Here's a place where we can post the hoyas we have had the most fun killing and why....and what we learned will always help...
I gotta make dinner...I will add later.
Carol
Most Temperamental Hoyas I Have Loved and Hated
OK...I am back from the meeting and will start out.
1. H. hypolasia. I killed 2 and then got so sick and tired of failing that I took the 3rd pot out of the greenhouse and hung it out under the bamboo (shade and lots of water). It thrives, has grown about 2' and has 2 peduncles. What I learned: Treat them rough and tell them nothing!!!
2. H. obscura (and H. cv. Sunrise) very prone to Cercosphora fungus...needs LOTS of air circulation and fungal treatment. Same for:
3. H. polyneura. She also wants to grow drier than others....and cooler.
4. H. bella...FAST draining soil...like really fast...and lots of water. They rot so easily.
5. H. archboldiana in the winter wants to grow drier and in more shade. Same with
6. H. dennisii.
7. H. cembra and H. cv. Iris Marie...they are in wild bloom now...I grow them outdoor in the rain, some morning sun = lots of water in fast draining soil and really good light.
All of these, at one time or another, have been my nemesis...my bete noirs...and until I have changed their environment a couple of times, I haven't found what they really like.
"I can't consider myself knowledgeable about a plant unless I have killed it at least twice".
Carol
Bella is the absolute worse for me!
I think I have polyneura figured out. It is perched on one of the top shelves of a baker's rack with the humidifier on the bottom shelf. It has turned the prettiest, healthiest dark green you ever saw. In fact, all the hoyas on that baker's rack and nearby have this deep shade of green now.
Just my .02 cents but i am going to add variegated bella in that list....seems to like more humidity than my house can provide!....its a tempermental one i think....
Sandy
Hm....good question Carol. I have been struggling with serpens. I can't seem to make it happy. Have repotted it in different mixes, changed locations, still just won't grow. My nemesis is multiflora. I got a bad case of the mealies on this guy and battled them to the death for a few months, unfortunately the mealies weren't the dead in the end.
Okay... let's see...
1) H. bella 'Luis Bois' (the one with green edges). I have to cut it up about every second year and start over from cuttings. Hate it, but don't want to throw it out.
2) H. curtisii. I've hated it ever since I got it in 1999. I threatened to throw it out if it didn't bloom, so last year just before Christmas it bloomed with 3 flowers. Today when checking it there are 5 peduncles and they all have buds that are growing. I don't hate it as much any longer...
3) H. calycina. Like the plant, love the flowers, but hate the fragrance when too many flowers are open at the same time.
4) H. serpens. Plain and simple: I HATE THIS ONE! It doesn't like me and I don't like it!
5) H. magnifica. This is a really nice looking plant, but the smell of the flowers... Yuck! In a way I'm glad it hasn't flowered in years, but then on the other hand I would like to see them once more.
6) H. purpureo-fusca. I loved the first plant I had until it got sick and died on me. I've hated the one after that one because it is plain ugly and get sunburned where the sticky nectar is on the leaves and this one produces tons of that sticky stuff! Cut the whole plant down and potted a cutting with a peduncle hoping it will root and not loose the peduncle. It will be the ideal plant!!!
7) H. samoensis. Is there a more boring hoya than this one?!! I want to see some flowers on it...
8) H. sp PNG 4. Got it, it started to grow, it dried up, it started to grow, it dried up, it started to grow and then moved out. It's now living in Hotel Rosita for as long as she stands it. Then I'll have to take it back... If it dries up then, it'll have to move out for good!
Can't think of any more, but I'm sure there are one or two that I forgot. As much as I hate them I don't want to get rid of them!
Christina
Thank you for starting such an informative thread Carol. I've got some of the above Hoyas and am hopeful, with following the suggestions listed here, the majority of mine will avoid a death sentence.
I received a cutting of curtsii and lost it immediately. :'(
Lilypon...those little ones like H. curtisii and H. serpens...if you lay them on top of damp spagnum...they are better behaved and start to grow.
Another I will add to my list is H. linearis...I killed every one until I found a small pot of one I had in the carport, in the sun 1/2 a day, dry as a bone and it was growing to beat the band!
