position will help to prevent shock and burning of the leaves.

Temperature & Humidity

Originating from regions close to the equator, the Pachyclada prefer to be positioned in warm to hot conditions with medium to high humidity.

In terms of temperature range, we recommend temperatures between 60-85° F (or 15-29° C). These plants do not weather cold temperatures too well (below 50° F or 10° C), and definitely do not like frost. So, if you have your Hoya Pachyclada outside, we do recommend bringing them indoors in the colder months of the year.

When it comes to humidity, we mentioned they prefer a range between medium to high. For those who love to measure everything (like we do), that would be at least 60% or above humidity range on your hygrometer. If you have ever visited Southeast Asia, this will come as no surprise. As soon as you step off the airplane, you are hit with a wall of humidity.

Water Requirements

Hoya Pachyclada do appreciate a bit of moisture in their soil, especially during their growing seasons. So, having a good indoor plant soil (refer to the next section for growing medium) that has proper water retention properties will go along way to maintaining a healthy plant.

That said, the Pachyclada can tolerate some dry conditions for short periods of time – much like the succulents they seem to be trying to mimic.

We do suggest checking in on your plant’s soil moisture levels at least once a week during the hotter months. During the colder seasons, you can extend this out to once every 10-14 days. Like we said earlier, these guys are easy as pie to look after.

To test the moisture levels in your plant’s soil we recommend using the moisture finger test. It is a quick and effective way to gauge the amount of water in your soil, and whether it requires topping up.

Growing Medium & Supplements

Using the correct soil for your indoor plants can go a long way to reducing the number of hurdles and problems you encounter along your gardening journey.

We have found Hoya plants love a light and airy potting mix that can retain enough water to sustain the plant, but at the same time, expel any excess water to prevent diseases from occurring.

A good potting soil mix of coco coir or peat moss, perlite and vermiculite is ideal for growing your Hoya Pachyclada plants. Check out our recipe for indoor plant potting mix to create your very own Hoya soil.

In terms of feeding your plant, we recommend upping the frequency that you feed your Pachyclada in the growing months (Spring and Summer) to around once every fortnight. This will help provide your plant with the necessary nutrients to build up a foundation for strong growth.

During the cooler months, we usually drop the feed down to once a month. The plant will be less hungry and go into a bit of a natural hibernation to preserve its energy.

General Maintenance

Other than watering and playing the odd musical chairs with your plant as the sun moves around the house, the only other husbandry duties for the Hoya Pachyclada will be repotting.

Since it is a slow growing plant, repotting your plant will not be as frequent when compared to other indoor plants. We recommend checking the conditions of your plants roots every two to three years. It is also a good idea to refresh your plants soil during this process, to prevent the soil from becoming compacted.

Here is a great short video by Summer Rayne Oakes where she talks about how she cares for her Pachyclada.

Hoya Pachyclada Propagation

This section is for those of you looking to propagate your Hoya Pachyclada.

There are a few things you are going to need in order to be successful, but the one thing you will definitely require is patience. Pachyclada are slow growing plants, and the same goes for their propagation.

We are going to run you through the steps of propagating a new plant from a cutting. This is probably the method most familiar to gardeners and is a simple process to follow (even for beginners).

So if you think you’ve got the right stuff, let’s get into How to Propagate Hoya Pachyclada plants.

Required Materials Checklist

• Hoya Pachyclada Cutting
• Sterilized Knife/Blade
• Rooting Hormone (or agent)
• Glass Jar
• Distilled Water
• Loamy Soil (refer to growing medium section above)

How to Propagate Your Hoya Pachyclada

1. Find a healthy stem. To begin, you will need to find yourself a healthy cutting from your main plant with 3-4 leaves (or nodes). Take your sterilized knife, and make a cut as close to the main plant as possible. You need a sterilized knife to avoid transferring any diseases or bacteria to the cutting AND your main plant. Leave your cutting out on a bench to dry for 24-48 hours so the wound can heal over.
2. Fill jar with distilled water. While your cutting is drying, fill a jar with distilled water and leave out on the bench near the cutting. This way, the water acclimates to room temperature, and there is less of a chance of shocking the cutting.
3. Rooting Time. Next up, dip the stem into the rooting hormone and insert it into the jar of distilled water. Ensure the lower nodes are submerged in the water, and place the cutting and jar near your mother plant in a brightly lit position. You do not want the water to become stale, so we recommend changing the water every 2-3 days.
4. Root Maturing. This is the exciting part. You should see tiny roots beginning to form where you made the cutting. Leave them in the water to grow into strong, mature roots, while continuing to refresh the water every few days.
5. Transplanting Your Cutting. Once the mature roots have appeared, it is time to transfer your cutting to a more soil based growing medium. Fill a small container with a mixture of damp peat or sphagnum moss. Make sure the roots are covered entirely to give them the best opportunity to catch and grow in the new medium.
6. Continued Maintenance. From this point on, just take care of your cuttings as you do your Hoya Pachyclada mother plant.

Frequently Asked Questions

In this section we attempt to answer all your ‘other’ questions that may not be addressed in the care guide.

Keep in mind, if you don’t find an answer to your question, please send us a message via our CONTACT page. We will endeavor to respond with a timely answer, and include it in our growing FAQ section below.

How to Repot Hoya Pachyclada

When it comes time to repot your Pachyclada, the process is relatively simple.

1. If your plant is in a plastic pot or container, gently push on the sides to loosen the root ball from the container. If you have a solid or ceramic pot, then you can skip this step.
2. Spread your hand out across the top of the container’s surface (where the top soil is), ensuring you have the plant’s main stem firmly in the webbing between index and middle fingers.
3. With your hand still in position across the top of the pot, turn the entire pot upside down supporting it with the other hand. You may spill some loose soil here, but the majority should still be held intact by the roots.
4. Gently pull the pot/container off the root ball.
5. Now you can carefully transplant your Hoya Pachyclada into a larger pot with soil that you had prepared earlier.

Are Hoya Pachyclada Toxic

No, they are not toxic. However, they do contain a toxin called pachynolide which may cause allergic reactions in some people and pets. Even though they are not on the list of plants to avoid for toxicity purposes, we do recommend keeping them well out of reach of children and pets. Whilst it may not be fatal, the Hoya Pachyclada it should not be consumed for any reason.

Is Hoya Pachyclada a succulent?

No – the Hoya Pachyclada is not technically a succulent. It does have many characteristics that suggest the Pachyclada is a succulent, like thick meaty leaves and toughened stems. However, it belongs to the Hoya genus and it would be incorrect to identify it as a succulent.