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How to Grow Hoya Sigillatis

Hoya sigillatis isn’t one of the most common hoyas, but if you can find one, you’ll love its speckled leaves and trailing growth habit. Learn more about this plant and how to care for it here.

Want to learn how to grow hoya sigillatis?

Have you ever added a plant to your cart online and then taken it out…and then added it and taken it out…and then added it and taken it out…until you finally decided to take the leap and buy it? That was me with the hoya sigillatis 🙂

I love hoyas, but there are some I just can’t get into. I mean, I’d probably buy them if they were cheap. But as varieties get harder to find, they get pricier. I wasn’t really sure if I would love this one based on pictures. Some looked lovely, while others looked meh.

Hoya sigillatis plant

What does a hoya sigillatis look like?

But I’m glad I decided to buy one, because look how pretty it is! This trailing plant with thin stems and oval green leaves with grayish-silver flecks and speckles. Some leaves have more silver variegation than others.

The length of the leaves reminds me a lot of hoya shepherdii leaves—except they are rounded, not pointy. The flecked silver variegation looks like hoya curtisii to me. 

Like many other hoyas, the leaves can turn from a medium green to a brownish-red when the plant is exposed to a lot of light. This is commonly referred to as “sun-stressing.” 

hand holding a trailing Hoya sigillatis

Hoya sigillatis lighting needs

Hoya sigillatis generally likes bright indirect to medium indirect light. I personally do not like sun-stressing on hoyas. Sun-stressing isn’t burning or scorching—it’s simply a reaction you can elicit by exposing your plant to a lot of direct light.

I mentioned sun-stressing can redden the otherwise green leaves. So don’t be alarmed if you have your sigillatis in a lot of light and notice this phenomenon. 

I have my sigillatis in a windowsill, but it isn’t a very bright window. I may move it this winter if the light levels get too low where I have it. But since growth slows over the winter anyway, I don’t think it will be a huge deal.

Speaking of, you can add a grow light if you need to. Keep in mind that even artificial grow lights can cause sun-stressing, so play around with the intensity, space between the plant and the light, and the time you leave the light on.

Hoya sigillatis plant

Soil needs

Plant your hoya sigillatis in a light, well-draining potting soil designed for indoor potted plants. I still have my plant in the soil mix the grower shipped it in. It will probably stay in that same mix for a while since it isn’t a prolific grower.

The mix it’s in appears to be soil heavily amended with coconut husks and perlite. I often mix in coconut husks and perlite to help with lightweight moisture retention and drainage, so this is definitely something you can do at home!

If you plant your sigillatis in soil that is too heavy and dense, it will retain too much moisture and rot the roots. This will then lead the plant to kill off its foliage.

chunky hoya soil
Hoya sigillatis plant

How often should I water hoya sigillatis?

Sigillatis is native to Southeast Asia, where it grows in nature as an epiphyte. This means that it clings to other things like trees for support while climbing.

Epiphytes in general do not appreciate heavy soils because they retain too much water. So soil is the first step to a successful watering routine. It needs to be light and well-draining.

Once you have the right soil, you’ll want to water the plant thoroughly and deeply—but not often. Completely soak the substrate the plant is in, allowing all of the excess water to flow from the pot’s drainage holes.

However, unlike some other hoyas, I would not recommend letting the soil dry out completely before watering the plant again. Much like the hoya linearis plant, hoya sigillatis has thinner leaves that store less water.

That means it needs water more than some other hoyas you might be more familiar with. You know, the ones like the hoya carnosa and hoya obovata with big, thick, beefy leaves.

I recommend waiting until the top half of the soil has dried out before you water the plant again. This can be different amounts of time in the spring, summer, fall, and winter. So monitor your growing conditions and check that soil before watering again.

hand holding a hoya sigillatis plant

Temperature & humidity

Hoya sigillatis does well in a variety of all normal household temperatures. Shoot for the 70s, 80s, and even low 90s Fahrenheit. It can withstand temperatures in the 60s but probably won’t thrive (if those are the day’s high temperatures).

