Cuttings for Postage- Hoya Bella

I just purchased a Hoya Bella about a month ago in Full Bloom!
However My poor plant does not look to good. I think I am slowly killing him.
I will post a picture tomorrow. The leaves do not look to good, they are changing. Maybe someone might be able to tell me what is wrong with him. I have some other cuttings in a different pot and it looks the same .
I figured I would send cuttings out and then whats left of the plant to some one for a new home for postage.

I have a feeling he is not in good hands with me.

My computer crashed so I can not post the original picture taken when he was in bloom. I do have one posted a month back if you care to take a look at it.
Please Dmail me Re: Cuttings . I do not have my email working at this time.

Katrun - I've killed bella every time I've had him - so don't feel bad!

Karen

Katrun, a friend of mine keeps her bella in a green vase of water, in a bright place with indirect light. That's it - you can see the roots - no dirt and the thing is a happy blooming fool. Maybe try taking all of the cuttings you can, cut off the leaves on the part of the stem you'll keep in water, and see what happens. By the way, she changes the water every now and then.
Ann

edited to add ... make sure the glass vase is a dark color - stops the algae from forming too quickly

This message was edited Jul 30, 2007 10:10 PM

Yes, do try water I don't have bella but have successfully grown a hoya in water for up to 14 years.

I am going to have to try water!!! I had a gorgeous bella, the green one, hanging from a tree. It was like Marcy's...about 3' x 3' and a blooming fool. Then I read that it was best to 'rejuvenate' it every couple of years and I haven't been able to grow a decent bella since. Darn. Maybe I will try straight water....sounds too good to be true.

I have killed this plant more than any other plant! I wanted to grow one so bad and kept trying over and over.
I bought a HUGE one from Marcy and the same thing....I slowly killed it.
I ended up doing the same thing you are doing, giving it away for postage. I wanted SOMEONE to try to save it :(
I have 6 cuttings and recently repotted them AGAIN and after MONTHS some of the cuttings still don't have roots and all of the leaves look deflated. One little cutting has flowers and looks like it will make it but the others I fear a gonners :

So far of all the Hoyas I've tried, bella is the one that I do the poorest with. I have an incredibly sad looking one out on the front porch. I was going to try to start it over with cuttings, but after reading this thread, I don't think that I will bother. Into the compost heap!

Well, I'm holding my breath, because I have one that I got as rooted cuttings a few months ago, and is growing like gangbusters. I planted it in my regular hoya potting medium (1 part potting soil, 1 part orchid potting medium and 1/4 part perlite), and I water it twice a week, until water flows out the bottom, and I don't drain the excess water off. Yes, I agree, water is the key with this fussy one! I've only killed two of them before.

Christine

For all of you about to lose your bellas, instead of the compost heap/trash, why not pull them out of their pots, rinse all the soil off of what roots remain, and pop the roots into a darkly-colored jar of water? The only thing you have to lose is a little time and water. Just don't put it in any direct sun or algae will form and kill it.

I also killed a very big bella recently. I don't think I was watering it enough. The person that was kind enough to send me the huge plant (for free!), was also kind enough to replace it when it died. She sent me 3 good-sized rooted cuttings, with one in bloom. She told me that they had been sitting in water (even after being rooted for awhile) for quite some time, and had even been blooming in the water! When I received it, I potted it and I've been watering it frequently (keeping it constantly moist). But every peduncle it develops falls off. The plant itself is very healthy, but I just don't want to take the chance of losing it again. So after reading this post, I just may switch it over to water.

Any opinions on whether I should either:
1. Take the stems out of the soil and rinse the roots off, then place them in a colored vase
OR
2. Take the stems out, but cut the roots off to start over before placing them in the vase

Thanks,
Gabi

I have a Bella that consist of five rooted cuttings,and I pretty much gave up on it. I left it outside, and it has been pouring rain here for several weeks , and it was to the point of floating. I poured off the excess water thinking I am drowning it. Then I saw it is getting ready to bloom. What a surprises. It must like swimming. LOL
Patti

God Lord! It figures...When I purchased the Plant I was so Happy. It was the first Hoya I have seen in Bloom. (at the time).
So, I bought it. It was not even tagged. The blooms do not have a scent either. But its is pretty and it had Blooms.

