Complete Care Guide: Hoya Krimson Queen
Complete Care Guide: Hoya Krimson Queen
In this article, you'll find…
Plant Info
Care Guide
Lighting
Watering
Humidity
Soil Needs
Types
Propagating
Common Issues
Frequently Asked Questions
Plant Info
Hoya Krimson Queen is one of two commonly-encountered variegated forms of the common Hoya carnosa, or waxplant. Krimson Queen has variegated edges to its leaves, while its sister (or, perhaps, daughter) plant, the Krimson Princess, has variegated centres and green margins. ("The Princess wears a dress, but the Queen wears a crown" is one mnemonic I've seen to help remember which is which, but I'll be honest that it's never truly helped me!)
As with all hoyas, Krimson Queen is a wonderful, low-effort houseplant that can thrive in a ton of areas around the house; because of the variegation, though, make sure that you're putting it in a higher-light situation than you would a fully-green hoya.
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Common Name(s) |
Hoya Krimson Queen, Krimson Queen Waxplant |
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Botanical Name |
Hoya carnosa 'Krimson Queen' (or 'Albomarginata') |
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Botanical Family |
Apocynaceae, the dogbane family |
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Mature Size |
Vines can grow very long, up to 10-15'! |
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Lighting |
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Watering |
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Humidity |
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Soil Mix |
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Flowers |
Pink and chocolate-scented clusters of small, star-shaped flowers will appear on mature vines with enough light |
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Hardiness |
Tropical; keep above 10C/50F. |
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Native Region |
Hoya carnosa is native to Pacific Asia (from Japan through Malaysia), Australia, and Fiji. |
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Toxicity |
Completely safe for ingestion -- the nectar of the flowers is reportedly tasty, in fact! |
Take a look at this care guide as an infographic!
Care Guide
Hoya is a genus of more than 1000 tropical epiphytic vines from tropical rainforests in eastern/southeastern Asia, as well as Australia and Polynesia. What this means is that they're found in the canopies of those tropical rainforests, climbing branches and twirling around trying to find more and more light. (This will actually, if they grow a long vine, will twirl around in your home as well, looking for support -- you'll look back at it an hour ater you last saw it, and it'll be in a completely different position!)
As with all hoyas, Krimson Queen (yes, that's with a K) is grown primarily for its foliage, but also for its gorgeous flowers, which are tiny star-shaped flowers that will bloom in small clusters when a vine has matured long enough and is under enough light. When it does, the small stem that the flowers -- technically an inflorescence -- are borne upon is called a peduncle, and you should be careful not to cut old peduncles off! Hoyas will rebloom from the old peduncles year after year if you leave them on, and mature Krimson Queens can have a dozen or more blooms at once... and, bonus: they smell like chocolate!
Lighting
You'll want to give your Hoya Krimson Queen as much lighting as you can -- even a bit of direct sun, particularly if you acclimatize it to direct sun slowly over a couple weeks. Hoyas are from the rainforest undercanopy, so they're not used to full, direct sun.
That having been said, more lighting will make your Krimson Queen grow faster, as well as make sure there's plenty of variegation on each new leaf! New variegation will come in bright pink if it's getting enough light, and then slowly fade to a creamy white over time.
High light will also encourage more blooms, quicker!
Make sure to check out our general article on lighting!
Watering
Watering a hoya is super simple -- because they store water in their succulent leaves, they come equipped with a handy tool to determine when it's time to water!
It's called the taco test -- when you're checking your plants to see if each one needs watering, simply grab a leaf close to the soil, and try to gently fold it in half like a taco. If there's any resistance -- stop immediately! You can, if you're not careful, snap a leaf in half doing a taco test when it's not ready to be watered. If there's no resistance, and the leaf is fairly bendy, then there isn't much water in the leaves -- and it's time to water!
In general, Krimson Queen has low watering needs!
Make sure to check out our general article on watering!
Humidity
Hoyas definitely want higher humidity than the average household will have -- ideally, provide it with higher humidity by either running a humidifier, or by grouping it closely together with other plants.
If you can't, though, don't fret! It won't be the happiest it can be, but your Krimson Queen will acclimate to your household humidity.
Make sure to check out our general article on humidity – including a couple common myths!
Soil Needs
Hoyas are epiphytes, meaning that they generally don't grow in the soil in the ground -- their roots will grow nestled in the crooks of trees, or even sometimes on rocks (or telephone poles, or houses...)! This means that they need very well-draining substrate with lots of air around their roots, and lots of chunky bits for their roots to grab on to -- but also means that they don't need very large pots, since they're used to small spaces in the wild.
Suggestion: Start with 2 parts peat-based potting mix or coco coir, mix in 1 part perlite, and 2 parts orchid bark.
Don't know why you're adding these things? Check out our article on potting mixes!
Types
Krimson Queen is a cultivar of Hoya carnosa; other common cultivars include 'Krimson Princess', 'Compacta' (also called 'Hindu Rope'), and 'Chelsea', among others!
Propagating
Want more baby plants? You can easily propagate with stem cuttings, the exact same way as you do with most vining houseplants!
Simply cut off a section of stem with a few leaves, just above a node (where the leaves meet the stem), take off the lowest leaf or two (making sure to leave at least one leaf on it, but ideally a few), and then stick it in water or a moist substrate, making sure that at least one node stays moist. Put it in a bright spot for a few weeks, and you'll see roots forming!
Check out our articles on water propagation, soil propagation, or air layering for more details on common propagation methods!
Common Issues
Hoya Krimson Queen's most common issue is definitely related to overwatering -- remember that it doesn't need much water at all.
All houseplants are susceptible to pests, including mealybugs, spider mites, and more. They aren't known to be particularly susceptible to any specific pest!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why isn't my Krimson Queen flowering?
There are two parts to a hoya flowering: maturity and lighting! If your hoya is still pretty young, have patience; if it's a few years old, make sure it's getting as much light as it can! It's also commonly said that hoyas flower most quickly when they're slightly root-bound; this is likely due to a stress response, though!
What's the difference between a Krimson Queen and a Krimson Princess?
Krimson Queens are variegated around the margins of the leaves, while Krimson Princesses are variegated in the centres of the leaves! Remember: a princess may wear a dress, but a Queen wears a crown!