Definitely act!

It's totally exciting that you have buds again, but not worth it to let your plant die. It does look like it has root damage and you need to reroot it now or I think you're going to lose it.

Best of luck! :)

Hi Klea,

I would stabilize the plant first. You won't have buds with no plant is sensible. I do not use Hydroton so I am of no help there. ~ Mary

Thank you both for answering so fast. I'm going to take your advice.

GG, when you say reroot, do you mean starting the plant up again by taking cuttings, or do you think a repotting would work? I have already rooted 2 or 3 small cuttings from this plant, but will definitely root more if you think the motherplant is actually dying. Maybe I'll have to pull the plant out of the pot and look at the roots again, to see if they are rotting or if they look like they could pull through...

Oh, and there was a bit of a mix up between fahrenheit and celsius in the first post (sorry). I meant to write 47 F not C. And the second temp. mentioned should be 41 F...

Cuttings is your best form of insurance against completely losing the plant. It does seem that your plant is rotting out from the roots. I had it happen to a cummingiana and ended up putting it in straight gravel. Plenty of air space around the roots seemed to do the trick. The plant is thriving now.

I doubt it is your temperatures hurting it. My serpens withstands down to freezing during winter nights, and up to weeks of 95F plus summertime days.

I have mine in a net pot with seedling orchid bark, watered daily in the summer, every so often in the winter.

When you get serpens growing well, it is a very rewarding plant.

Renee

Hehe I got that you did not mean 47c that would be crazy ^_^

Yes, I think you need to take as many cuttings as possible. I think the existing root system is damaged beyond repair and left alone you will lose the entire plant. It just has "that look" of a plant that is not getting what it needs from its roots. Bummer. :(

I agree with Renee that it's not the temps

I agree that Hoya serpens is a plant that actually does best is cooler temperatures. One of the things to remember is that in nature these plants don't necessarily root into deep deposits of humus or soil. Being epiphytes they are used to sending their roots where there need to gather moisture and act as support but the material they root into tends to dry our fairly quickly. This is why plants like this need a potting mix with a large amount of air space so that it is fast draining. Having a potting mix that remains saturated for long periods means that the oxygen levels in the mix plummet and this coupled with cold wet conditions create the perfect conditions for diseases of the roots.
I think you should repot and then use a much more shallow pot or at least a mix that drains very well. This is a creeping Hoya that does not have an extensive root system so it should be potted with this in mind. Really all Hoyas should be kept in smaller pots as they are easier to maintain. If using a large pot it is best to use extra bark, perlite, or Diatomite, etc to keep the mix as open and fast draining as possible. If the root system is in very poor health it may be best to start over with cuttings.
I admit that the potting mixes used by many commercial production greenhouses just don't perform well in many home conditions. It's often a good idea to repot plants that are in a mix that you are not familiar with. Many times I am a bit lazy about repotting new plants but when it comes to Hoyas I get from places like Walmart or Lowes they always seem to decline in health if not dealt with. Many times these plants have already been over watered but I also notice that they struggle during the changing seasons and fall/winter really takes a toll if left in the original potting mix.

Mike

I acted!

And I'm really glad I did!! The last time I looked at its roots (about a month and a half ago) they looked ok. They didn't reach more than halfway down the pot, but that still measured a 7 cm layer of roots. Now the roots were almost completely rotted away - only small chunks of 1-2 cm long root were left. When I started to gently remove the plant from the pot the plant just loosened from its roots. Most of the the vines were still green and healthy - I got A LOT of cuttings! I put them in pots filled with hydroton (and some with small bits of orchid bark). Then I put them in a rooting aquarium, and the aquarium was placed in a north facing window. Now all I can do is hope they will root and start growing!

Some pictures...

Here's what was left of the roots. (And what was left of the plant after I cut it up and planted the cuttings.) I put the sad remains on top of moist hydroton and wrapped it all in plastic - just to see if it will re-root.

Who would have thought a plant with roots like that could look as healthy as this (most of the leaves were like this, only some had shriveled up and died):

Now the cuttings have moved into a nice and humid environment, and I hope they'll like it there (3 more pots were filled with cuttings, they were put in plastic bags because there was no room in the aquarium):

Some of the cuttings:

Klea,

Well done! Very good job. It encouraged me to act in some that aren't doing good!

Good luck with them!

Mitzi from Brazil

I love this forum! I have hesitated to use humidity devices for mold fears, I do have temp changes from day to night that bring it on from any artificial created humid conditions in my house, added air flow did not help it out. I would love to see your progress with more postings. ~ Mary

My (very limited) experience tells me that serpens in my conditions prefers hydroton to moss, soil, or orchid mix. Good luck!

Thank you mitzi. I hope the cuttings will root and give me back my beautiful lush serpens!

emt23; I'll post an update when it all settles in. :) I haven't had problems with mold before, but you never know - this could be the first time. I'll keep an eye on it!

kukka; Your conditions might be similar to mine as you live in Finland (right?) and I live in Norway. :) I usually don't use hydroton for rooting - perlite is my first choice. But I was all out of perlite, and needed to act fast. Thank you for reassuring me and telling me that serpens does well in hydroton.

A fellow Northener!
Yes, serpens seems to like Hydroton the best, and its fine for rooting cuttings anyway.
Soon you just may have too much plants...;)

Good on you, Klea, for jumping in there. Your rerooting project look perfect and I'm glad you're giving the poor mama such a good setup to hopefully pull through. This is a very inspirational thread because everyone has a situation like this at one time or the other and it's good to feel in control.

I don't have trouble growing serpens but I might just try some cuttings in semi-hydro just to compare results.

@ Mike

Thanks for the remarks about the shallow root systems. I know I sometimes forget that some Hoyas are like this and it was helpful to be reminded.

@ Mitzi

I hope you have good results and end up with strong healthy plants again! :)

An update on the re-rooting project. It's now been 9 days since I chopped up the plant and potted the cuttings. Roots started appearing a few days ago, and there is still flowers budding up on the peduncles! I'm hoping they'll continue to develop, but I won't be dissapointed if they drop.

As to the humid conditions in the aquarium; the cuttings seem to love the humidity, and there is no mold in sight - yet.

Niiiiice! ~ Mary

Looks great, Klea! Love that macro photo of the fuzzy roots. Congratulations on your success!