Last fall I was able to purchase over a dozen great hoyas from a favorite vendor. I was thrilled when the majority of them arrived with peduncles!! Many with more than one!
Around the middle of November we fired up the wood stove and with in two weeks I had peduncles laying all over my hoya table and the floor. Like leaves dropping in the fall! You can imagine my distress, obviously the drastic change to a dry heat was too much for them despite my efforts to baby them!
The majority of the plants (thin leaved ones are not going to be for me!) adjusted and then did well with the sun bouncing off the snow through the east facing window. Verticillita even bloomed twice during the winter months!
So onto my question...since the plants were mature enough to have formed peduncles (some with quite large ones) will they reform new ones anytime soon?? Or do I have a long wait ahead of me to regain the ground that was lost??
Thanks, Brenda
Dropped Peduncles Question
Brenda, did the whole peduncle come off at the stem? I have never seen that happen... curious. I think the answer to your last question is that yes, they will form peduncles again...when they feel healthy enough to. It WAS probably the dry heat that scared them!!! You ever put a kettle or pan of water on your wood stove to add some humidity?
LOL, Carol
Agreed that you will soon have peduncles and flowers.
Especially if your plants came from a tropical/humid environment, they were just acclimating to your conditions. Next winter, look into humidity trays (flat trays with a layer of gravel and filled with water), a kettle of water or a large roaster pan on your wood stove, and a full mister bottle of water so you can mist them whenever you pass by. I have also found that the misting fountains make a world of difference in the winter. I have gas heat and keep a fountain directly over every heat vent. Honestly, my plants grown in the house over winter look better than those in the greenhouse!
If you take your Hoyas out for the summer, I've also found it helpful to bring in plants at least 2 weeks before turning on the heat.
Mel
Oddly enough, the same thing happened to me (but not for the same reason).
My lacunosa (which had about 50 peduncles) dropped them ALL this past winter - I think it's cause I kept it too far from a window for a few months.
And Carol, that sipitangensis I got from you dropped every single peduncle (it had a STREAM of them!) a few days after getting it. The plant is very healthy, so I just don't get it!
Gabi
Maybe it is a survival thing: "If I don't have peduncles I won't spend a lot of enery putting out flowers and i need to reserve all my moisture"....
An attention getting device?
Thank you all! I am very pleased to know that they will re-form peduncles sooner rather than later!! I guess it was like getting a big collective "raspberry" from the majority of the Hoyas for moving them to Idaho! LOL
We do keep a big dutch oven full of water on the wood stove at all times but I am going to look into the misting fountains, can you give me a bit more detail that would point me in the right direction in finding them meltn?
That original set back bummed me but I can say that this spring most of them are looking great and sending out new growth and forming buds on the peduncles that are left. And this despite the fact that there is still snow on the ground here and more is falling right now!
I am especially happy with my cv Christine's activity right now. She did not drop her peduncles last fall and she has sent out three new leaves and a new peduncle this spring and is forming buds!
~Brenda
That is a beauty, Brenda!
The misting fountains used to be everywhere, but, appear to be out of fashion now. I bought my last ones on E-Bay. If you can't find them there, try a google search. They look like dry ice and many have lights that change colors.
Mel