HELP-My poor dying hoya compacta

9 years ago

This is my first hoya growing expierence, I found and bought this, once gorgeous and unique plant at lowes in the summertime mostly because I thought it was cool how the vine grew up around the hanger. It was doing just fine for several months but this past month it has started rapidly dropping leaves and the vine feels dried out. I have been watering it about 1 a week, till water comes out the bottom holes. Everytime I water it the soil is rock hard. The plant sits about four feet from a large south facing window. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to stop this plants decent. Should I check out the roots? Help! I love this plant it was doing so well before!

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Comments (3)

tlbean2004
9 years ago
You dont need to use a schedule to water and that pot and go a few weeks to dry out.

Stop overwatering it.

I have killed SEVERAL hoyas by overwatering.
tlbean2004
9 years ago
and when you water be sure that the middle of the pot is saturated, otherwise if it is dry and water is running down the sides of the pot the rootball might actually be rockhard and that could also be why you are having problems.
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I'm no expert, but it looks to me like that red one is rotting inside the top part, not the stem! That's bad..I think you'll probably just have to get rid of that one because that red part is grafted onto the stem of another plant, so the top part won't regrow if you cut it off. The yellow one does look like its stalk is drying out..possibly because the roots have rotten? How often would you say you've been watering it? The number one cause of death for cacti and succulents is overwatering I'd say your best bet would be to re-pot it in a fast-draining, porous soil mix. Like Teatree said, you can search for some good soil mixes or just make a simple mix of 50% perlite and 50% potting soil. That won't be the BEST mix for, but the plant will be happy and dry. When you repot it, rub all of the old soil off of the roots and take note of what color the roots are..they should be fairly white, not brown or black (rotten). One more thing: the pot you plant it in should be able to breathe as well; regular ole terra cotta is the best and will only cost you about 75 cents. Don't water it for a week or so after you re-pot it, and then only water it every few weeks when the soil has completely dried out. Good luck!
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Wildcat-- your plant looks wonderful! I'm real pleased that mine's up to about a dozen inflorescences or bud clusters, but yours is amazing! As to the compacta vs. 'Kinkle 8' issue, I suspect that cultural conditions may affect how tightly contorted compacta's leaves grow. I'll link a shot of a portion of one vine on my plant. At the top, there are leaves that twist and fold over on themselves, typical of compacta. Further down, the leaves straighten out and look very much like Krinkle 8, but down a little further yet they become more contorted again (getting out of the shot, but you can see the one cut off at the bottom is more in-folded.) Looking at Wildcat's plant's leaves I see the same sort of thing-- vines with leaves more contorted at certain levels (the base and the tips of her plant) and flatter but dimpled at other levels (toward the center of each vine.) I think it might be a reaction to periods of faster (more light, heat, moisture) and slower (winter) growth. Here is a link that might be useful: H. compacta vine
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You know, when I first read your post, I thought you were talking about potting down, and then I talked myself out of it. Oops! Anyway, glad it went smoothly; I hope it helps your watering situation. Yeah, Hoyas do branch sometimes when you prune them, but it's definitely not consistent. Some species do it more readily than others. I wish I could figure out what gives them the urge to produce those knotty clusters of nodes, too. I have read old articles that recommend pruning Hoyas for bushier growth, but I think it's more reasonable to just expect a growth spurt. Yeah, you pretty much just have to wait till the roots fill out the pot and interlock. I think you're doing everything you can do.
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While you may get a response here, it really isn't a landscape question. Here are links to the Houseplant forum which is quite active and to the Hoya forum where you can just copy and paste your post from here. You can add all 4 photos to the original post since I think the limit is 10.
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aurorawa
9 years ago
Ok, first of all, REPOT IT. Get rid of the soil it is in. Hoya prefer a well-draining medium. Fine orchid bark mixed with perlite and coarse sand (all found in the same area at Lowes) will do. Mix equal parts (1-1-1) of each. Soak overnight. Before potting the hoya in the new mix, soak the plant for about 15 minutes to loosen the soil (soil is not good for epiphytes, which use their aerial roots to attach to, and grow up, trees. Remove as much of the soil as you can (the more, the better). Repot in the well-draining medium.
In about a week, check the pot. If the first 2 inches are dry, water. Use a water soluble or liquid fertilizer at 1/4 strength (winter) every time you water. In the summer, boost the amount to 1/2 strength. Usual strength is one teaspoon for most fertilizers, so in the winter, it would be 1/4 teaspoon, and in the summer, 1/2.
Hope I have helped!

HELP-My poor dying hoya compacta

Comments (3)

tlbean2004

tlbean2004

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