Hoya Krimson Queen - Care Tips 101

All about the Hoya Krimson Queen. Get the best care tips, including lighting, soil, and water requirements. Learn to grow a happy plant.

Hoya Carnosa Krimson Queen

Can you believe the stunning leaves on this Hoya Carnosa Krimson Queen? This is a unique houseplant that offers a touch of elegance.

If you love pink houseplants, this is one of my favorite ones. It's also fairly easy to care for, and I share my best tips below.

Here's another beautiful pink plant you'll love: Homalomena Pink Splash.

Hoya Krimson Queen Appearance

Hoya Krimson Queen has gorgeous green, pink and cream leaves. The colors and patterns on the leaves are unique and eye-catching.

Its waxy oval shaped leaves grow on long woody vines. I love the long trailing vines, but you can also train them to climb upwards.

Some leaves are fully light pink. Other leaves can be a full creamy white color. Any leaves with green will have a cream border around it.

Hoya Krimson Queen Care

How do you take care of a Hoya Krimson Queen?

It's easy to get into a good care routine for a Hoya Krimson Queen. Three basic requirements:

• Light: Bright, indirect light for best growth.
• Water: Water semi-frequently, before the soil completely dries out.
• Soil: Airy and chunky soil that retains some moisture.

Keep reading for more details on each of these requirements.

How Much Light Does a Hoya Krimson Queen Need?

Like many houseplants, a Hoya Krimson Queen likes bright indirect light best. If you keep your plant in a bright spot in the house, it should be happy and produce new growth.

Hoyas can handle more direct light than many other houseplants. The leaves are not as susceptible to leaf burn as compared to, for example, a Scindapsus Jade Satin.

Where is the best place to put a Hoya?

My hoyas, including the Krimson Queen, like to be near our giant south facing window.

We have an open living room plan that has giant south facing windows, as well as some west facing windows. My plant sits roughly in the middle of the room, set back from both windows.

I think it would prefer more light, but it is quite happy where it is.

At one point, I had my Krimson Queen in a room with north facing windows. It didn't produce much growth when it was in that location. It's been much happier with more indirect light.

What Kind of Soil Does a Hoya Krimson Queen Need?

Getting your Krimson Queen into the appropriate soil is likely the most important part of its care. I see a lot of hoyas sold in the wrong potting mix at big box stores. After you buy your Krimson Queen, check to make sure that it is in a good mix and repot it if necessary.

In their native environment, hoyas live in humid and wet rainforests where they climb or hang from trees and branches. If you think about it this way, it's easy to understand that hoyas do not come from an environment where their roots are bound in a typical houseplant potting mix soil.

What makes a good hoya soil mix?

Hoyas need chunky and airy soils that give the roots space to breathe. I tend to make my own. I have found that my hoyas grow well when I use the following:

• 2 parts Tropical Potting Soil
• 1 part mix of airy material such as pumice, lava rocks, perlite
• 1 part Orchiata bark

Read more about my Hoya and Aroid Potting Mix.

How Often Do You Water a Hoya Krimson Queen?

There is a wide range of advice concerning how often to water a Krimson Queen. It can be very confusing because how often a hoya needs water is dependent on many factors.

For example, the soil mixture it is potted in, the temperature and humidity of your house, and the size of the pot all make a difference.

In general, pot your hoya in the appropriate potting mix (chunky and airy) and don't let the roots dry out completely.

Should you let the Hoya Krimson Queen dry out before watering?

You might commonly see advice to let hoyas dry out completely before watering. I think this advice is given because a lot of hoyas (especially the ones bought at non specialty plant shops) are potted in the wrong potting mix.

If you think about a humid rainforest environment, it would be rare for hoya roots to dry out completely.

As such, treating a hoya like a succulent, or waiting for it to completely dry will stress out the plant. The roots will die because they will be too dry.

Hoya roots will rot if too wet

Here's where the problem lies with common advice. In its natural environment, hoya roots are not tightly bound in a moisture retaining potting mix.

Because many indoor hoyas are potted in houseplant potting mix, it's easy to accidentally cause root rot if you don't let the soil dry out completely.

So what do you do? Pot your hoya in the appropriate potting mix and don't let the roots dry out completely.

Once you have your hoya in an ideal potting mix (see above for my recommendation), it's possible, and quite simple, to meet the water needs of the Krimson Queen.

Do Hoyas Like to be Root Bound?

Generally, hoyas will do well being a bit snug in their pots. That means a Hoya Krimson Queen should not need to be repotted frequently.

It can likely stay in the same pot for 2-3 years.

What type of pot should I use?

More over, because hoya's are epiphytic plants, they have shallow root systems. As such, they do not need a large pot. Even more importantly, they do not need deep pots.

Cylinder planters are generally too deep for Hoyas. Look for a pot that is equally deep as it is wide.

Is Hoya Krimson Queen Rare?

Hoya Krimson Queen is uncommon, but it is not exceptionally rare. It's possible to find it online, even on Amazon. However, I have never seen it at a big box store.

I bought my 6'' plant at a local plant shop for $40. It is pricier than a lot of other houseplants. This one on Amazon is $25 for a 4'' plant.

Hoya Krimson Queen is often confused with the more commonly available Hoya Krimson Princess. Compared to the Krimson Princess, the Krimson Queen is harder to find. For example, I bought my 4'' Krimson Princess at a local supermarket for $7.

Styling the Hoya Krimson Queen

The Hoya Krimson Queen looks great in just about any place in the home. It works well on a shelf because of the trailing vines.

I love this plant in my footed planter. The extra height allows the leaves to trail downwards against the dark green planter.

You can also train the hoya to climb upwards if you place in plant supports. If you train it to climb up, it would look great on the table top.

Because of the variegated leaves, a solid color planter complements the plant best.

Love Hoyas?

I love Hoya house plants because they are easy to grow, non fussy, and there are so many varieties.

Don't miss my Hoya Chelsea, which has gorgeous dimpled heart shaped leaves. And more to come soon as I get around to photographing and writing about them.

Any questions? Ask in the comments below. I'd also love to hear about your plants too!