Hi..........very nice and purtty......this is my favorite plant and my first hoya...I have one too...its about 4 feet long....enjoy and good growing....linda

Lamora, I am unfamiliar with the plant but the white spots appear to be abnormal; and they appear in greater number on the re-potted. That is all I am saying.

White spots in second pics are reflections off of water droplets. White spots in first pic are from water spots. Plant is very healthy from my POV

Lamora, MojaveLove kindly provided the explanation. Thanks.

Be very careful watering that mix...it'll hold excessive moisture.
Also, I'd clean that dirt away from the leaves. With this crinkly Hindu Rope, I have heard
that dirt and moisture invites problems from a fungal and pest perspective.

Josh

Morning Everyone,

Lamora, I didn't see any mention of mix your Hoya is potted in.
What did you use?

Hoyas do well in a succulent-like mix. Well-draining.
In some plant books, Hoyas are catagarized as succulents.

Soils kept constantly wet can cause rot, and when air is also dry and stuffy, Fungus Gnats.

Hoyas are notorious contracting Mealy..they're harder spotting in HR's, compared to other Hoyas..'little buggers hide inside leaves.' Only when HR is highly infested are Mealy more noticeable.

That's one reason I suggest washing leaves w/a little dish soap, and/or sprayed w/organic insecticide every other week in winter.

But, I'm jumping the gun, Lamora. Your HR is very pretty, and looks healthy enough. Nice coloring. Toni

hopeful- I didnt mix the soil in anything, but I am going to today. It isnt drying up any and yes, I am getting worried. I got some perlite and wood chips, going to mix it: 5 pt bark, 2 pt perlite and 1 pt soil. (I hope that is right) Cant remember who recommended it-- sorry.

Sounds like not enough soil to me, but Im learning still, Im not used to using anything but soil-- that may explain a lot in why my plants dont last long??

If you have any other ideas, please, let me know.

Marjie

Marjie, mix up the soil and see how you like it.
I think you'll be surprised. It doesn't seem like enough "soil," but I assure you that
it will hold plenty of moisture while also providing much better aeration. Roots love oxygen :-)

Josh

Just a couple pics to share....

I rooted these cuttings of Hoya pubicalyx 'Royal Hawaiian Purple' in this mix of bark, perlite,
pumice, and turface. I left out the peat moss/potting soil completely, but we'll leave that for a
future discussion. Anyhow, these cuttings are turning into a nice full pot. I also included a shot
of the mix itself. Plenty of moisture without a drop of potting soil.

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Josh

Lamora - I agree with Josh. If the bark you intend to use is conifer bark and of suitable size - you have a winning recipe for all your houseplants. You want a high % of large particles, like from BB-size to the size of a bingo chip, and a very LOW % of fine particles. Generally, you'll be avoiding things like sand, topsoil, and any significant fractions of peat, compost, coir, or potting soils. Think of the bark as your soil base & then add only enough fine particles to give you the amount of water retention you need. Generally speaking, the more you have to water a soil, the healthier it will be for your plants. Think 'damp', not 'soggy'. Damp rules - soggy drools (that, from my grandkids) ;-)

Al

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I apologize ahead of time if someone has already stated this, but I am concerned about the size of the pot your hoya is currently in (after you repotted it). I don't know a lot about hoyas but I did read somewhere that they shouldn't be repotted until it is absolutely necessary (I don't think it was a mistake repotting it, I'm just mentioning this), but I do think that pot is considerably larger than the pot it was originally in. I would go up about 2'' in pot size max. Hope this helps!

Hi PlantoM,

Do you grow Hoyas? I grow at least a dozen. Pls. don't believe everything you read, nor repeat same.

This is repotted w/ cause to get it from a less desirable mix to a more desireable mix. To me, that pot is not more than 2" larger around than the previous pot. I don't know what you're seeing, but this is just fine.

Hi Lamora,

Once you get the new mix settled, this should be fine. I think you're already also over at the Hoya Forum. FYI: this is formally called Hoya compacta (commonly Hindu Rope).

