Dregea Sinensis Variegated Care

About: 

Degea Sinensis (Wattakaka Sinensis) or, colloquially, "Chinese Dregea" is a vining evergreen plant native to, you guessed it - China (and other subtropical areas in Asia) featuring deep green pointed leaves and very cute little star-shaped red-ish pink flowers (reminiscent of Hoya, which makes sense as they're related) that make the plant tent smell great!

Family: 

Asclepiadaceae (or Milkweed Family; Often times grouped with the Apocynaceae family.)

Light Requirements: 

This bit is a little complicated. In contrast to their non-variegated cousins, I've actually found that they prefer a bit of shade to direct or full sun, and I would, personally, consider them happiest on the lower end of "bright indirect" light as their leaves seem pretty prone to scorching when things get a little too bright or a little less indirect. 

BUT. They also sun-stress in some really beautiful shades of pink to deep purple if you walk on the razor's edge of what they'll tolerate. I would proceed cautiously though until you get a feel for where that line is. The first one I tried to sun-stress turned out beautifully and the second burnt to a crisp lol. I think I've got it down now, but it took a bit of experimenting.

Temperature & Humidity: 

55 - 85° F (12.5 - 29.5° C) / 60% + Humidity.
The listed values are the averages for their native habitat. The non-variegated variety can tolerate temperatures on the higher (90ºF +) and lower end (even down to a light frost) for short periods, though I wouldn't really recommend that for the variegated ones as they're prone to fits of dropping all their leaves at even the slightest variation in their grow conditions. I recommend keeping them warm, but not hot. 

They do enjoy that extra humidity, but can get on just fine in normal household conditions after a period of acclimation. I typically recommend bringing them down no more than 10% at a time until they're where you want them. Otherwise, again, you risk the ever-so-dramatic rending of garments, dropping of leaves, etc. etc. 

Mine are grown at between 75-80º F with 75% RH.

Watering: 

Will depend a bit (a lot) on the conditions she's kept in. They are, generally speaking, pretty drought tolerant, and prefer to get fairly dry (though not completely) between waterings. They will be thirstier in hotter conditions though, so if your temps are a bit hotter (as mine are) I would probably water more frequently, when the top inch or two is dry.

When in doubt - Bottom water. Let them drink up as much as they want until you get a better sense of how thirsty they are in your specific environment.

Grow Media: 

They do well in really any well-draining mixes. Whether that be a chunky coir mix or even a loam (which I prefer.) I have also grown them in Pon (Lechuza) but I have not tried them in LECA or the chunkier Pon mixes.

Growth Rate: 

On a scale of 1 (slowest) to 5 (fastest) they are a 5. Very fast growing once they get established.

Propagation: 

On a scale of 1 (easiest) to 5 (most difficult) I would say they're a 3 for beginners. Getting them in the right media and growing them under the right conditions will make a big difference. 

They're propagated by stem cuttings, I like to do mine in a Fluval / Perlite mix, but they also do fine in straight Fluval, moss or tree fern fiber. I haven't tried propping them in Pon, but I have not had success propping them in perlite alone, so I'm skeptical. Your milage may vary though.

Toxicity: 

... Is unclear to me. Several sources seem to indicate that the flowers might be edible, but reports of toxicity in the plant itself vary. It does have some applications in Chinese medicine (and, fun fact, has historically be used to coagulate milk and to make cheeses. It is also used in various anticonvulsant, hepatitis, epilepsy, gonorrhea and jaundice medications in Western medicine and has shown gastrointestinal benefits in rats.)

All that said, there is a distinct lack of any real comprehensive scientific data on the subject of direct consumption and so I would definitely exercise caution here and keep it out of reach of small children and pets (unless your pet is a constipated rat perhaps.)

(I'm joking, please do not feed this to your rats.)

Additional Information: 

I really like these plants! They definitely have a similar vibe to Fallopia, and I would say, on the whole, are... you know what? Actually probably about the same in terms of drama. As long as you don't disrupt them too much you guys should get on just fine though.

To which, when repotting, I advise letting them get a little root bound, enough that you can just pop the whole root ball out in one solid mass and PLOP it straight into a larger pot. The less you mess with their roots - The better.

If you have any questions, or some advice of your own to offer, please feel free to comment below. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!