I thought for sure I would Find it a new home. I will go ahead and divided it and put it in a vase of water.
If any one else still one any cuttings. Please just let me know or Dmail me. The plant is very full. Here is the photo I promised.
It starting to decline.

#2

#3-

That's what mine looked like in it's early stages of demise. BUT, I think yours is at a point where it can be saved. Have you checked the roots? I'm just wondering if it would be better to take cuttings and re-root them in water, or to take the stems out of the dirt and place them in water after a good rinse (roots and all). I'm sure someone will have a suggestion...
Good luck,
Gabi

I will take it out and rise it well and move it in a jar with water.
Like I said the cuttings look the same too. I had them in a other location. Strange.
Do you think the cuttings are still ok to give away?
I wanted to make sure. I was thinking of posting in the Plant trading forum. Its to large of a plant . I will have to cut it back to keep it inside.
I do not want to throw them away.
Thank you- Kathryn

Whatever you do, take cuttings now! No one agrees with me, but I don't keep my bella on the moist side, and it does great. I treat it like the rest of my hoyas, I water it on the day it becomes pretty much dry, not a day before, not the day after....I agree that letting it stay dry for too long a period could be very bad, but keeping something at a perfect level of moist at all times is just too hard for some people to get right without overdoing it, including me, so I have opted to just let it get 95% dry, then water that day. I also have mine in a very chunky and fast draining mix, which I think promotes good root health. It is healthy, never gets yellow leaves or any root problems from being on the dry side, and blooms pretty regularly. After repotting it about a month ago, it looked bad for a few weeks, but I used a potting soil that was staying too wet - once I got it back into my regular mix, it bounced back.

So, if you are having problems, you could maybe try something different - my method requires extreme vigilance, that way I know exactly the day that the plant is dry enough to be watered again, but I have no root rot, and no over or underwatering issues, so it is worth it to me to check every day to see when it needs water.

By the way, this is in normal home conditions, I don't keep this one outside, it is indoors with central air.

You have D'mail

Sniff Sniff, I killed mine too.

Hey ya'll,
I know nothing. But bought the beautiful big plant blooming too. It wilted in a few days. I pulled it all out and put in water while I went on vacation. Some did okay, some not. Then I read from the HOYOR to try self-watering pots. Here's what I have so far. - If they don't make it. Well, I will try again later.
Katie

They look pretty healthy to me! And such cute pots...

Gabi

Yours look good so far. Nice in the pots. Please keep us updated.
I can not get over how finicky the Hoya Bella. I am glad it just was not me. I have killed other Hoyas, so it was not such a Shock when I had a problem.I just do not unde stand. My other Hoyas are growing great! No blooms, but new growth on all of them. I have one that has 2 blooms on him!

I figured that I will just offer everyone who wants a cutting to them. I enjoyed the blooms.
Thats enough for me.


* My Cut off date for cuttings will be this Saterday..
So please d-mail. I still have a few more I can send out.

Thank you- Kathryn

CLOSED
Closed



****I will be shipping out on Tuesday of next week.


Kathryn

just an update on this plant; i was the lucky recipient of the plant and appreciate katrun trusting me with it's care. im attaching a pic of it and it's progress....hope everyone who got cuttings is having the same luck ....

Good idea Anaid. I don't have pics b/c I'm here at work, but my bellas are doing great as well. I actually didn't want to say anything b/c I don't want to jinx it but my bellas from Katrun have quite a few penducles on them- I can't believe it! Mine are actually still in a jar of water- I'd read that some people have had success w/ that method and so far they've put out a lot of new growth and are trying to bloom. I just hope they don't blast on me. :( After they're finished blooming I might try to take one out of the water and put it into soil and see how that goes. Thanks again Kathryn!!!

