Hoya Rebecca – Complete Plant Care Guide for Beginners

Is it biased if we say Hoyas are a local favorite at the Garden Bench Top?

They are easy to care for and deliver a particular elegance to the way they grow. And the Hoya Rebecca variety does not disappoint.

The Hoya Rebecca is a stunning hybrid Hoya plant that is popular among enthusiasts with their color changing leaves and cute little pink blooms.

Today we have decided to feature the Hoya Rebecca in all its glory.

You can expect to learn:

• where these beautiful plants originate from,
• how to care for them,
• how to propagate a Hoya Rebecca, and
• some FAQs that often come up when you have a Hoya Rebecca in your collection.

However, before we get into the care guide, there is one point of confusion we want to clarify before proceeding. What is the difference between the Hoya Rebecca and the Hoya Sunrise?

Hoya Rebecca vs. Hoya Sunrise – are they the same?

We wouldn’t hold it against you if you mistook a Hoya Rebecca for a Hoya Sunrise (or vice versa).

They are very similar in many aspects, both in appearance, behavior and origin. However, NO – they are not the same plant. Let’s take a closer inspection of these two beautiful plants.

The Similarities

If it wasn’t obvious from their names, both plants are ‘Hoyas’ and belong to the same genus of plants – the Apocynaceae family.

When provided with optimal conditions, they have the same growing style with long vines with leaves shooting out in every direction.

Both plants can climb when given the opportunity, or drape downwards if grown in a hanging basket.

And both plants have the popular ability to change the color of their leaves when exposed to large amounts of light.

But that’s where the likenesses end. Let’s now take a look at how to tell these plants apart.

The Differences

If you inspect the leaves of each plant closely, you will soon be able to see some unique differences. When placed side by side, it becomes apparent that the Hoya Rebecca’s leaves are generally smaller than it’s cousin the Hoya Sunrise.

You can also tell the difference between the two plants when you contrast the coloration patterns on the leaves. The Rebecca tends to have pink to red colors on the underside of the leaves, while being deep green on the topside. Whereas the Sunrise has green on both sides of its leaves with specks of red dotted throughout the leaves.

One final difference between the two plants is the flowers. Both plants throw off fragrant, dainty flowers. However, the Rebecca produces bright pink flowers with yellow centers, whereas the Sunrise creates white flowers with yellow centers.

So, now you know how to spot the difference between the two plants. Do you have a Hoya Sunrise or Hoya Rebecca? Or maybe you prefer the appearance of the Sunrise over the Rebecca? If that’s the case jump on over to our Plant Care Guide for the Hoya Sunrise to find out more.

About the Hoya Rebecca Plant

In this section we will get up and close and personal with the Hoya Rebecca.

Name Guide

The common names this plant can go by are:

• wax plant,
• wax vine, or
• wax flower.

At the Garden Bench Top we like to use botanical names when we write about plants. In this case, the Hoya cv. Rebecca is the scientific name (Hoya Rebecca for short).

We find this helps to avoid confusion, and for good reason. The common names the Rebecca plant is known by, are the exact same as the Hoya Sunrise. Unfortunately, at some point in time, it is likely that retailers have mistaken identified the plants (because they look so similar) and the names have become synonymous.

Appearance

We covered the appearance of this plant in detail above when we compared the Rebecca to its close cousin, the Hoya Sunrise, so please refer to the above for a detailed description. Meanwhile, we’ll leave a beautiful picture of a Hoya Rebecca below for you to appreciate.

Origin of the Hoya Rebecca

The Hoya Rebecca originates from the Southeast Asian regions where the climate is hot and humid. They are diverse growers, naturally growing on rocky cliffs, on the ground and can even be found scaling trees as they reach for the sun.

Those familiar with our care guides will know a lot of our philosophy 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.

Hoya Rebecca Plant Care Guide

Now let’s get into how to look after the beauties, so you can enjoy them so years to come.

