I've just added a couple more hoyas to my collection so I'm drilling holes in the metal at the top of the solarium to hang them. I have one that was in the house that hasn't bloomed for years. I thought maybe it wasn't getting enough light so I repotted it and hung it in the solarium. The solarium has shade cloth but I'm wondering if that's still too much light and heat for hoyas.
Sandy
How much light can hoyas stand?
Sandy...keep an eye on them...THEY will tell you if there is too much light. The leaves will either look healthy or not, take on reddish tints which is OK, or yellow spots. Hard to tell from your description. Some hoyas really like it HOT...others not. Light factors should be indirect and filtered thru about 80%.....
Can you take a photo?
Carol
Here's a picture Carol. I guess it's a bit early to tell if the extra light is having a negative effect yet as I only hung it yesterday. I think the ends of the new shoots look a bit dried up.
I noticed that most people hang their hoyas up so I figured if I'm going to start collecting a few I'd better hang them. I got this one at the supermarket on Sunday. I have no idea what it is but I don't have many and it looked different from any I have. I repotted it and hung it too. Would I be better off hanging them from the trees in the garden? I noticed that some people do that too.
Thanks for your help.
Sandy
Sandy, your plants are large and nice variegation on the first pic.......you are lucky you are able to hang them up...and lucky to snag a hoya at the supermarket...good haul!
Sandy
Many times a hoya exposed to a lot of (too much) light will bloom on survival mode. It looks to me like your H. carnosa is getting too much sun. H. carnosa happen to be one of them that tolerates darker conditions than other hoyas...See where, on your second photo, the tip of the leaf is yellow, but the rest of the leaf is green? It was probably shaded. If it were me, I would move it out of direct sun. As said in another thread, Eriostemmas are the only one's you could say that really like lots of direct sun.....
Hope this helps...
Carol
Thanks Sandy. The first one is a plant that my mom's had for quite a few years. She said it bloomed once years ago. I was thinking it might want more light in order to bloom again. It gets awfully warm in the solarium these days though, so maybe I picked the wrong time to hang it in there. I don't have too much room to hang things in the solarium. There are only 8 spots that are strong enough to take weight. I drilled through the metal and put in wire loops but there isn't room under all 8 spots for longer pieces of plant to hand down. I'm not sure my great plan will work. I got the plant at Thrifty's. I thought it might be carnosa so thanks Carol for the id. I didn't have a carnosa. It was nice and healthy but it was getting broken from being forced through a little wooden trellis in the pot.
Thanks for the information about the light Carol. Part of the solarium is tinted as well as being covered with shade cloth so I'll hang the carnosa under that section. I'm not sure if it's too warm in there with the hot spell we're having though so I'll keep an eye on them. Can they stand a lot of heat?
Sandy
Generally hoyas can tolerate a lot of heat...but those from cooler regions (like H. carnosa) like it less and less...but they are VERY tolerant plants! Are you talking in the 90s or the 120s?
Our heatwave here Sandy is referring to is probably mid to high 80's fahrenheit....around 25-30 Celcius..unless she expereincing a little cooler temperatures on Vancouver island.....i guess then thats an okay heat to be able to stand as long its not mid-afternoon direct sun?...
Sandy
That heat is fine. Direct sun or light is not except for early morning and late afternoon, for most plants....
I live in Hot Arizona, where our summer temps can and do reach 112 +. As long as I provide humdity for my hoyas they do great and are happy campers:-). I do have a greenhouse which provides the humdity and also allows me to keep my hoyas outside year round.
Agape,
Awanda
http://266.scifstore.com/module/store/
This message was edited Aug 15, 2005 10:24 AM
Yes, Sandy's right about the temperatures, although it gets up to around 90 in the solarium. Okay....so it's not too much of a heat wave. lol 112+...wow, I can't imagine that. How do you provide humidity in your greenhouse Awanda? I have orchids in the solarium with water in the trays under them and they get misted every day. Would that be enough humidity for the hoyas as well? It doesn't feel very humid in there because the doors and window are open on hot days and we keep a fan running.
Thanks for the info, I won't worry about the heat. I've hung a couple of the hoyas outside under the trees and a couple under the tinted end of the solarium. I decided the epiphyllums might like being hung in the sunnier end.
Sandy
Sandy, I definitely think having the hoyas over a water tray, added with misting, should definitely be enough humidity. Last winter I bought a little humidifier, warm mist, I used that throughout. I only filled it once a day though. Overnight, I put them to sleep.
Heather
Sandy its really not difficult to provide humidity:-). I have an evaporative cooler, plus plastic with rocks on top that I wet down 2-3 times per week. My hubby built me a misting system out of PVC pipes that sits over the greenhouse. I have a timer set to turn the mister on several times per day. I also keep fans running 24/7. I can keep the temps under 100 and the humidity between 50-55%. While it may sound like lots of work, its not when it comes to my hoya babies:-).
Agape,
Awanda
Wow, that looks like a pretty neat system Awanda. It must be wonderful to have a greenhouse.
That's a good idea using a small humidifier Heather. I tried a humidifier in the solarium a few years ago when we first put the orchids in there. I found that it made the house too humid. The solarium was built onto the back of the house. We keep the sliding glass door and the window between the kitchen and the solarium open all the time to cut down on the heating bills. It's almost like part of the house. I think I'll just stick with the misting for awhile and see how the hoyas grow in there.
Sandy
Put a couple of 35gal aquariums out there. Multiple benefits. They'll had humidity (don't have static electricity in the house during the winter) and siphon water off each week for the water changes, using that water on your plants. You may be surprised how the plants respond.
8ftbed, do you just fill the tanks with h20? Then leave them out there? That is a fantastic idea.
I've had aquariums for years and still have a 10 gal one in the house. I've always been afraid to use the water on my plants though. When I started with the first aquarium I was given a tip to always add some aquarium salt to the water to keep the fish healthier.
Nightowl...here is a photo from another thread of the back of the house where I grow out a lot of my plants. It gets partial sun early in the morning but the light switches from left to right with summer/winter. It faces east with big trees and an overhang to block the BIG sun. This photo was taken at 3 in the afternoon. They thrive here as long as I remember to water them!!!
Here is another picture of the light level in my Greenhouse which is about 75% and at times a bit high.... The hoyas under the shelves get the lower light.
This message was edited Aug 13, 2005 8:57 AM
I just love that first picture Carol. It looks like such a neat place. It looks like it would be a fairly easy place to tend the plants. You could use the hose to water and mist them.
I bought a shepherd hook the other day to hang a couple of hoyas out in shady spots in the garden. I just moved it to the shade on the east side of the house and I'll see how they do there. I'll have to see if it's too shady. I also hung one in the tree on the east side. I had to take that one out of the solarium. Even though it was under the tinted section with the shade cloth the new leaves were quite red. I don't imagine that's a good sign. The second picture of your greenhouse definitely looks shadier than the solarium even with the shade cloth. Thanks for your help.
Sandy