Ive just checked about 5 Hoyas which, altho they appeared healthy..nice green thick leaves, no apparent problem, but for 2 years no growth, and lo and behold, no roots.....completely rotten. I think growing mixes really have to be adapted to where you grow. My mix in the UK used to be more of a cactus gritty soil mix. The Nursery where I bought them from 20 odd years ago grew them the same way with no problem. That mix tho dried out quite quickly in a heated greenhouse but soon proved way too heavy here. Over here Ive had to try a few mixes. They grow outside, and whilst it dosent often get over 35º in the summer , its an island, and especially at night, it can get very humid. Ive ended up adding less and less to the mix until Im down to pure orchid bark, which I now have to sift to only get the hard chunks of be it the pine cone, or the bark..otherwise it just dosent dry out at all. Perlite is another thing Ive stopped adding, and am trying to remove it from my old pots as, and I think it does the same for others in humid area, it just quickly dissolves to mush and can cause more problems than help.
So, was just a thought when you read what medium to grow you Hoyas in.....Just check from time to time that see that what you've started with is actually working, or wether you need to adapt it to the situation climate you live in.
Once a plant is large, it does seem much more capable of coping with a wider range, probably as its quite root bound and dries out quicker, but for those young plant be careful and check.
Dominic
This message was edited Aug 21, 2009 6:39 AM
Just a thought......
You have a variety of Hoya ~ do you find some require a different blend also?
Dominic,
Your assessment is completely correct. Once a plant gets to age they are much more resilient. I have also had many young plants just stop growing and begin looking a little peaked, and more often than not the roots are rotten.
Doug
Dominic,
I agree totally about potting mediums needing to be geared to climate conditions where we live, or the growing conditions one has for their plants.
I live in a very humid climate, and my plants stay outside almost year round. For many years I used potting soil alone, which tended to be way too heavy and moisture retentive for my plants. I always had a major problem with root and stem rot. I am still a newbie to Hoya's, just learning about them and all the many different varieties after joining DG three years ago.
The medium I use for my hoya's and all other plants is a commercial orchid mix (that has a combination of wood bark, charcoal and perlite), and I mix in a small amount of potting soil and perlite as well. I probably don't need the extra perlite because it's in the orchid potting mix, but I guess it's just habit. I would say my mix is 90% orchid mix.
Our year round relative humidity here is almost 90% in the mornings and low to mid 60% in the afternoons so my plants do very well with the chunky fast draining mix.
Mind you, of each of the ones Im re rooting, Ill have fuller plants as I got at least 5 good cuts of each one to root. I wonder if one day my propagator will even be empty?........Always something on the go in there, especially H linearis........:))
Dominic
I concur, Dominic. I believe root rot just goes with the territory. Once I see plants develop those papery, listless leaves, I know root rot is inevitable. The only bonus can be that the plant suddenly blooms like crazy for one last show!