Explain this one to me....I bought a small H. multiflora about a year ago. I was under the impression this was an "easy" bloomer, but I never got any flowers. In fact, it just kept losing leaves, so there were only leaves left at the very ends of the branches...looked pretty ugly.
So I put it on the bottom shelf of my plant stand and my dog bit one of the branches off and left it on the ground (apparently that white sap is a good dog deterrent...once they taste it!).
Not to waste a perfectly good cutting, I put it in a glass of water, waiting for roots. Well, instead of roots I got FLOWERS. And LOTS of flowers, from a cutting in plain water...no ST, no fertilizer, just water.
So after about 3 months, I now have a couple of roots, but I'm wondering. Would it be better just to GROW this plant in water? Forget the potting soil and just keep it REAL wet ALL the time?
Comments?
Sue
Crazy Multiflora
I don't know Sue. The Hoya pros will step in. I wouldn't think it would be a good idea to leave it in water....but you never know! Did you take pictures??
:) Donna
Could be that your multiflora went in "survival mode" and put out flowers as a possible last attempt to get seeds before it dies.
The loss of leaves and no flowers can have various reasons some of which are cold drafts, very low humidity and not enough water. H. multiflora is one that likes lots of water and the soil should never dry out. Many people actually have multiflora pots sitting in a saucer of water in order to satisfy its water appetite.
When I first got the my multiflora plant I used a wicking system to keep it wet all the time. It was wicked to a humidifying tray which was under the pot and sat in a wide windowsill above my kitchen sink. This is a southern exposure, so it got quite of bit of sun. When it started losing leaves I thought it was possibly getting too much sun (as it certainly was wet enough all the time), so I moved it to a eastern window,but I had to remove it from the humidifying tray because the area was too small for it. I did keep keep it wet all the time, however, and it never got dry in the pot. It just kept losing leaves. They would turn yellow and fall off.
This summer I put it outside on my deck under 50% shade cloth hoping it would grow more leaves, but it didn't grow many. Again, I never let it dry out.
The cutting that is flowering actually now has roots, so somehow I feel like it wants to live. But I'm afraid to put it in soil. Perhaps the soil mixture is the problem? I know they like to stay wet, but do they still need free draining soil? I am growing the plant in a very moisture retentive medium (sphaghum moss, orchid bark and mostly potting soil). Could this be the problem?
Thanks for your help.
sue
I wouldn't mix any orchid bark into the soil. The soil should be free draining, try 2 parts potting soil to 1 part perlite.
It does like lots of light and too much light is usually indicated by crisp,brown leaves and not leaf loss.