Does anyone have any hints on how to make this plant a happy camper? ... I know it likes high humidity...its on my kitchen windowsill with bright light, especially in the evening and me and the misting bottle have been the best of friends with it...lol...maybe its too warm or too bright? And i do keep it moist and not letting it dry out at all....I thought I hit on all the good things it likes but obviously not as it hasn't grown a stitch since i have gotten it and I have had to pick out a few dead leaves and one dead vine...the rest of it is maitaining but thats about it....i knew it would be fussy one...
Sandy
Hoya Serpens
Mine hangs in deep shade and stays moist....seems to be happy. Even tho it is in deep shade, the surrounding light is bright.
Thanks Carol, I will try moving it back a bit from the window and see what happens....i guess its all about finding out what works and trying to change what doesn't work....i hope i can get a happy medium for it before it decides to kick the bucket on me.......
I'll try and tell what is done at the Huntington which seems to work, they are growing fast. We have a fulll 6" pot of the plants, and several little ones. The curator says it flowers for him.
It is sitting in indirect sun, with the rest of the Hoya collection. It is misted overhead. The potting mix is just cactus soil, it is not planted but just sitting on top. We water thoroughly once a week and fertilize after. But the mister is going, off and on, it is treated as if it were a cactus seedling. The temp. ia automatically controlled so is the humidity. This is just input, I hope it will be of some help.
Norma
Hi Norma,
thanks for your response....My little serpens had its burial already.....now i am afraid to try it again!....i can see how the cactus soil or something much more fast draining and porous than what this guy was planted in, would be much better....the roots on this serpens were rotted when i pulled it out and I had it for such a short time too.... I am thinking it was probably in its way to rotting by the time i got it even....i am not sure though..Mine was not in a greenhouse but received indirect light from a north/west sill and i did mist it.....I dont have the vast selection of hoyas like you guys have but the rest seem to be doing very well....anyway, i will have to try again with it one day...I should of changed the soil right when i got it i think....what you said makes good sense....
Sandy
Hi Sandy, I've had my little Hoya serpens about two years I guess.
It never did grow much, or if it did the new, tender vines dried up. I had read where others grew it in a terrerium and had good results. Then I visited a friend who had one thriving in terrium type container.
So, I put mine in a cookie jar (actually a Tootsie Roll display container.... had to buy all the Tootsie Rolls to get it!) I put about 1/2 inch of aqarium gravel in the bottom, then sat the pot in there and poured more Aq gravel around the pot to 'hide' it.
I'm guessing I did that a year ago and the little thing has never been happier! No sign of blooms, but lots of nice healthy growth!
It gets very indirect light in a North facing Smoked bathroom window. I rarely have to water or mist it, I guess being partly enclosed keeps it somewhat moist and humid!
Sorry to hear you lost yours! If you decide to try again you may want to try a simular set up or put it in a terrerium!
Hi Lesli,
Thanks for the tip and had crossed my mind but I think it was doomed from the start when i got it ......If i ever try one again, i am going to do like you said, try growing it in a terrarium-like container....Serpens aren't very easy to come by here in Canada so my chances will be slim to get another! I should try it again though, its a very cute little plant.....thanks for the tip Lesli and good luck with yours, maybe it will be happy enough to reward you with some blooms down the road......
Sandy
Hi Leslie...I put mine in a terrarium, did soooo well for several months then it slowly started rotting. Too much moisture I think. It died. :(
Good thing I have a back up!
Sylvia
Susan, Thanks! Nice to see so many familiar names here as well!
If Awanda hasn't already put the word out, Big Lots had those little glass mini Greenhouses on clearance! It's been a few weeks since I visited BL, but they several different sizes and shapes! I only got one, but suspect picky buggers like Hoya serpens would do well in them!
Sylvia, I think mine is doing well because I ignore it.... it's got fairly dry a couple of times! I just water ocassionally with the mister since it is partly enclosed.
Sandy, I'm not holding my breath on getting blooms! I hear it rarely blooms! Does Logees ship to Canada? They sell nice healthy pots of it!
Hi Lesli...
by the looks of their website, they ship internationally but they don't give the particulars, especially the $$$ on how much so that i would have to find out.... I am sure its not cheap...they do have some nice looking hoyas at their site though and at Carol's site too....I will just keep drooling over my keyboard .....lol...thanks for the tip.....i have read H. Serpens rarely blooms but i am sure it would be worth the wait.....
Sandy
Hi Sandy, I had mine sitting on a window south facing window sill, but the window is under a large patio cover . In the winter it get's some morning sun, but in the summer no sun. It had set blooms late Spring, but they kept drying up even though I was misting it constantly. Now I have it in my greenhouse out of any direct sun although very bright light. It has only been in the greenhouse since the beginning of June and is getting ready to bloom again. I think the bright indirect light and humidty was the key.
Patricia
Its so good to see you all here!!
I too had the same problem as Lesli. Our dear friend Awanda was so nice to send me one of these lovely mini greenhouses and will be putting whats left of my H. serpens in it.
I hope this will make it happy or else I feel like Sandy. If it dies I don't think I'll be replacing it.
Gemila
Hey everyone - it occured to me that one of the "secrets" could be in the soil. Chris Burton says it was called "serpens" because it crept along the floor of the forest like a snake...well, the forest floor is covered with all kinds of litter, twigs, decaying stuff...it is not the wonderful soil we plant them in, right? Maybe something with more bark/pumice/perlite would work better than "dirt" or "fake dirt". Also, chunks of bark (like for orchids) retains the moisture really well...stays wet but it isn't suffocating to the roots...lets air in.
Just thinking out loud.... :o}
Hi Patricia,
Yes i think your right about the humidity and bright indirect light being the key to success with the little Serpens...all these tips i am learning!...And the greenhouse would help which i dont have unless i get a Home Depot plastic kind for the summer months...
I wish i had it longer to try something different with it...i think Carol hit it on the head too with the soil type along with what you said about humidity and the light......I wish i had pulled it out right away and put it in some chunky orchid mix etc to give it a chance..I think it drowned in what it came in when i received it.....
Yes Gemilia, I am gun shy now! lol...Maybe i will try again next year......now only if someone could give me a tip on the H. Kerrii...maybe no one grows it?
Sandy
Sorry, Gemila I spelled your name wrong, my apologies....fingers were typing too fast!
This message was edited Aug 12, 2004 9:58 PM
Tip on H. kerrii....what is the problem. Slow as fingernails...!
oh no problem yet! thats what i want to prevent!! lol....does it like to dry out somewhat between waterings?....it must like some sun too?....
Sandy
Don't forget the fertilizer. We grow it outside here, and once it take off you can watch it grow during the night, up and across the other plants onto a pole and up into the top of the greenhouse.
With good indirect sun, it will grow rachis (microphones) at every node, and they stay on year after yeat to flower again.
We water it heavily once a week and fertilize it immediately after with diluted LiquidNox. Our soil mix is very much like Carol Noel described. We use forest muclch 20% pumice 60% coarse washed builders sand 20% , which I don't like at all, it does keept the plants in. I like to add the small bark that is used for orchids, the soil must be light. lAt the Huntington Gardens I don't have a choice of soil to be used, at home I do. I really thinks it depends on where you live, and your climate.
I have read that they will grow in most of anything, and are not fussy, I sure some need special requirements. I grow some of mine on bark slabs, that are decaying. Norma
thanks for the in depth answer Norma...you sound like you have learned a lot working at Huntington Gardens....is is a private greenhouse or do they sell to the public? it sounds quite large.....
Sandy