This newbie needs serious guidance....

Greetings, I have recently joined Dave's Garden and this is my first post.

I've carefully read many of the threads here but am still not sure what my problem is exactly. I have a hoya compacta (I have learned from the ID threads and helpful hyperlinks) that is dying. It was huge and growing really well; then the older leaves got really mushy and died. All I could save was 2 vines. I transplanted them and now they are dying too, but differently. The newest leaves are yellow and one of the vines is completely dry.

Am I overwatering? Am I underwatering? Too cold? Too hot? Not enough light? Too much light?

The only plants I've ever had before were pothos---and I really wanted to try something new. Please be as specific as you can and assume nothing about me possessing any common sense plant care!

Thanks,
Amanda

Welcome Amanda.
Most of the hoya "experts" are a little scarce during the weekends. Keep checking back and you will start to see some excellent info. coming your way sunday night and monday.
I have never owned a compacta so I am of no help to you.
Hang on, someone will come along shortly and help you out.
Ann

H. compacta is generally very forgiving but it does not "like" it if the soil goes dry.
Your soil where the cutting is in looks very dry so first of moisten the soil, once that is done mist the cutting and put a cut pop bottle or a clear plastic bag over the whole pot to keep the humidity high, keep warm and bright without direct sunlight and hopefully your cuttings will root in a few weeks. Most likely the yellow leaves will fall off but it has a chance of survival as long as the stem doesn't dry out (like the piece of stem on the left of your pic). H. compacta can be a very slow grower especially when started from cuttings so be patient.

Milan

Hi Amanda welcome to the forum. Compacta is definitely a slow grower! Hopefully Milan's suggestion will treat your plant right. Good luck!
Heather

Hi Amanda - I'm a newbie, too - sorry, no help here. But I guarantee you'll meet some really knowledgable people - as well as some really nice people - here on this forum! Glad you joined us!! Karen

Hi Amanda
I am from Sweden and I grow my compacta in a window face north. H. compacta is a very slow grower, I think you have overwatering. compacta can be very dry it is a survivor. Very easy to grow.
Rosita

Rosita, I will very strongly disagree with You regarding the statement that compacta can be very dry.
H. compacta will die if you keep it dry. If the soil is kept dry the roots will dehydrate and die and once the soil is moistened again these dead roots will start to rot. Often folks believe that they overwatered when they see the rotted roots but the real reason is that they first off underwatered which resulted in dead roots that then started to rot when watered again. IMO underwatering and not overwatering is the main cause of compacta death.

Milan

Edited for too much bold :)



This message was edited Oct 30, 2005 3:46 PM

Milian
I have two compacta they are allmost dry all winter. I only give them water ones a month. They flower year around. In summer time I give plenty of water. They are about 10 years old and big.
Rosita

Rosita, now you've seem to changed your statement from "very dry" to "almost dry" and to me those are two very different condition.
I often complained to folks that throw statements out like "let dry out between watering" but actually mean that only the top 1" (25mm) of soil should be dry with some moisture below.
Some moisture has to remain in he soil for compacta roots to survive, You let the soil dry out completely and you'll have to re-root compacta. One can get away with less watering if you have high humidity growing conditions.
I will not doubt that your compacta grows and blooms with less water while mine grows and blooms with more water but from past experience and some experiments I've seen compacta not to tolerate completely dried out soil. Sure compacta will also die if you let it sit in water since it is not a bog plant but it also is not a desert plant :)

Mine are dry most of the time..

How high is the humidity in your house Rosita? I'm sure I live in similar conditions here (ie. extremely dry winters) and I find that the new growth dies on my hoyas if they aren't kept somewhat moist (I water when the soil is dry to about 1/2" down). I kept my old carnosa somewhat dry and I never saw blooms on it, or even new growth (needed for new penducles) until I started watering it at least once every 5 days.

I have a larger compacta and it is watered at least 5 times a month.

I'm a newbie here also. I noticed with the H. compacta that I had was in a clay pot. I noticed that the soil dried very quickly in there and was starting to get some yellow leaves to. I repotted into a plastic container and it's doing much better. I would say maybe more yours into a different container also and that will make a difference.
:) Donna

We all have different ways of growing/treating our hoyas. And most definately different ways of watering them! I for one, seem to water most of my hoyas every 2-3 days in the summer (when sunny) and about 3 times in 2 weeks during the winter. We have our radiators underneath our window benches on during the winter and they keep the roots somewhat warm during the winter, which I think is good for them but it also makes me water more often than others during the winter.

However, I have 2 compacta. One all green and one 'Rubra'. For some reason I've kept the green one on the moist side and it doesn't grow much at all even though it gets plenty of light (no direct sunlight). In fact all it has grown this summer is ONE new leaf, but it has flowered a few times. I've checked the roots and they are fine and it doesn't have any bugs. My 'Rubra' on the other hand has been kept on the drier side and grown in a sunny window. Once in a while I've noticed that the soil has "shrunk" just before I water it. I haven't checked if the soil has been moist in the middle, but I'm assuming since the soil shrunk it might not have been moist. It has grown like crazy this year and bloomed more than ever! It grew so much that I was afraid that it might tip over from the weight and I decided to cut it back and only keep about half of the plant. When I had cut it up I decided to give the rooted bottom part to someone who really wanted a piece of compacta. Those roots looked just fine when I packed and shipped it out.

Rosita has grown hoyas for as long as I have lived... which is quite a while now! I've seen her compacta plants and they look just fine to me. They have hardly been repotted and the pots are quite small considering how big the plants are. The pots are mostly filled with roots and any water seem to just run through the plant and that is why they are kept on the drier side. She just can't water them all the time and since they are doing fine and blooming a lot she must be doing something right!

Christina

Yes, we all have different methods of growing our hoyas;different climates etc. For myself, the compacta does better if kept on the dryer side. I would say that I water it twice a month.

Susan

Christina, there most likely is still moisture in sthe soil even if it shrinks back on the surface. Well established root system can most handle it a little drier but completely dried soil I doubt they can take. I've did the experiment on some "green" compacta cuttings that had been rooted and on a 3 pots I let the soil completely dry out, none of the 3 recovered after the dry spell (though it took several weeks to see it visually on the cuttings).

The first thing I would do is take your compacta out of the pot and check the roots. If the stem is drying...and the leaves are shriveling, it means nutrition/water is not "getting up there"...i.e. something wrong with the roots. If they are healthy...(white, don't smell like rot) then we look for another culprit. If you still don't know if the roots are healthy, start clipping the stem down in the root mass at the very bottom. If the stem/roots are healthy, there should be good green flesh, clear sap coming out of the cut. If there isn't that, then cut UP the stem, roots and all until you reach healthy tissue. Then plant, give good water and make sure that you soil drains very well.

HTH

Wow Carol, thanks for that, I learned something new. Good to know that the clear sap is okay. I thought that meant the plant was ailing. That's why I love this forum....
Heather

Heather, there is a "group" of hoyas believed to identify them as in the H. carnosa family...which all have clear 'milk'....the carnosas, the pubicalyxes and some others. The fact that a few others have it 'MAY' connect them to the carnosa bunch of hoyas. Perfectly normal!!!

;>)

Oh Carol, even more knowledge!!! I feel so educated today!! Thanks! I seriously wondered why they had clear sap. I always though it meant they were dying!!
Heather