Hi Jennifg, :welcome:

Can you upload a photo of your Hoya? That might better help identify the problem. I've never grown Wax Plant (Hoya rubida) but I do have a couple of other Hoya's and your description of yellowing, dropping leaves sounds like maybe your plant is staying too wet. I grow my Hoya's (as well as all of my other plants) in a chunky mixture of potting soil with a lot of orchid bark mixed in. It makes for a fast draining medium which works well for my conditions. Hopefully other Hoya growers will pop in soon to offer advice.

Thank you. I uploaded a picture but it isn't a good one.

Some of my hoyas:


hoya kentiana


ds 70 and hindu rope


hoya lobbi and hoya David cummingii


hoya kerri regular and variegated


hoya wayetii

Jennifer, it looks like you have a nice Hoya collection! My eyesight isn't the best but from what I can see of your Hoya rigida, the soil looks very wet so the problem with yellowing, dropping leaves could be due to the soil holding too much moisture. Hopefully others will chime in here with suggestions.

Thank you. Do you think I will be able to save what is left?

I agree with Lin regarding your rubidia. I grow it, and it likes to be "moist" but with very good drainage. I actually have very little "soil" in my mixture for this one. I do use sponge rock, med orchid bark and a little bit of miracle grow for this one. I would also get it into much higher humidity. Possibly a terrarium or use a bagging method to keep the humidity up. Your bathroom would be good if there is enough light in there.

Thank you! I may have to try the bag or take it to my classroom because I have lots of windows there. I do not have enough light in my bathrooms.

You may want to bag it either way. Especially if heat in being run, as it really needs the humidity.

Today I bought some orchid mix and succulent mix and replaced the soil in all of my hoyas. I also put the sick hoya under a ziploc bag. Thanks so much for the advice ladies.

It never hurts to take 2 cuttings of each plant and put them in water to root. Then you have extras in case you lose a plant, and to mail to friends.

Always fun to see new buds forming once more on existing peduncle of Hoya shooting star:

Wow! Your shooting star really blooms a lot. Fantastic!

I really think @tarev has the touch with that Hoya! I tried growing it a couple of times but it sure didn't like the conditions here. Great growing tarev, I look forward to seeing photos of those pretty blooms again!

Thanks Lin and Jonna! The only thing I do really, is to keep it in standing water, have never moved it from that corner nor have repotted it since I got it.

Hi Tarev- what do you mean when you say keeping it in standing water? I really really want to see my hoyas bloom, but have only had them about a year. Maybe it's too early? The plants themselves are healthy, just want to see some flowers! Thx

Hi Alyssa, this is just for my Hoya shooting star, the container is sitting in water literally, so there is always water at the saucer. Soil is always moist. It likes to grow cool, in shade.

As I have mentioned in other parts of this thread, I have seen this plant growing in the wild in the Philippines, in an area where there is frequent morning fog and cool air, twining at tree limbs protected from direct sun, which really enlightened me why it enjoys sitting in water.

Compared to my two other Hoyas, which has to be grown like a typical succulent, since their leaves are quite different too, thicker and more succulent-like, and I get their blooms when conditions are warm to hot.

Hi lizziebeth
Earlier you had asked about indoor trellace ideas for your hoya. My hoya love to climb upward.
I set each plant on a stool, all lined up along my south facing window. I have sheer white curtains on the window. The curtains are hung using spring tension rods, one at the top and one at the bottom of the window. So no curtains are on the outside of the window frame.
I drove a small sturdy nails into the top of the window frame. I strung jute twine strands down from each nail to the floor, letting them hang loose. I held the string taunt, and wound each vine on its own jute strand. I left some slack in the vine at the base of the plant, so it doesn't have too much tension at the root.
The jute is kind of a rough textured strand, just right for the hoya to grab hold and climb. I do have a heat register in that area, so I covered it with a big book. I didn't want the hot air on them at all.
My hoya are indoors year round, and they do bloom starting in spring.
I just got hoya lauterbachii and after 5 weeks in the kitchen, she has been promoted to the south window

katesflowers said:Hi lizziebeth
Earlier you had asked about indoor trellace ideas for your hoya. My hoya love to climb upward.
I set each plant on a stool, all lined up along my south facing window. I have sheer white curtains on the window. The curtains are hung using spring tension rods, one at the top and one at the bottom of the window. So no curtains are on the outside of the window frame.
I drove a small sturdy nails into the top of the window frame. I strung jute twine strands down from each nail to the floor, letting them hang loose. I held the string taunt, and wound each vine on its own jute strand. I left some slack in the vine at the base of the plant, so it doesn't have too much tension at the root.
The jute is kind of a rough textured strand, just right for the hoya to grab hold and climb. I do have a heat register in that area, so I covered it with a big book. I didn't want the hot air on them at all.
My hoya are indoors year round, and they do bloom starting in spring.
I just got hoya lauterbachii and after 5 weeks in the kitchen, she has been promoted to the south window

Thank you for the suggestion. I'll definitely have to try that. For now, I've made hoops out of aluminum wire we use for fencing, and wrapped twine around them. I also found trellises at the dollar store and was able to trim and bend them to fit into 5" pots and tie twine in them. Hopefully this works for me, lol.

Looks good LizzieBeth!