Is hoya bella the one that HD sells as mini wax leaf?? I've seen it a couple of times there but it was so pitiful that I didn't get it. Just curious in case I ever see a nice healthy one as to what a "mini wax leaf" REALLY is??

Thanks ~Brenda

The ones I've seen here from HD labeled as mini wax leaf is lacunosa.

Hey, Brenda ~~~ I fully agree with you! lol!

I started my H. bella from cuttings about 4? years ago, and mine is doing quite well, has grown by leaps and bounds and bloomed nicely this summer when I did put it outdoors. (It had began blooming before I placed it outdoors)

Mine is pretty much neglected, goes for quite a long time without water - I water when I *discover* that it's quite dry.

On the other hand, we also got a lot of rain in August and September, and the 'floating' (as Patti described it;) didn't seem to bother it at all, either.

Interesting!

Yes, like Lourdes said, the EA hoya that is labeled "mini wax leaf" is actually lacunosa. It says "bella" on the bottom of the label, which is really confusing!!

I have NO luck with bella! My first one just shriveled up and died. My current one has very healthy looking leaves, but continuously drops its peduncles, and a bunch of the leaves fall off every now and then. I'll just wait for this one to die and then NEVER get another bella!

Gabi

So do the lacunosa's from HD end up doing well if you can get them before they've been reduced to pitiable conditions? I'd love to smell a lacunosa bloom after all I've heard about them!!

~Brenda

Brenda,

I think that *any* EA hoya will do badly if left there long enough for the employees to overwater them! That being said, you should be fine as long as you get the lacunosa soon after it arrives to the store. I'd try asking the HD garden center employees when their shipments come in. I've had great luck with all my EA hoyas. I just take the bottom saucer off and let it dry out completely before the next watering. I never put the saucer back on. I don't have an EA lacunosa, but since lacunosa likes to stay more moist than the "typical" hoya, it might actually do pretty well in that EA soil.

Gabi

Thanks Gabi, I will now be on the lookout for a healthy looking "mini wax leaf" / lacunosa!! I live 2 hours away from the closest HD but it's like a treasure hunt when I do make it to the city as I hit both of the HD's and both of the Lowes! Fun!

~Brenda

I enjoyed the update on the bellas. I had put my 3 bellas in the self watering pots in the dining room and don't think of them much. I took pictures to show - it looks like the 'Luis Bois' has grown a tiny bit. But the others look just kind of limp and the same. So - at least they are alive. But let me know how the rescued ones continue to do. Thanks
Katie

I got some cuttings, I think the last of the batch, of this bella, to make a plant for my mom ( who was always longing after my bella ) Some of the cuttings came rooted, and all have done great and put out lots of new growth. No flowers yet, though.

Im gonna try to root some of the cuttings from the plant katrun sent me to see if im successful. Does anyone have pics of the blooms for this plant.

Do you mean pics of the blooms from the actual plant you got your cuttings from, or just bella bloom pics? Either way, I'm sure they'd look the same. Here's a pic of an umbel from my old bella - it has since died :(

What adorable little blooms!! :)

Katie, I love your frog planter. I have a small bella that I just had to un-pot and now the cuttings are in water. It looked like it was dying. I hope this will save the little guy. I know quite a few are having a problem with this one. I also have a lacunosa that is slowly turning yellow. I've cut some good tips off and am trying to save that one also. I am getting ready to send off an order to Ted Green and will probably include another bella in the order.

Digger- I'm having the same problem with my lacunosa. It started turning yellow over the summer and all of the buds it had started growing fell off. :( I repotted it (probably 3 months ago) and it still looks horrible- I don't know what to do with it.

I dont understand why so many problems with this plant. Im afraid Im gonna jinx myself if I say that my Bella is doing great. I have moved it to stand closer to my green houses but it still gets plenty of sun and I water when it needs it. Im just hoping one day it will bloom. That to me will mean success.....