Well, 40 years is a long run for your Hoya. When I lose an old plant, my mom always says, "Well, I'm sure plants die of old age, too!" Probably true, but the key is to take cuttings so that a part of that plant lives on.

I have a feeling you're right - you waited too long to repot. They can live a long, long time in the same pot, mind you, and I have some that are just way too big to repot now and will have to live out their "lives" in the pot they're in, but if you can repot a large Hoya every 5 years or so, it's a good idea to do so. Short of that, all you can do is "top dress" them with some fresh soil every year or two, which is what I do with the big ones.

It may or may not make it, but at this point, I would remove several of the most hydrated stems to restart it so you have a good sized potful if it does die. Just keep your new cuttings relatively moist until they're well rooted, which is signaled by new growth.

And IMO, it's always ok to repot a Hoya - I know back when I started growing them 35 years ago, I read articles that said not to repot often. However, in my experience, it's ok to repot them if you're a little careful with the roots, taking care not to mess with the rootball too much. I repot mine pretty much annually until they're too big to practically move up any more. And as for trimming, I actually find pruning greatly encourages new growth. If I have one that's being stubborn about growing, I just take a cutting or two and **BAM**... it starts growing!

Denise in Omaha

Denise...thanks for sharing your "wealth of knowledge" with us...you're the best!! Patrick

Hi Denise,
Thanks very much for your response! I may try and gently scrape off the top layer of soil-which is packed with dead roots and r put some fresh soil there. We have been repotting him every 5 years or so but seems o sad that last summer-before he started doing poorly, he was full and flowered so well!
My husband and I were teenagers when he got Jose,so many moons ago, and I took care of Jose while he went to college and we both cannot imagine that kitchen window without him. I did take cuttings while he had healthy ones left. We're still nursing him and hope he'll respond. I read somewhere they can go into dormancy? Does that refer to the whole plant or just the flowering period?
Marie in Watertown-Jose's caretaker

Hello Riap - I also have a hoya that is older than my oldest child, who is 32. This plant was cut down out of his window about a dozen years ago, cut all the way back and repotted in a larger clay pot and rehung.

Then the only other time he was repotted was last year, huge project, hauled him down from the window, thought I could tap out of pot onto the floor. No dice - had to shatter the whole works off with a hammer. The root ball was solid as a rock, no soil. Nasty white stuff (mineral salts?) all over.

I hacked away at the root ball some, and kind of scored the sides and then put in new larger and even heavier pot. He's now "retired" from the front window and sits on a stand in the cold basement by the glass door. I did a lot of grooming and careful watering over the summer.

He's going to town now, even has to wear the little pinch collars to contain his vines, new vigorous growth everywhere. A mammoth plant and should be gorgeous when he blooms.

Pretty sure that's the last time he'll ever get a repot! I love that plant - yours may recover in a similar fashion. Seems like a lot of times they get happy going in to late winter.

Best,
Chris

denise: taking cutting from a plant that was dying of old age wouldn't help, because the cutting will be an exact copy of the mother plant witch means it will inherit all its genes as well as its age :/

gl with that Hoya riap :)

Hi Chris!
Your story gives me hope. Jose's root ball was so impacted!Water just ran through and looked so oddly discolored-greenish yellow-brown coming out if the bottom of the pot. I took a knife and a razor blade to it to cut it away, but I wish I had cut all away but the living roots I saw. He still looks like he's gone through hell, but a few leaves are turgid and seem to be doing better! Maybe one of those old vines are still ok! Bad problem too is that window has been under assault this winter by bitter cold west winds!I am hoping once March rolls around he'll perk up and put roots into the new soil in there, and we'll see some new growth. Its so sad to see photos of him from this time last year and he was full and dark green and loaded with flowers! . We've been cutting off dying leaves and stems, and carefully monitor his moisture levels-just in case the cool, very humid lack of sun summer did give him some root rot. Dummy me didn't give that a thought and I watered him weekly as i had the past 36 years we've had him. Neither of us will give up on him. He was the first living thing we cared for together.
Jonas-Thanks! If Little Jose, the cutting-does as well as his daddy, we won't make the same mistakes, should WE live long enough to see him turn 40!!!
Ria in Watertown - Jose's caretaker

Sounds like root rot is the diagnosis. One way to tell if this is the case is to cut one of the dying branches back to the soil level or at the first or second node. If the plant bleeds a milky (clear if it is a carnosa), sap, it is still alive. If it is dried up, hope for revival is limited. In my experience, once the plant starts to decline, most of the damage is already done. That also signals it is time to try to get at least a cutting or 2 re-rooted. Try to also make sure your new cuttings bleed sap too as if not, it is too late. Will keep my fingers crossed for you.

Hi Mel,
Thanks for responding. There is still clear sap in the remaining stems--but just not certain if the plant will recover, because there are so few stems remaining I don't want to cut back that far to near root level. My husband cut away everything that is dying. I did root cuttings last month that appear to be doing well. So at least if Jose does die, we have Jose Jr.
It will be a sad day here if that happens.

Hi Ria, I'm just curious how Jose is doing?! I too have a very old family hoya that I am quite attached to so I feel your pain. BTW, mine is also a "boy", but I have not gone as far as to name him. :) Over the years, we almost lost him several times, but he (so far) has always bounced back. I hope yours does the same!! Keep us posted on his progress. Jennifer

Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for asking about Jose! My husband named Jose when he got him as a cutting from the guy he did yardwork for when we were teens! Jose is hanging tough though he doesn't look well. Hoping once spring arrives maybe he'll perk up. My husband has taken off all the branches and leaves that were dying so he has less foliage now than when we moved here in 1986!
How did you almost lose yours? And how did you get him back? This is Jose's 1st real crisis!
We carefully monitor his moisture level and water only when he dries out for fear of root rot, but the impaction was sooo bad! But he is still alive.
His cutting, Jose Jr, or Jose 2.0 as hubby calls him is doing fantastic, so if the worst happens and we do lose him, we have a part of him in his clone!