I can't get H. purpureo-fusca to bloom for me...anyone have success. Are mine too shady?
Carol
Carol, my purpureo-fusca bloomed like crazy even though it looked awful. In the end I was so tired of all the nectar sticking to the window, on the leaves, on the neighbor hoya, on the floor... It was literally dripping nectar from it - every time it bloomed! However, it IS gorgeous when it blooms!
Mine was in a very sunny west facing window.
Christina
I will try more sun/light. Thank Christina.
Same here with serpens and curtisii.....curtisii is one of my *all-time favorite* foliage plants (I'm a 'foliage fanatic') and it doesn't like me! :(
I do have a small pot of it growing now from cuttings received from a fellow DG'er (thanks again, you-know-who!) that's not doing too bad... even a little new growth....but I sooo long for a nice large potfull of it, growing happily! lol!
I've had less-than-good luck w/linearis, also....but have a small one from the same DG'er who provided the curtisii cuts.....that's hanging on.
What keeps linearis happy in the winter...anyone know? (Heat and sun....cool temps and sun.....etc..??)
David...SodaPopKid...are you there. He is SO successful with his linearis.
Multiflora like good light, no sun and tons of water...also fert. Mine is a weed. But if it gets too pot bound it languishes.
Thanks Carol. Ü I really want another curtsii and will follow your directions!
Agreed on H. bella and H. curtsii. Killed them both dead and won't do it again. My H. bella varigated continues to hang on but isn't exactly thriving. I wanted to sell it but DH over ruled. (Whose plants are these anyway?)
H. DS-70(tsangii) is another that's never performed for me.
Also, I am probably the only one that's ever killed H. lacunosa. I found two starter plants at a local nursery and am trying again. Shady and moist, yes? It just kills me everytime someone tells me how lovely the scent is.
Interesting thread.
The Hoyas I have the most problem with are always the ones I want the most.
I killed 2 H. hypolasia after ordering one from Anders and the other from David Liddle. Both rooted with no problem, but, refused to grow. Then, Awanda sent me a cutting last winter and I feel sure she must have sprinkled it with magic dust as it not only grew, but, thrived!
Another hearbreaking loss I experienced was H. lisiantha. I ordered a rooted plant from Anders and waited over a year before it was mailed. I pampered that plant only to watch it die and slow and painful death. I actually kept the pot with the rotten stem for several months hoping for a miracle.
The only other one I can think of right now that has driven me nuts is H. patella. I killed 2 and ordered one more this spring. It rooted with no problem, but, still has the same 3 leaves it had when I received it. I did get one beautiful bloom this summer, but, not a new leaf to be found!
Grow the H. linearis just as you grow H. serpens..... and as you grow H. curtisii. ,,,,, all three of my plants are growing like gangbusters..........bright lite and cool temp..... and moisture.Carol,I will be sending you pictures on a disk as soon as i get my bill!! :))
Righty-O David!!!
mine is bella- two of my least favorite words in the english language- SPIDER MITES!
Back to H. linearis.
I just received some cuttings in a trade, and these are incredible!
Much larger leaves/stems and much more 'succulent' than others I've seen in the past.
I asked this trader how she manages to keep this plant happy, and she stated
"With linearis, I've learned to keep it
pot-bound and very well watered. I'll actually let
water sit in the saucer, which I don't do for any of
my other hoyas besides bella."
Has anyone else grown it this way? Any thoughts/pros/cons on that method?
I'd really like to get this one rooted and growing happily......any advice?
TIA!
Nan how is cutting you purchased from me doing? The sp biak. Has it started to put on any new growth? I find it easy to root, if you put it in a plastic baggie.
Blessings,
Awanda
Awanda...I put it in a little pot of loose/well-draining soil, and put a baggie over that....no growth yet, but it's holding it's own and looking good, so all's well!
I've been incredibly busy (doing a whole lotta driving and started a 'second' job) so haven't had time to really take a good, long, observational (lol!) look....I'll do that this weekend...but so far, so good!
Any ideas on linearis, Awanda? (surely you must have one, lol!)
