I have been reading up on light and warmth requirements for hoyas and have a question or two. I have a Kentiana, DS70, Lacunosa and a Carnosa. From what I have read, 2 are "cool" and 2 are "warm". I have an east facing glass sunroom that I bring all my "patio" plants in to winter. They do great in there. I don't heat/cool this room. Once in a while the temps will drop down to the upper 30's - low 40's. When this happens I usually open a vent or 2 to let some heat in there. I don't think the Hoya's would like it getting really cold. Do you? They would be hanging up top so... heat rises doesn' t it? I would like to put them in my extra bedrooms if I can't keep them in the sunroom. One room has an east facing window, one has a west facing window and one has both a south and west facing window. I think the last room would do the best even though pine trees block some light. Do you think any of the ones I have would do good in low light (1 east facing window)? If all else fails I will have to put them in the game room which gets the best light. Problem is it's full now with a bunch of other plants. Would using a grow light help in these rooms with low light?
hoyas and light
The carnosa group does well in lower light and tolerates cooler temperatures than most...but only you can decided if your sunroom is going to be too cold or not. Here is a link that will give you some information:
http://www.bigislandgrowers.com/ghp/AHtemps.php The information in that link is from David Liddle and is based upon where the hoyas are found and HIS experience with them. I would not risk letting any of them freeze. Yes, grow lights would help.
Carol
Thanks Carol. I printed this yesterday. That is how I determined which were cool and warm. I think I'll leave them out there until the temps drop in the low 60's and them move them in the house somewhere. I keep them outside when it is warm otherwise
All of my hoyas outside take down into the low 60's at night in the winter...sometimes it even drops into the high 50's...and no one croaks. Not yet....and this includes the H. lacunosas and the very warm loving ones.
I've had pubicalyx down to 40 without a problem, one night the heater went out and it got down to 38....luckily no one in the GH objected too much. I did this on purpose last winter to see how low this would go....got multiple pubicalyx pots so I figured losing one wouldn't hurt. Right now it's blooming! Wouldn't recommend this for anyone else right now though. Oh.....and I kept it quite dry.
:) Kim
Well, you know they just might be ok out there then. The place is really full of plants in winter so the humidity is high. I think i'll try it. If it gets really cold then I'll bring them in. From what I've been reading they are pretty tough. Most are anyway.
Well.....obviously the pubicalyx is tough, and for me carnosas are as well. However, the others you have listed I never let get below 50. I turned down my thermostat one winter for a visit home to save on heating costs, and when I came back I had lost a whole slew of hoyas. And I was in Ohio at that time. So now I am very careful about temps. I just wanted to test the pubicalyx to see what it would take, it's a huge plant and I didn't have room for it really in the house. Just wanted to clarify....I don't want you to risk losing your plants because of my little experiment. If they are going to be a little cooler, I have had better success over the winter keeping them a little on the dry side compared to the growing season.
:) Kim
Any of the light exposures you mentioned will work, as long as the plants are fairly close to the window. My sunroom faces east and 4 of the 6 Hoyas growing in there are blooming right now. My lacunosa is in the north window in my sunroom and it seems happier than it's ever been.
I wouldn't let them get below 50, though, and I'd avoid the 50's for an extended period of time. Hoyas do better when kept above 60 degrees.
Denise in Omaha
I've let most of my Hoyas sit outside overnight after watering (by accident), and none of them, even the tropical ones, have pitched a fit (temps get to the upper 40's in winter, mid 50's in summer). I have had some drop buds, and wouldn't leave any warm growers out there for an extended period. I think the 30's is really pushing it even for the cold tolerant types.
With our coldest clearest nights, when it can get to the mid 50s, I put 3 on the heat mats: H. praetoria, H. lasiantha, H. campanulata and H. patella. Oooops, that's 4.
Thanks for all this info. This is so much help to hear from peopel and their experiences. I think I will leave them out in the sunroom as long as I can and then bring them in when it gets cold (55 and below. I do not want to take a chance with any of them. BUT, would you bring them in when it is in the low 50's at night and warm during the day or bring them in when it can get to the low 50's at all?
Thank you so much for every ones input.
Carol...what about the Eriostemmas? Why don't they get a heat mat when they are supposed to be the "warm growers"?
I have a few of them and they are the first to come in when the nights start dipping.
Marcy
For some reason the Eriostemmas thrive out there!!! Perhaps they have adjusted? It really never gets colder than 57deg (once) or 58 deg (3 times) in the 5 years we have been here...usually lower 60's. I keep my heat mats set to turn on at 73 deg.
BTW - I have seen H. australis thriving and magnificent at 4000feet where it dips down into the upper 40's in the winter.... It was growing in a pot under a roof extension...it was HUGE and full of flowers!
P, I would go by David Liddle's list of temperature preferences in judging when to bring things in. If you want to be super safe, bring them all in when the night temps are approaching 55'. If you have any really cold tolerant ones, they might LIKE to be out there in the winter, if the light exposure is okay for them. If you have any pubicalyx, carnosa, shepherdii, etc., you might consider putting them out there for the winter, if you can keep an eye out for any hard freezes.
Thanks all