Lighting

Hoya Rebecca plants enjoy a bit of light, so we do recommend placing them in a position where they can soak up at least 6 hours of bright indirect light.

Like most indoor plants, we do not recommend placing them in direct sunlight. Hoya plants like the Rebecca and the Sunrise can tolerate dappled sunlight in the morning and/or early evenings. However, prolonged exposure can lead to other problems, like drying out of the soil and weakening the plant.

Temperature & Humidity

Rebecca Hoya Plants love warm weather. They prefer temperatures within the range of 62-77° F (17-25° C).

Being native to Southeast Asia, they like a humid environment ranging from 60-80% humidity.

We realize this may be difficult to achieve in some countries. But don’t despair, you can still grow a Hoya Rebecca plant in drier climates. We just need to put our resourcefulness hats on!

The simple solution would be to run a humidifier in the room that you have your Hoya Rebecca in. However, we understand this is not always a plausible option for some people. An alternative solution would be to maintain open containers of water around your plants. The evaporation from the open sources of water will help maintain humidity and keep your plant content.

Water Requirements

Hoya Rebecca plants enjoy moist soil where they can enjoy a drink whenever they require it.

How often you go to water will depend on many factors. For instance, in high humidity, your plant won’t need as frequent watering, as it would if it were in an environment with lower humidity.

We found the best way to tell if your plant requires water is by visual inspection of the leaves. If the leaves are beginning to yellow and droop, these are symptoms of a lack of water. You can confirm this is the case by using the soil finger test.

As a general rule of thumb, you should check the soil in your Hoya Rebecca plant every week.

Care Difficulty

Hoya Rebecca plants are easy to care for and are suitable for ranges of expertise. The hardest part of the care process is finding the right position for your plant. But once you have fine-tuned the perfect spot for your Rebecca, the rest is just watering and feeding your plant.

the Hoya Rebecca plant is an easy to care for indoor plant that will reward its owner for years

Growing Medium & Supplements

Hoya plants love light, aerated soil that has good water retention properties.

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

Like most other indoor plants, we do recommend mixing through slow release fertilizer for your Hoya Sunrise to help provide the necessary nutrients and minerals for your plant. Alternatively, you can feed your plants with a liquid fertilizer while watering your plants.

Other General Maintenance

For a visual guide to maintenance and care of the Rebecca Hoya, check out this short video by Carly Moya – she goes over how she cares for her plant with a few tips.

How to Propagate the Hoya Rebecca

In this section you will learn the steps involved for propagating a cutting from your mother plant.

Required Materials Checklist

• Hoya Rebecca 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 Rebecca

1. Find a healthy vine. First up you will need to find yourself a healthy cutting from your main plant with 3-4 leaves (or nodes). Take your sterilized knife, and cut the healthy vine 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.
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 into the jar of distilled water. 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 Rebecca 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.

Is the Hoya Rebecca toxic?

The Hoya Rebecca has no reports of poisoning or being toxic to humans or pets.

That being said, we would not recommend letting your guard down. As with most indoor plants, we recommend trying to keep them out of reach from curious little hands and paws.

If possible, trim the plants’ vines, so they do not drape on the floor. Position them in high (out of the way) places and make sure to pick up any leaves that may occasionally drop from the plant.

How to Sun Stress the Hoya Rebecca Plants?

Part of the joys of owning a Hoya Rebecca plant are the beautiful colorations on the leaves. They provide a pop of color to any indoor plant collection.

However to achieve the stunning colors, the Hoya Rebecca needs to be exposed to a lot of light. Many Rebecca owners purposely expose their plants to bright light in order to trigger the transformation. This is called sun stressing the plant. Don’t worry it sounds worse than it actually is.

The process involves placing the leaves in sunny positions (or exposed to a grolight) for short durations. We do not recommend placing your Sunrise in direct sunlight for long periods of time. Some morning or evening light can be tolerated, but extended periods of direct sunlight will most likely dry your soil and cause other issues.