Fertilizer for Hoyas?
alba_gardener
12 years ago
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greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agosquidy
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Hoyas & Winter
Comments (32)Howdy All..Hope everyone is well. After starting this thread, I've been keeping an eye on my Hoyas like a hawk..lol..My H. multiflora variegata has two sets of buds. Now we'll see if they buds open. lol. Bunny, mind if I ask what type of fertilizer you use? It's true, some ferts are very expensive..especially those that don't contain Urea Nitrogen..it's double to tripple the cost. Also, if you're satisfied the way your plants look, if they're healthy, there's no reason to change anything. Quinn..Are you talking about the silver fixtures..one bulb goes in the center? If so, I have two lying around. I used to use them all winter long, until our house almost burned down.. :( In winter, I'd clamp the fixture on a table or big pot. Alternate sides. One night, I had to run to the store..Thank God I was gone less or about 15 mins. Our dog snuck in the plant room and knocked the fixture down. Instead of the bulb burning out, it landed on the rug, the heated bulb landed on the carpet, devouring the material..It was literally smoldering like charcoals in a grill. My God, I was so scared. This happened in the 90's, and that was the last time using these fixtures..BUT, I think they work great..'unless you have a sneaky dog,' lol. He wanted to go with me, and I'm guessing, everytime he heard a car, he thought, 'oh, mommy's home. I'd better check to see if it's her car I'm hearing.' lol Do you use regular or plant bulbs..Walgreen's and Home Depot sell irredescent plant bulbs for 9.99..they're blue.. I'm unsure what VF-11 is, and regarding using VF w/fertilzier, either someone told me, or it's written on the box. If it's similar to ST, then it doesn't matter, can be used with different ferts, etc. When you say Retusa has thin leaves, what are you comparting it to? Each leaf on my Retusa are as hefty as a healthy blade of grass..lol.. Cindy, the problem is..I have, let's see, one 6' fixture, and a shelf w/4 flourescent bulbs in the front plant room..In back, there's a second 6' fixture. lol. I think dh is worried about the electric bill. You might ask why my hoyas aren't under these lights..The reason is, both front and back rooms are too cold for hoyas..the might be one reason mine go dormant. In autumn, when hoyas were brought back indoors, I decided to set them in the upstairs bedroom, where, 1. it's about 10 degrees warmer, and 2. bedrooms are on the 2nd floor, in 2 south, unobstructed windows, so more sun. BTW, what is a T5 light? Dawn, that's ashame..Sheesh, when it rain it pours. In your case, literally..Never fails, right? About your hoyas, was soil wet or dry when the freeze hit? If it was dry, there's a good chance they'll survive. 'like most other plants.' We have a small gh..the first year, 'on the coldest night of winter,' the heater went out..I lost 32 or 37 plants. Try blocking all that happened. Freezes that aren't expected, for places like Fl, ect, are harder to deal with..it just happens. I feel sorry for nurseires where plants are kept outdoors..'in Fl.' What did they do? Were they able to keep plants? Especially nurseries with numerous stock.. Perhaps you'll find your hoyas are doing better than you think..??? Mike, you got it..and we who live in cloudy, cold climates depend on what little sun is available..Today there is light..lol..If my plants could dance, they'd be doing the Jitter-Bug..lol Pug, glad you understand. Although our house is warmer than 60, so the problem stems on lack of sunlight. Week after week of darkness, if fertilizer is given, what happens is plants grow, but new growth is spindly. My H. Kerrii and Stephonotis are proof. 