My citrina has been out in the sun since October. The leaves are very dark red, almost burgendy. My question is: does the red leaves hurt the growth of the plant? I know plants need green leaves for photosynthisis. Does the red in the leaves stop that from happening?
Hi Eileen,
I have H. citrina but it's not looking too great right now either. Mine has a problem with yellowing leaves and scale insects. I'm getting ready to dip it in a solution of BATS. It was stuck amidst a bunch of other plants the past few months and didn't get watered. This is one Hoya I haven't kept in much sun ... just very bright light. Maybe if you move yours to a more shady location the leaves will recover and turn green again? Hopefully someone with more experience with this particular Hoya will pop in with some advice.
I haven't found it to be a problem at all...they still grow and flower...it is simply a reaction to the bright light...
Oh, I'm so glad Carol popped in! I might just have to move mine to a sunnier location. I have no Hoya's with red leaves and I love the ones that can take sun and have reddish hues to the foliage! I have made a list of all of my Hoya's and noted temperature preferences but have wanted to write down their light requirements (likes and dislikes), but just haven't gotten around to it.
With the sunny 80º weather we've been having, and fairly comfortable humidity, I've been working outside in the yard all week! We sure could use some rain though! Very severe drought conditions, with brush and wild fires popping up around central Florida. There are no fires anywhere close to where I live but I could smell smoke in the air early this morning ... guess the breeze was just right.
Eileen, I heard on the news there was a fire down your way, one near Cocoa/Rockledge and another farther south, near Palm Bay ... hope it's not close to you. Stay safe!
Carol, thanks for the info. I was hoping you would chime in. I've moved it under the lanai roof and I'll see if it recovers some of the green. I was just afraid it wouldn't grow or flower. I've been busy cleaning up the orchids and moving them back under the lychee tree. They've been on the pool deck so it was easier to cover them if needed. The tree has to be pruned so that I don't hit my head on low branches, but it's getting ready to flower and then set fruit. DH won't cut off those low branches until after it finishes fruiting.
I've moved a few hoya around too. Also cut back all the frozen ones. Maybe I'll see new growth. Otherwise, I'll have to go shopping. ^_^
Lin, thank God, the fires are not near us. I've heard the fire engines, but they keep going somewhere else, not close by. Hope there's no repeat of the Mother's Day fires of last year.
Good move on the Lychees...they can be so picky!!!!
Also...keep this in mind: in the wild hoyas are at the mercy of the weather. They go thru months of drought and months of deluge (granted, they aren't living in pots but on trees). They are torn out of trees with storms, stepped on, pooped on, don't get fertilized except by the occasional bird or the ants and they 'survive'. All we give them is pure luxury!!!!!
