My hoya is dying after I moved-need help.

17 years ago

This is my first post to this forum. Thanks to anyone who can help. I just moved from Chicago to Las Vegas. Sadly I could not take all my plants with me but definitely chose to take my flourishing hoya. I only know it to be a hoya as that is what I was told (long draping vines with bright, firm green leaves). I've had it for almost 10 years and it has always done well in Chicago as an indoor plant. It survived the 3 day car ride and I thought would love the heat and more direct sun as long as I watered it regularly. After just one week it looks like it got a severe sunburn. Many leaves have dried up but not fallen off. I took it out of the direct sun and it is still dying. Can I stop this process? I would hate to lose the whole plant. I know it is mad at me for taking it out of its comfort zone but I am hoping to save it so it can get along with the other plants that love the new digs. I don't claim to be a plant expert so thank you in advance for your beginner's level suggestions!--Greg

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Comments (7)

Denise
17 years ago
Greg,

Yes, is sounds like your Hoya got sunburned. Keep in mind that in nature, Hoyas grow in jungles under the canopy of the trees above, so they get indirect light. In our houses, they can take some direct sun through the windows because it's not as intense, and up here in the northern areas, the sun is less intense than in the tropics. So now that you're in hot, arid, sunny Vegas, it needs even more shade than in Chicago. Did it get sunburned on one side only, or did you have it out in all day sun so all sides got sunburned? If you have some good foliage left, I would take cuttings to start. If it's dieing back all over, probably your best bet is to just whack it off at the soil line and let it restart. I know that seems drastic, but it will come back. Just be sure to keep it in a shady spot and make sure it doesn't dry out too much. It will take a LOT more water out there than it did in Chicago!

Denise in Omaha
gflame
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks Denise. I did have it out in the sun all day for about 2 days until I noticed something wrong. So I put it in a place where it got about 2 hours of sun only. Now it's completely shaded. About 75% of the leaves are burned totally through to both sides. It's been particularly hot here the last week so the sun really did a number on the plant. There are defintely some vines that are still ok. Looks like I will have to do some whacking of the the dead ones. I'm just amazed at how fast it all happened. When you say take cuttings, do you mean just prune off the burnt leaves and keep the vine or do you mean cut the vine and try to re-root it in some water (which has worked in the past when the plant got too long). If it survives I will have to ask you next about flowering. This hoya has never flowered and I did not even know it could until reading this site. Thanks again for your help!
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I agree with Mike that when fall and winter roll around a scattering of yellow leaves is to be expected regardless of the plants being put through any outdoor > indoor transition. I don't think your plants' condition looks too worrisome at the moment (except #4, which personally I'd intervene with immediately). As long as the watering schedule is as satisfying as it can be, they'll buck up and get over their temporary upset. This year, I slowed down my watering dramatically the minute temperatures started to descend, even though we still had plenty of warm days for a while. I am letting my pots get very light before I water again. You can't go by schedule, but I am estimating I usually hit my plants closer to every 1.5-2 weeks. They are all getting fertilizer and most seem fairly active. I am seeing a lot fewer problems than the year before, but there are still some lost leaves. On the other hand, the subsection of Hoyas I have here at the office tend to be kept very moist and are pressed against a very cold window, and I haven't seen a single bit of yellow. I kind of feel like the ideal method for my residence and collection is to let them dry out well, but keep them above humidity trays. Most Hoyas will gracefully endure the imperfect watering we give them during seasonal change, if there is bonus humidity. I definitely don't think your problem is too much light - that's almost impossible indoors, and typically you'll see obviously burnt or sun damaged leaves if you do have a more sensitive Hoya. Based purely on my own experiences, it feels most likely that your plants are getting too much water and staying wet too long. PG and Mike are both asking questions to get to the bottom of this, but my advice is err on the side of too dry. Most of the Hoyas in your pictures fall in this camp.
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To catrin123: This is what you must do to save your Hoya: Take cuttings as many as you can, leave around 5 inc stem with at least 5 leaves to the mother plant. Each cuting should have at least 7 leaves, take off 2 lower leaves so that you can put that part in a clear cup of water, preferably sligh warm to the touch). The cup and the water should be clean. Place all cuttings you save in the cup ( if too crowded make more cups). Place the cups in a warm and pretty bright but not sunny area inside your house, a windowsill that receives good light but not direct sun. The cuttings WILL live in the water and root in it after one month! Could be earlier. Rinse the cup and Change water when the water looks cloudy. Keep the cuttings there until they roots profusely then pot them with soil ( never over pot a hoya, mix 3parts potting soil, 1 part perlite). Keep the plants indoor until the weather gets to 80-90 F then you can take them outdoor in the shade. GRADUALLY move to more light areas but not sunny until they receive dapple sunlight but never get direct sun. i believe the mother plant needs more light and less water. Remember Hoya dies quickly because of too much water not too little. please keep me updated
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Denise
17 years ago
Greg,

