Is your beautiful hoya not as lively as it used to be? Sadly, it might be an alarming sign that your hoya isn’t well. It’s such a painful thing for any grower to witness their plant lose its beauty.
So, you must be thinking, how to revive hoya plants. Don’t fret! Your hoya can be revived.
In today’s article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about why your hoya is dying and how to revive it to the gorgeous state it once was. Let’s dive in.
How to Revive Hoya Plants

Unfortunately, there’s no magical way to instantly revive your stunning hoya. Saving your hoya will need some time and effort.
Simply, we’ll give the hoya the optimum conditions it needs, and we’ll eliminate the reason that caused it to be unhealthy. Hopefully, your hoya will be able to bounce back and thrive once again.
To revive your hoya plant, you need to identify the problem that affected your hoya. Here’s a list of the most common issues that can put your hoya in danger.
Watering Problems
Improper watering habits are among the main causes of unhealthy hoyas. Both overwatering and underwatering can be risky for your hoyas.
You can perform a quick test to check the amount of water in the soil. Simply, insert your finger into the soil to check for water in it.
If the soil is too wet, you’re overwatering your hoya. On the other hand, if the soil feels dry to the touch, you’re probably underwatering your hoya.
So, let’s discuss each problem in detail.
Overwatering
Generally, hoya plants don’t need frequent watering. That’s mainly because they can store water in their thick leaves.
So, when you overwater your hoyas, you’re putting your lovely plants in a tough situation. For starters, high moisture in the soil can lead to a disease called root rot, which can be fatal for the hoyas.
Additionally, too much water in the soil allows less aeration for the roots of your hoyas.
Signs of Overwatered Hoya

The first thing you might notice on your hoya is that the beautiful green leaves will turn yellow. In some cases, you might spot some leaves dropping.
Overwatering can cause the leaves to wilt. The wilted leaves will be soft, limp, and moist.
How to Revive an Overwatered Hoya
The most important thing is to act as soon as possible whenever you spot any of the symptoms. The first thing you should do is stop watering your plant until it dries out all the excess moisture.
The best way to do that is by placing your hoya in a place where it gets adequate amounts of indirect sunlight. That’ll help with the drying process.
However, you should avoid placing your hoya in direct sunlight, as your hoya can get sunburned.
Furthermore, if the soil smells rotten and the roots look slightly reddish, your plant may have root rot. In that case, you’ll have to repot your hoya in another well-drained soil.
One thing you should know is that root rot can recur if you don’t sanitize your hoya while repotting. Also, you need to make sure that the pot has sufficient draining holes.
Additionally, hoyas love smaller pots. If you place your hoya in an oversized pot, water will accumulate, and the drainage won’t be sufficient. So, always choose a proper-sized pot for your hoya.
In winter, you want to make sure that the soil is dried out between each watering to avoid overwatering your hoya.
Underwatering
While hoyas don’t need frequent watering, they still need an adequate amount of water to thrive. The problem is that dehydration can happen due to many reasons, not just less frequent watering.
To put it simply, overexposure to sunlight will make water evaporate quickly, which leads to the dehydration of hoya.
Moreover, some types of low-quality potting soil can be bad at holding water. Thus, water will seep out of the pot or dry before your hoya absorbs it.
Signs of Underwatered Hoya
Underwatered hoyas tend to look dry and pale. Wilting leaves are a common sign of underwatered hoyas.
Unlike overwatered wilting leaves, underwatered wilting leaves will be dry and brittle. The leaves also tend to be wrinkled and brown-colored.
How to Revive an Underwatered Hoya
Underwatered hoya is simply suffering from dehydration. So, you want to provide it with enough water.
However, that doesn’t mean pouring a bigger amount of water into the soil. You simply need to add water until the first two inches of the soil are slightly damp.
Also, avoid leaving your hoya in the sunlight for a prolonged period, and always use a good-quality soil mix for your hoya that retains enough water.
Exposure to Sunlight
While most succulents love bright sunlight, your hoya prefers indirect sunlight. Direct sunlight, especially in hot areas, can be unhealthy for your hoyas.
Too Much Sunlight
Too much sunlight is harmful to your hoya. That includes exposure to direct sunlight and prolonged exposure to indirect sunlight.
Direct sunlight can burn the beautiful hoya leaves or turn them yellow. Additionally, it’ll cause the water to dry out quickly. That leads to dehydration of your hoya, which is similar to underwatering.
Not Enough Sunlight
Most plants can’t survive without sunlight, as they need it for photosynthesis. Hoyas are no exception to this rule.
Hoyas require around two hours of indirect sunlight each day. If you’re unable to provide these conditions for your hoya, you might consider using grow lights.
Lack of Nutrients
Typically, hoya is a resilient plant, and they require low maintenance. However, adding some nutrients to the soil every once in a while is crucial, especially if your plant is in a bad state.
The best thing to do is to use a fertilizer with a high nitrogen content twice a month during spring and summer. Hoyas don’t need nutrients in winter as they go semi-dormant due to the low temperature.
Low Humidity
Hoyas are native to tropical regions. So, they love humidity and moist weather.
The perfect humidity levels for hoyas to thrive is around 60% to 70%. Fortunately, hoyas can tolerate lower levels of humidity, but sadly, it may cause your plant to dry out.
If you live in a place where humidity is too low, you can use a humidifier to increase humidity levels. Therefore, it will help in reviving your lovely hoya.
You can also mist your hoya with water twice a week, especially in dry winters.
Pests
Many types of pests can attack your beautiful hoya plants. Unfortunately, pest infestations are fatal to your hoya plants. Let’s talk about the most common types of pests that attack hoyas.
Aphids

