Hello!
I've got a quick question about temperature. This week we will be having some cold fronts come through.....which will be welcome believe me! However, for 2 nights the temps will be dipping below 50. Then we will be heading back up into the 80s so I'd rather not lug all the hoyas into the house just to lug them back out again. If I just brought in some of the more sensitive ones, do you think I could just tuck these guys all up against the house and throw some sheets or blankets over them? Right now they are all on the back porch, so they are already protected from wind and rain. What do you guys think?
Thanks, Kim
question about low temps
I don't think the 40's for a few hours will be a problem for most Hoyas. It's prolonged cold that's hard on more tropical-type plants. Unless they're real thin-leaved Hoyas, I wouldn't even hesitate to leave them out, especially on a porch or under trees.
Denise in Omaha
If the temp is going below 50, I'd say everything but the cold tolerant Hoyas should come in, to be on the safe side. The blankets and overhead protection will help, for sure.
Denise's message came in while I was typing- I'd listen to her comments about temporary cold spells, I don't move mine around much, as out temps in norcal don't fluctuate so wildly.
My opinion is if their soil is rather dry they'll be OK....especially if you place them against the house and cover them, as you suggested you might do.
I toted a lot of mine in just a week or so ago, and they endured several nights of 40ish degree temps (same as last year) and they're showing no signs of damage....I did make sure their soil was dry, though.....any that had wet soil were taken in, as I think cold + wet = trouble!
Sounds good....I just wanted some reassurance. Thanks everyone!
Kim
I'm with Nan--cold + wet = TROUBLE.
I house all of my hoyas in a gh. I only keep it heated to around 45-50F and beleive it or not I have some hoyas that continue to grow all through the winter. I do water very lightly during the winter months though.
dmichael
Is there a 'sticky' I missed about which are cold tolerant hoyas? I would LOVE to know. Any advice on where to look? Mark in SF? we are in similar zones and until last week I didn't know any could still be outside. Ann has some wonderful plants still hanging out on the covered deck. I packed all mine in the house and green 'area' as soon as the temps got into the low 50's! I was scared to death I would loose them. -joanne
Joanne, David Liddles catalog is the best source. Any Hoya with a "c" in front of the description is cold tolerant. For me, the lowest temps I usually have to deal with are in the lower 40's, very infrequently the upper 30's for a few hours. Carnosas (if you can keep them dry, like under an overhang) and its close relatives, pubicalyxs (the happiest outside), serpens, pauciflora are all good outside year-round for me. I have more out there, but they are still undecided. Marcy also has a lot of year-round outsiders, though she's a little warmer than us.
Wow, zone envy here. Low of 29 tonight, with a balmy high of 54 tomorrow. Lots of leaves to rake, and the wool is coming out. Sigh.......oh I guess I just have to remember national parks, mountain views, skiing to die for, wild life in the yard (not helping tons, but what can one do). :O
Sara
Joanne, also take a look at Carol's site where she lists the temperature tolerances. http://www.bigislandgrowers.com/ghp/AHtemps.php
Ann
Mark and Ann, thank you. The DL catalog and Carol's both go by the 50 degree low for cool temp plants. This thread has many people talking about temps below that. I was just curious about that. Ann, our night temps have been in the low 40's. This morning it was 41 degrees out and you have beautiful plants on your patio! I have changed my 'wants and needs' from "I love that flower" to, after seeing your collection, to "I love those leaves!" I am going to try to keep my focus on what will grow well and bloom well for me. However, I am still trying to keep my Eriostemma collection alive! I have purchased 3 heat mats and have a heater going on low. Time will tell. Thanks again for the info! God bless. -joanne
Hoyas CAN be amazing!!! I have personally met a H. australis blooming profusely and growly like a weed where the winter temps get down into the LOW 50s and the upper 40s. In NZ where i am staying there is a carnosa outside where there is frost (but it is under cover). It is all so relative. I would stick to the DL chart (which mine is based on) to be safe. After all, he has the experience and will err on the cautious side.
