Hoya Ciliata is one of my first Hoya collections. The plant in the video is a 2 years old Hoya Ciliata, however, I already cut or propagate several times.
Of all my Hoya Collections, Ciliata is the number one fast grower hoya. I can put this hoya anywhere in the house with no fuss at all. The plant grows beautifully yet I did not see her blooms. In the main time, I kept this Hoya in my window kitchen where she can get filtered full sunlight.
Hoya Ciliata likes sunlight and well-drained mixed soil. Just beware of keeping the soil dry for long, the plant will not like it. Hahaha, nobody likes dry even human being, so to make this Hoya happy water it when the soil is dry when you touch.
Having plants at home and collecting them is becoming my norm and they are part of my stress reliever. However, acquiring rare plants in Canada can be pricey. I have to save extra dollars just to get them lolz, but for me, it is really worth it.
By the way, I'm so thrilled to have these new rare plant collections I got from overseas "Thailand". The plant arrived last September namely; Monstera Peru, Scindapsis Treubii Moonlight, and Scindapsis Treubii Moonlight.
I don't have any idea how to acclimatize new plants overseas, so the first batch I got, the plants are almost dead after two weeks. There's no regret although I lost money over it. Charge to experience daw. lolz. The second batch is not bad, there are a few died but most of them are alive and healthy.
Hoya Australis Lisa is one of my favorite Hoya even I did not see her flower yet. Just the leaves itself is stunningly beautiful. When I got this plant was really really small with a 2.5″ nursery pot for the price of $35. I thought it was insane of buying plants for this price. However, looking at this hoya right now makes me feel happy.
What I observed from Hoya Australis Lisa is that she always wants attention and in constant care, unlike other hoyas. I bought this hoya along with the other varieties and they were the same size, I found Australis Lisa grow faster than the others. People said, this type of hoya is a slow grower however, in my opinion, it really depends on how the plants react to their environment. Compare to my other Hoyas, Australis Lisa grows faster and I already transferred her to a bigger size pot 5″ from 2.5″, so in my case, it really varies.
According to my research, this plant belongs to the Apocynaceae family. This hoya is also called a wax plant and porcelain flower. It was first collected in 1770 as a houseplant by Europeans. Australian Native Plants Society said that there are more than 200 species of Hoya.
How to care for Hoya Australis Lisa
Hoya Australis Lisa for me is easy hoya to take care and I love her, she is one of kind even though, I always look or check after her every day, I feel so happy, it makes me happy and of course Australis Lisa plant in my house helps purify the inside.
SOIL
Well draining and aerated soil is a must for our Australis Lisa to grow and thrive. For my own, I always mix my soil with perlite. Honestly, I don’t measure the soil and the perlite, I just mixed them and use my own judgment. So far, the result is good. What the most important for me is, it drained properly and have enough air for the circulations of the root.
Most of us, of course including me have tended to overwater, this is so true and still, until now I overwater them lolz… so what I do, is to check the soil if it is dry or not. You can also buy a soil temperature checker from Dollarstore for $4 plus tax or any other store that has gardening stuff.
WATERING
I water my Australis Lisa once every 2 weeks. Even though, I see her soil so dry after a week of watering. Since, this plant is also considered succulent, therefore, the leaves stored water so they can tolerate the dryness.
I monitor most of the time with just my fingers by touching the soil and by my own judgment. But of course, if you like to check them properly and without doubting yourself, you can buy a checker in the dollar store or any store that has gardening supplies.
LIGHT
Light, oh talking about light, most Hoyas I have loved direct sunlight, which is far from what I searched online that beware of direct sunlight. I tried my Hoyas especially Australis Lisa but she is not happy. She lost several leaves and she did not grow an inch. I transferred on the windowsill where she will receive full direct afternoon sun and she loves it.
I will not recommend and suggest anything because I am not an expert on anything. I am just a newbie experimenter and I learned through it. What I do is observe the plants in one spot for at least a week to a month and if you feel that the plant is struggling or not happy move them to a new spot.
FERTILIZER
I fertilized all my plants not just Hoyas with an all-purpose fertilizer. However, just recently I tried to use an orchid fertilizer, the mister one for my Hoyas. At this moment, I cannot tell if it really works or if my Hoyas will love it, I don’t know yet.
I am in the stage of closing my WordPress account what I mean is not to renew the new subscription for next year. It is just too much money involved in the subscription. I paid almost $400 per year. I do run Google Ads to help at least pay the subscription but I just made a little also, the traffic is not enough to pay for it.
I decided to go back to Blogspot, I think it is not a bad idea. After all, it is a free site for life. Since using WordPress I have several errors on the site and most of the time. I don't have time to update also.
Anyway, Goodluck to me. I have to start showing some of my plant collections here to gain followers. I hope so.
Too many names to choose from for a blog but at this time, I asked for the help of my children. I told them I want them to be involved with all my activities especially in selling and propagating plants.
Selling plants and now most of the plants I sold were I propagated them myself, of course with the whole family's help especially in bringing water every day to the garage where most of my plants are.
Belle Plant Shop is the original business name I created and registered but over time I realized that I needed to name my plant shop to my children since I dedicated all my life and efforts to them.
At first, I choose WordPress to open up my online plant shop and blog, however, in the long run, I find it really expensive. Running some Google ads on it doesn't really help to pay the cost. So now, I think it over and over again to go back to Blogspot which is really free for life.
So much for that, my children's suggestion for my blog and business name is heartily accepted which is D'Angels Plant Life. Representing; D as David my eldest son, Angels as my daughter Angelynna and my youngest son Angelo.
I'm quite impressed with my children's suggestions, I really love my new name. Kudos to my 3 angels.