It can even do fine with some cold snaps down into the 50s. However, don’t make a habit of it. Sigillatis is not cold or frost hardy. So it would definitely die outdoors where I live roughly October through early April.

In my experience so far, hoya sigillatis does well in low-to-average household humidity levels. In its natural habitat, it enjoys high humidity, though. So adding a humidifier certainly won’t hurt the plant.

Hoya sigillatis leaves

Hoya sigillatis growth

Hoya sigillatis can be grown as either a trailing plant or a climbing plant. However, I am wondering if it is like some other hoyas in that it grows best as a climbing plant. Mine has trailed a bit, but I’ve got it wrapped up in the soil to hopefully root some of the bare spots with aerial roots and encourage fullness.

If your plant can reach its full potential—which probably isn’t as likely indoors as a potted plant—it can grow to be up to 10 feet long. I don’t anticipate mine getting anywhere close to that. 🙂

To encourage healthy growth, you can fertilize the plant monthly during its growing season. I recommend using a fertilizer like Liqui-Dirt, which you dilute in a watering can. Because it isn’t a chemical fertilizer, you don’t run the risk of burning the plant.

Hoya sigillatis on a table with other plants

Repotting & pruning

Hoya sigillatis is a pretty slow grower with a shallow root system. So repotting it often is definitely not required. I plan to keep mine in its current pot for a while.

Only repot the plant if you see roots growing out of the pot’s drainage holes. Or, I generally will repot a plant if its care routine is fine and it is suffering with no other obvious cause.

When you do repot the plant, make sure to use fresh well-draining soil. And only size the pot up a hair—like an inch. Too big of a pot will mean too much excess soil and too much water retention.

Hoya sigillatis in chunky soil

Is hoya sigillatis safe to have around pets?

Hoya plants in general are not considered to be toxic. So, yes—they are safe to have around pets. However, they are ornamental and are not meant to be ingested.

So if you have curious kitties or nosy dogs (or kids!), I always recommend keeping plants out of reach. Hanging from a ceiling, up on a high shelf, or in a locked glass cabinet are all good options.

Trailing hoya sigillatis

How do you propagate hoya sigillatis?

You can propagate a hoya sigillatis the same way you can propagate many other hoya plants: by stem cuttings. I recommend using damp sphagnum moss and perlite to propagate sigillatis cuttings. (See my moss propagation 101 post.)

I like using damp moss and perlite for these types of hoyas because you can lay cuttings out on a bed of lightly damp moss and root them at multiple different points. This is the method I used for my hoya obscura cuttings, and almost every growth point rooted.

You’ll want to keep the humidity levels high, too. Either by popping a clear plastic bag over the cutting and moss mixture or by using a DIY plant propagation box. Just make sure to air them out every few days so they don’t rot.

Don’t keep the moss too wet, and don’t let it dry out completely. A spray bottle helps you keep the perfect moisture levels. Once roots are several inches long (which will take a while—so no, it’s not you doing something wrong, it just takes forever), transplant to soil.

Keep the soil lightly moist for a few weeks as the roots adjust to soil. And then begin treating the plant as normal. (For a more in-depth hoya propagation guide that follows these same steps and has loads of pics, see my hoya carnosa propagation guide.)

Hoya sigillatis on a table with other plants
Hoya sigillatis

Hoya sigillatis care recap

I hope you found this post helpful and feel empowered to add a sigillatis to your collection! Here is a care recap:

  • Bright, indirect light or medium light; leaves will sun-stress right direct light
  • Light, well-draining soil amended with coconut husks and perlite
  • Water when the top half of soil dries out
  • Tolerates normal household temperature and humidity levels; will do well with additional humidity
  • Add a small moss pole or trellis for the plant to climb if desired
  • Slow-growing with a shallow root system; rarely needs repotted
  • Pet-safe but not meant for consumption
  • Propagate from stem cuttings in damp sphagnum moss and perlite
Hoya sigillatis leaves

Pin my hoya sigillatis care guide!

collage of hoya sigillatis plants with text that says how to care for hoya sigillatis

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