I grow all the ones on the COOL list outside year round and even some of the Intermediate ones too. I live near the coast in Southern California, and temps typically fall into the low 40s at night in the winter. Once in a while it dips into the upper 30s even, and some years it has gone down to freezing (but I did not have hoyas out during any frost or freezing temps). I have plans to bring in my plants if the weatherman predicts freezing temps. The low temps we do get only last a few hours in the wee early hrs of the morning so it is never below 50 for long. Then it typically warms back up into the 60s & 70s during the day. All the ones I leave out there grow some and look fine all winter so it has not been a problem with them left out.
Marcy
The two most cold tolerant Hoyas I've heard about are H. linearis and H. shepherdii. I've heard it said that linearis is even frost-tolerant, and H. shepherdii has reportedly gone through Georgia winters (definitely several frosts) unfazed.
My temperatures are very much in line with yours, Marcy, except it gets a bit warmer there during the day.
Here is a list of everything I've grown outside, with some preliminary results: (only for 2 years, no frost)
pubicalyx- very, very happy. Grows vigorously all year
carnosa- happy if kept dry in winter, otherwise prone to downy mildew, some root die-off
pauciflora- so far quite happy, grows well
arnottiana- not growing, but healthy looking, no fungus or root rot. Probably will come inside permanently
linearis- just moved out
bella- happy, not gone through a winter yet
'Snowball'- very good grower, young, no bloom yet
serpens- extremely happy, grows well and made lots of peduncles, no bloom yet
polynuera- very good growth, tolerates some sun, no fungus or root loss, even when overpotted
nummularioides- grows well, not gone through a winter
compacta- same as carnosa
aff. globulosa/ villosa- very happy, no fungus, grows well, no root rot even when overpotted
shepherdii- didn't grow well, but was a very small plant. I'll try again when it is older.
I'll try more as they come to my attention. I think I will try some lacunosas, australis, fungii this year. It seems to me that older, well established and root bound plants would fare better outside in our mild, wet winters. I've lost or had poor results from most cuttings or young plants, except for serpens.
Oh, I keep all cuttings and very small plants inside in the winter. They fit nicely on my window ledges and in the mini greenhouse I have set up. It is only established plants I keep outside.
I have 2 bellas that I have left out, plus a kentiana (or maybe it is wayetii) , 2 shepherdii, serpens, several australis tenuipes, several australis ssp australis, australis 'Mrs. G', australis 'Silver Valley', 4 kerrii (both variegates and regular), several obovata, fungii, shepherdii, diversifolia, motoskei, cinnamomifolia, multifloria, polyneura, Krinkle 8, many kinds of carnosas and pubicalyx.
There is one type of australis that I left out and lost. It had extremely large and very round leaves. I thought it was tenuipes, but now I think not. It seemed more delicate. I got it originally from Logee's. Also, I have lost lacunosas by leaving them out. I know they are listed on the cool list, but every time I leave one out, I lose it. I don't know if it they got too wet or what, but I don't leave that one out anymore. Also the kerrii and obovata seem prone to get some fungus in winter that causes black spots on them I think if they were not outside they would not get that. It doesn't kill them, but they do get some ugly leaves for awhile. New growth in spring is always fine again.
I also lost a glabra and an incurvula (or maybe it was brevialata...the one EA sells) by leaving them out. There is a pottsii I leave out that does just fine, but I am not sure which of the types it is. I got it origiaally from Logees as cinnamomifolia, but it is NOT that. I also have pottsii 'Chiang Mai' that I left out last winter, and it was fine.
That is all I can think of for now.
Marcy
OK, I live in Michigan z5. For the cool winter hoyas I'm hoping to be able to keep them in the basement where temp reaches 40 degrees for about a month in January (maybe longer). The others will be in the sunroom (living room temp.) Anyone have experience with what this might mean to my new hoya's (I've just started a collection). ???Suggestions. Maybe I should start a new thread.