Thanks everyone for all your advice and information~~ it is all very much apprecieated. :)

I did put it into a new mix. 5pt wood chip, 2pt perlite and 1pt soil. It does look a lot better. The soil I did have it in was still very wet, hard and heavy. I think it will like this much better.

Been thinking about my Philodenron Brasil. It is doing real good, but I think it could do better. And my Spider plant. I think I am going to make some soil up for them. Would the same mix be ok for those too? or would they need more soil? I read somewhere that equal parts of each would be good for them. (they said moss tho, not perlite)

I guess it is kinda like a guessing game till you find what your plants do good in?

Again~ thanks for everything.. :)

Lamora!

Did you mention 'WOOD CHIPS'? Or are you meaning to say you used pine bark or fir bark chips?

Inner wood chips, 'sapwood' will break down rapidly.
The rapid decomposition of wood chips will often cause clogging of the soil-mix and even more so, potentially
lead to nutrient deficiencies, particularly of nitrogen.

Most often use (conifer bark) as a base for their mixes because the combination of a high percentage of lignin and suberin (in the bark) makes it difficult for micro-organisms to cleave hydrocarbon chains and destroy the structure of the organic part of your soil. In other words, your mix will break down much to rapidily if you use wood chips and the structure/durability of your mix will endure if using conifer barks.

By the way, that pot size looks great and in fact your plant will thrive with lots of root room if given the proper mix to allow you to water copiously without fear of root rot.

You have yourself a great looking plant and as Toni says, be very watchful for pest invasion and take precautions. Lots of hiding room at this time of the year.

Mike

Hey Marjie, pretty name.

The new recipie mix is definately well-draining. Hoyas are like succulents; they dislike wet feet.

Keep us posted on its progress.

Nope, I haven't any other ideas...
However, you might ask someone who uses soil-less mixes about proper watering. Testing medium, etc.

What's funny, when we make a change w/plants, it's a little scary, right? lol.

Good luck, Marj.

Plantomaniac. I agree, Hoyas prefer a tight fit, espeically to promote flowering, but I don't see much size difference in Marj's old and new containers.

Looks like pot 1 'pic' was taken at a further distance than pot 2, which makes pot 2 appear larger.

Josh, your RHP is doing great..love the contrast between maroon/red and green foliage. Toni

Lamora - I think it SEEMS like something of a guessing game until you understand what many of us already understand and try so hard to share with others; something I can see you recognize and are trying to deal with by making your own soils. BTW - I applaud you for that. You understand the principle, that soils that hold excessive amounts of water do not allow you to water properly w/o compromising root health or function; you just need to fine tune the ingredients to make sure you won't run into any unexpected problems with pH and N tie-up down the road.

As you can see, you have plenty of support, and all the help, clarification, and guidance you need is yours for the asking.

Remember, now is not a good time to be repotting, unless the plant is likely to die w/o intervention. Your plant's energy reserves are generally very low (lowest they will be during the entire growth cycle) in late winter and spring, making early summer and summer the best time for repots.

Also, as your soils get less & less water-retentive, and you make them so they don't hold perched water (no soggy layer at the bottom of the pot), that oft repeated directive to only pot up one pot size or whatever other comparative size increase is used, goes right out the window. When you're using soils that don't support significant amounts of perched water, you can plant very small plants in very large pots with very little concern for root issues, as long as you're reasonable about watering intervals.

You're definitely on the right track!

Al

Thanks everyone--
Mike- the wood I am using, Im not sure if it was the right thing or not, but it was all we could find at that time.

Forest Bark-- it says "Soil Cover" on it, but the back of it says to mix it in with soil and whatnot.(orchid potting) Is that ok? I am soooo hoping you will say "yes it is" If it isnt, we will have to look a bit harder for other bark. This was all we could find.

But my Curly (his name) seems to be doing good in it so far, but it has only been 2 days. Will let you know how it goes.

And yes-- Im learning a lot here, best group I could find for this! Thanks :)