Feed your hoya!

Do hoyas need fertilizer? What fertilizer and when to use to feed your hoyas?

Hoyas love to eat well, which I have seen in my experience growing hoyas. At the moment, my hoya collection already has about 70 species and varieties of hoyas, as well as several phalaenopsis, so I take this factor into account when choosing fertilizer. But there is one very good news:) Both hoyas and orchids are very similar in their edibility:) The fertilizer that I use is good for all epiphytes, which are both hoyas and orchids, which also include phalaenopsis. Thus, the fertilizer I use is well balanced for both plant groups and perfectly nourishes all my plants.

The fertilizer that I use is shown in the picture below (this is not an advertisement, the manufacturer does not pay me for this information).

As the fertilizer instructions say - it also contains the necessary trace elements that promote flowering, accelerate overall growth, develop a strong root system. The manufacturer's recommendation is to use this fertilizer with each watering, or immediately after transplanting (use this information safely, tested personally:)). The standard formula NPK is 18-27-18, but it also contains some other trace elements - boron, copper, iron, etc., all elements are in water-soluble form, so the fertilizer is easy to use. I act as indicated in the instructions, taking the enclosed measuring spoon of dry fertilizer per 3 liters of water, stirring to dissolve and watering my plants.

I have also used this fertilizer to water my phalaenopsis when I grew them with an open root system, the roots and leaves of the phalaenopsis grew like crazy:) You can check out my YouTube channel here and see for yourself. In my daily life, I usually prepare 6 liters of working solution at once and gradually use it all up. If there is any leftover, I store it in a plastic container with a closed lid to use again in a few days.

If the hoya grows in an organic substrate and on windowsills, then in the winter period I fertilize my hoyas about 1 time per month, because they have a dormant period. On the other hand, in the spring-summer-autumn period I fertilize with every watering.

My collection has now become quite large and watering/fertilizing hoyas at some point started to become a very Big Job:), which takes a lot of time, so I have now transferred a large part of my collection to inorganic substrate (lechuza, ceramis or pumice) and grow hoyas in self-watering pots, so I use fertilizer every time I water. I will tell you about inorganic substrate and self-watering pots for growing hoyas in one of the next posts. Of course, you can use any other fertilizer intended for fertilizing orchids. However, other fertilizers may have to be used in half the concentration, because although hoyas love to eat well, most of them have quite small and sensitive roots, so they can easily be burned. Then instead of the expected effect, you will get a defect if the fertilizer is too strong.

The fertilizer I use is enough for a very long time, I am still using the first jar I bought. If you are a 1-2-3 hoya owner, you can also use any other well-balanced fertilizer, just in 2 times weaker concentration.

Good luck!

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