Use paper towel under a pot, tucked into the rim of the pot, and around it (if it's clay) to absorb excess moisture. Remove wet paper towel, and then replace with dry to wick excess moisture out of the soil. Wet feet and cool temperatures don't mix.
We just had two days of torrential rain but luckily temperatures in the 70's. I found a too wet orchid in bloom outside and used the above technique. This works well for Hoya as well. In fact if the temperatures drop next week I will need about 20 rolls of paper towel. This time of year makes me nervous as I try to keep the Hoya outside for as long as possible.
Hoya Tip - Wet "feet" and cool temperatures!
Newspaper wouldn't wick as quickly, but would be cheaper!
You could dry the paper towels and re-use (for the hoyas NB, not dinner)...lol
Great idea Nightbloomer! I did something simular to a few plants I needed to
ship last week and I didn't want them to be wet since I had forgot and watered them.
They were pretty much potbound so it worked good. I took them out of the pots and wrapped a double layer of papertowels around the root ball then sat them in a pot one size larger. When the paper towels were saturated I did it again and left them overnight. Worked like a charm!
My luck is about to run out on the warmth and rain! It's 70 right now. Not bad for the November. Looks like it's going to be a haul Hoya day tomorrow though. Night time temperatures are going to dip into the 50's.
We are roofing the greenhouse on Thanksgiving day while munching Gulf shrimp and Bloody Mary's. (Yes, what a bunch of Bohemians...)
I am worried about one of my NOID's....yellow leaves and mushy stem. It was going great all summer. This is one that I bought as H. rigida but Chris Burton said no... Obvously it's been over watered. Now that I think about it, this hoya loved the beating down sun and not alot of dampness. I have it on the "watch list" for now. Nothing worse than seeing a thriving hoya start to struggle especially a NOID. I'm with Carol on that there's nothing better than having a NOID bloom. Sure hope I don't lose it.
My twinwall polycarbonate is being delivered on Wednesday. OMG this is starting to get expensive. I found a local dealer whose prices were lower than any catalog or web supplier and is delivering for free but OUCH.
I asked DH for one Christmas gift... H. sp Phillipines from Carol Noel's greenhouse!
This message was edited Nov 22, 2004 11:56 PM
Susan....I had a plant go south on me like that (left it out in the rain with no drainage)...a number of the vines turned mushy and the leaves yellowed.... Like Superman I swooped it up, cut the mushy vines and leaves off, cleaned the rotting leaves out of the pot and let it dry out.... Voila...it is putting on new growth and I still have my fingers crossed that it is OK.
Good luck. Out here in the middle of the ocean we have two weather systems meeting over the top of us this week...rain/thunderstorms/floodwatches...but we are on a good slope, no floods and the temps are warm...wet but warm!
:~D
Thanks for this info. Last year I only brought my hoyas in during the frost-danger periods, which are rare here. We've had some pretty cold night temps recently (mid-40s) and I just left them out there. I happen to know that these particular plants were never brought inside for the ten years that a friend had them, and he lived 10 miles from here. So I know they can take it. But I was just about to go out and give them a good soaking tomorrow. I won't do that now. I'll keep my eye on them and make sure they're watered if we get a Santa Ana (dry desert winds) but I'll keep them on the dry side for the cooler weather. Great tip.