'Even though they haven't been fertilized. Super long stems have grown, but few leaves. I hope they fill in once days lenghten. Tish, lucky you..SUN!!! lol. Which direction does your upstairs window face? I agree, second or third floor windows get more light than first floors. I'd love to live in a corner house, facing south. With lots of windows, of course..lol..When we drive to the store, and see House for Sale, I think, now let's see, where would plants go? lol. If we ever move, I want a home on a corner lot, facing south, and two stories. Or better yet, a house w/no nearby neighbors or trees..lol Hey Denise..Do you have a picture of your gh jungle? I'd love seeing your hoyas and others entertwine..if they're happy growing everywhere, then let them do their thing..lol Can you walk from your house into the gh? I'd love being able to depart from a stuffy house and enter a humid, sweet-scented glassed-in-room. It's so nice. If you have a pic will you post? 16' longh Pink-Silver..VEry nice.. Besides sun issue, I think I fear repotting Hoyas..Almost all are rootbound. I worry the next size pot will be too large, so they stay in the same pot forever. How tight-fitting should hoyas be? Should I just go ahead and place 4"er's in 5 or 6" pots? Not this moment, perhaps spring? Or keep root-bound? Thanks again, everyone..hugs, Toni...See MoreDyna Gro
Comments (2)Thanks Diane, I got it from a professional grower. She is using it mostly for Orchids with excellent results. Last week I started using it in every watering and as a foliar spry for the orchids and hoyas. It is a very weak solution (half tsp per gallon) so I will probably need to add some balance fertilizer (IÂm not sure about strength yet) once a month for hoyas. Spring is finally here and lots of new growth on hoyas - Lets hope blooms will follow....See MoreBest fertilizer for Hoyas
Comments (7)I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum. I've been using a bloom booster year round, at about 1/2 strength when they're growing, and way, way less in winter. Mine is 9-50-10. I happened on a couple jars of this for free a few years ago when a guy went out of business and ran out of room to move his products to AZ. I'm getting low on it and was at Paradigm Gardens one day and asked if they carry it as I didn't see it on their shelves. He said, "oh, yeah, that's over in the locked case." I thought that was funny (fertilizer locked up!) and asked why - he showed me this jar half the size of mine and said, "because it's $40 a jar and people steal it!" Hmmm, no wonder I like it so much! LOL! Liquid gold for my plants! Anyway, I also mist mine often in summer, and at least each time I water in winter with VF-11 water. You can google Eleanor's VF-11 if you want. I love it, and my sister, who owns a nursery, swears it's miracle juice for ALL plants, including her vegetables... Denise in Omaha...See MoreWhat would happen if you poured full strength fertilizer on a hoya
Comments (8)Using fertilizer at full strength for epiphytic plants is a no-no. Not only are you wasting $, you are not thinking of how the plant would get it's nutrients in the wild. Epiphytes use aerial roots to climb from the forest floor to the canopy via trees, limestone outcrops, etc.. Some even root directly from seed in the canopy of a tree. Many epiphytes eventually forego their terrestrial roots in the wilds of the Asian/Indian rainforests, where there are yearly monsoons that flood the forest floors. Instead, they use their aerial roots to obtain any nutrients they need to aid in photosynthesis. These nutrients come from canopy detrius, such as broken down leaf litter, animal/bird scat (poop), fungi, lichens, and moss. The nutrients, themselves, are very dilute (there is not gonna be a ton of scat or leaf litter on a single tree- exceptions would be in Eastern Indonesia/PNG/Eastern AU , if a male Birdzof-Paradise has chosen a specific tree to do his mating dance on). Throughout the early morning, when humidity is at it's highest, creating rainforest clouds, humidity and light rain "wash" the litter/scat/etc. down the tree trunk, onto the aerial roots. Any excess natural fertilizer is quickly washed away by the same process. In other words, Hoyas just don't need a ton of food. No plant in a pot does. You run the risk of irreparable damage to the roots via fertilizer burn, and over-feeding can cause an imbalance in nutrients. Some nutrients are harder for a plant to get rid of, creating an unhealthy excess. This excess can inhibit the uptake of other nutrients that the plant can quickly rid itself of, but are vital to the health of the plant. Like water soluble nutrients versus fat soluble nutrients in humans. Most of us can quickly rid ourselves of an accidental excess of water soluble nutrients by drinking a LOT of water. But if we were to ingest an excess of a fat soluble nutrient, well, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who'd down a can of Crisco to rid themselves of the excess....See Morealba_gardener
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