Question
Julia's mystery plant
Hello Tracy,
My mother-in-law gave me a plant and neither of us know
what it is. I want to plant it outside of my living room
window, to provide shade and help hide the a/c unit from
the street. Since I don't know what it is, I don't want to
plant it yet. Right now, it stands 3.5 feet at the tip-top
of it's tallest leaf and it's in a plain black plastic pot.
It has some pink or white on the edges of its leaves, but
not all of them. Would it be wise to plant it outside, or
is it intended to be potted? Since I can only attach one
picture, I chose the one that best shows the color and
stem. Thanks so much for your time and help.
Best Regards,
Julia
AnswerHi Julia,
The plant you have is a type of variegated Hoya, also commonly called a wax plant.
Unless you live in an area where it never gets below 45 degrees in the winter it would probably not be a good idea to plant it outside. However the plant would be happy to spend the summer outside in a pot.
Hoyas grow best in bright light with some direct sunlight.
Be careful not to over water. Hoyas are semi succulent plants so they do not need to be watered a lot. Allow the top 1-2 inches of soil to dry between watering. Then water the plant until a small amount of water drains from the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot.
I hope this helps. If you have any questions or need additional information please don't hesitate to ask.
Thanks
Tracy