OK...I won't call you 'surely' anymore!
Linearis...a buggaboo for me too! I killed more than I could count until a friend gave me a pot of it he had extra...one little cutting...growing in spagnum moss. I forgot it in the car port where it got incidental water and stayed very warm in the sun. Grew like mad.
So, I started some in just Spagnum Moss, laying down on the moss and pinned down with a hairpin....and they grew well! then I killed a pot of it letting it too dry. There are some hoyas we simply are not meant to grow...and it H. linearis for me!!!
Carol
AArgh!! me too....but I'm bound and determined to change that, lol!
Thanks for the info, Carol....sounds like maybe my trader found a warm/humid microclimate in her home? (Gotta get me one of those!)
I have had the most awful time with hypolasia, engleriana and retusa. I am sure it is because I can't keep my humidity high enough. For that reason, I have not tried the engleriana and retusa for a while. Thompsonii seems troublesome for a while, but seems to be happy now and is getting ready to bloom.
Hi all,
I have lost (killed) more plants than I care to admit, mostly due to letting them get too dry. They were once beautiful very large plants. My worst time of the year for losing plants is over the holidays which are coming up soon. I will move my larger plants to make room for holiday things, so plants will get moved to a room where I don't visit often enough and have missed them in watering.
My lobbii I stuggled with for a long time and finally lost it this year. At one point it was doing okay and even bloomed a few times, but leaves continued to yellow and fall off leaving the plant looking pretty awful. Leaf my leaf continued fall off the last couple of years until there was nothing left. I tried cuttings, but they didn't work either.
As far as cuttings:
I have tried vitensis 3 times and have given up. I couldn't get it to root.
My bella once was a beautiful plant, but nearly lost it due to letting it get too dry. Now it is just to single 2 foot vines and hasn't bloomed for me in a long time. I also didn't have any luck with the varigated bella, but only tired it once
Magnifica just lost 2 cuttings of it, but now have purchased a rooted plant of it from Carol and it's doing well. I once had a real nice plant of it with 5-6 foot vines. I am confessing my dark secrets of losing beautiful large plants to my neglect. I am feeling bad.
I also haven't had any luck with curtisii
If I think of more, I will add them later.
Deb
Curtsii, I'm on my third one. Everytime I try to repot it out of the EA mix, I kill it. The roots look fine before I repot it, but I think I must always drown it when I'm trying to get the water into the soil in the new mix. It's hard to repot EA plants. There are so many in the pot. I am also struggling with Polynura, my won't grow at all. There are several of my plants that start yellowing on the leaves and they die. I think I let them get to dry and then drown the roots. For whatever reason, knock on wood, my bella does awesome. I have had it for two years and it is doing great! I don't do anything special for it, I don't even water it more than the others. But it does great!
I've given up on Curtsii also. Tried twice, different conditions for both and neither one made it.
Also lost my first bella and now am trying with new cuttings.
And, of course my multiflora only wants to bloom when it is a cutting in water. It now has lots of water roots, but I'm almost afraid to put it in a pot..
My new caudata is NOT happy inside and has started to lose leaves with brown spots on them. Sure hope all the misting and humidifying trays turn it around.
But my australis, nummularioids, davidcummingi, heuschekiana, and DS-70 all have buds or are blooming, so it isn't ALL bad....(thank goodness)
Sue
Polyneura and caudata seem to like it drier than the others, I have found. Also, my polyneura did much better when I put it in a cool and shady spot. The caudata did much better when I put it in a terra cota pot in a bright west window and didn't water until almost dry.
The one that I am sad about is thomsonii. I have tried twice with darling little small plants of it, and eventually lost them both times. Is that a touchy one ...or is it just me?
Some of the ones you all are having trouble with, I have never even tried. (May not now..ha ha). I did have a lovely curtsii for a year until I put it out where it got too much sun. It is now 2 small vines hanging on. I guess we all go through these things if we raise plants. :-(
It can't be all fun & success stories all the time.
Marcy
I think its also the plant itself. I have had plants that I babied and watched die slowly and painfully (for me, at least), while another of the exact same plant, growing right next to it, being babied the same way, has grown like mad.