I meant if there were just a limited number of good vines left to remove them and re-start them, cutting the rest back completely. It's been my experience that a plant works hard to "revive" damaged parts and you can lose a plant by letting bad damage die back naturally. I suspect this has something to do with the limitations we put on them when we grow them in pots... Whatever the reason, I find a damaged plant has a better chance of surviving with a severe pruning. Not only surviving, I might add, but eventually flourishing better than before. I actually found this out by accident. At the risk of telling the same story over and over and boring the long-time readers... I've had German Shepherd dogs for many years. If you've never had one, you probably aren't familiar with their overly-enthusiastic tail-wagging, the signal of the "happy dance" when Mom or Dad comes home. The "dance" has resulted in many, many - uh - "pruned" plants. I used to get really upset until I realized that those "pruned by the dance" seemed to look awsome after they recovered. Thus began my no-fear attitude towards pruning. Yes, you'll have a crappy looking plant for awhile, but in the end, you'll be rewarded...

As for flowers, patience is the key. If you do have to prune it clear back, I would start (for a year or so...) with a general fertilizer that will encourage foliage (like Miracle Grow...) Once you've got some good foliage, then in spring and summer, use a bloom booster fertilizer. Plenty of sun (that is, indirect sun in your neck of the woods!), fresh air, warmth... that should do it!

Sorry to hear your damage is so extensive. I think we've ALL learned this lesson the hard way!

Denise in Omaha
gflame
Original Author
17 years ago
Just a quick follow up on my dying hoya. After taking the "severe whacking" suggestions of Denise after the plant got sunburnt, the hoya has already started regrowing. Awesome suggestions as it appears the plant is saved!
langlin
17 years ago
Greg, good luck with learning to live in the desert southwest. We lived in Phoenix for 28 years which is not unlike Las Vegas, and never did master house plants there, in fact, we treated house plants as "seasonal" meaning we would buy in the spring and discard the poor dead things in the fall. The air is so dry it is really a challenge. You're just going to have to learn all over again how to keep plants. The good news is we didn't have hoya then and these things are amazing at adapting.

-Leon
Denise
17 years ago
Greg,

I'm glad to hear your Hoya is making a comeback! It's one of the hardest things to do to give a plant a severe pruning - especially if it's a beloved plant.

I might also suggest that you put your Hoya on a pebble tray to raise the humidity around it and mist the plant daily, maybe even twice a day. Even here, where the humidity is outrageous, when it's over 90, I mist mine almost daily. They seem to love the little shower on a hot day.

Denise in Omaha
mairzy_dotes
17 years ago
Yes, I find most hoyas do not like much full Southwestern hot sun much at all. Even if they don't get "burned leaves", they turn a washed out looking pale yellow in time.
Congrats on bringing her back to life again. Treat it more like a tropical plant & not a cactus and it should be fine from here on out.
Marcy

My hoya is dying after I moved-need help.

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My hoya is dying after I moved-need help.

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