Aphids are pests that attack hoyas and harm them. The problem with aphids is that they reproduce extremely fast. Then, they drain your beautiful hoya from the nutrients it gets. So, that leads to wilted leaves and decreased growth of the hoya.
In that case, you need to get rid of the aphids as soon as possible to revive your hoya. The easiest way to do this is by using a suitable fertilizer.
Also, you can prepare a simple solution of diluted insecticidal soap or normal soap in water. It works well against aphids. About one tbs per gallon should be appropriate to get rid of aphids.
Spider Mites

The problem with spider mites is that they aren’t visible to the naked eye. So, it’s hard to spot them.
However, you might notice small white scars or dots underneath the leaves. In more severe cases, the infestation will grow to become larger yellow or brown patches that appear on the leaves.
If not stopped, it can cause the whole leaf to turn gray, which is an alarming sign. Eventually, the leaves will drop, and it will be the end of your hoya.
Therefore, you need to act fast if you spot any of these symptoms. To get rid of spider mites, you can apply insecticidal soap or neem oil to your plant.
Additionally, if you suspect that your hoya has spider mites, it’s best if you isolate it away from any other plants you have. Spider mites can spread quickly between plants.
Final Thoughts
So, how to revive hoya plants?
To fix the problem, you need to identify the cause. The best approach is to check for each problem, from the more common to the less common ones.
So, we start by checking the soil. The soil should be loose and slightly moist in the first two inches. If the soil is dry to the touch, water the plant.
On the other hand, if the soil is soggy wet, let your plant dry out and make sure that the pot is well-drained.
When it comes to humidity, always keep the humidity levels between 60% to 70%. You can use a humidifier if humidity is too low in your area.
Hopefully, this will be enough to revive your hoya back to its glorious look.

Growing up with a mom who filled her home (inside and out) with all sorts of plants, Lisa got her start in gardening at a young age. Living now on her own with a home and yard full of plants (including an indoor greenhouse), she shares all the gardening tips she’s gained over the years.
Jessica
Tuesday 1st of November 2022
Great Article! My gorgeous Hoya Gracilis had some root rot, because the nursery where I got it, keeps their plants soaked AND use a very heavy mix! So the plant was already not acclimated to my home yet, but I went ahead and washed the roots off to take a look and I ended up having to remove a third of the roots and sprayed it down really good with neem oil, and repotted it with my chunky Hoya mix. Do you think it will survive?
Lisa
Wednesday 9th of November 2022
Hi Jessica, I think it has a good chance of surviving, thanks to you!
Happy Planting! Lisa