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Roots, roots, roots! Please help!

Monica bf N. Carolina zone 7B

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

I should have phrased my last post differently.

What do I do with roots like this? I just received this plant 2 weeks ago.

Should I repot in chunky mix or potting mix/perlite and/or coir/perlite?

Obviously, I couldn't wait overnight so I potted in a chunky mix and watered with a fungicide. This incrassata is 5 feet long so I don't want to lose it!

Also, there is another stem over a foot long that I would like to take a cutting of (just in case) but I'm not sure where to cut. Looking for some guidance, thanks.

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Comments (8)

Denise
7 years ago
I'm not sure what you are seeing that I'm not seeing. The roots look fine. Why did you unpot it? Was something going on above the soil line that didn't seem right? The plant looks ok to me as well, so I'm curious. It looks like a very healthy root system... You know, one of the earliest things I read about Hoyas was to not disturb their root system unnecessarily. I've grown a lot of succulents over the years as well, and when you repot a succulent, you can whack away at the roots and do no harm. But I was always told when you repot a Hoya, it's best to disturb the rootball as little as possible - just plop it in a bigger pot and add soil and let it settle in. It takes a LOT of messing to get every bit of soil off a rootball, so I would expect it to go dormant for awhile now. Of course, that may have already happened just because of the change in environment...

Denise in Omaha
Monica bf N. Carolina zone 7B
Original Author
7 years ago
Hi Denise, the leaves were flexible unlike my Incrassata from Gardino's so I wanted to make sure there was no rot. The roots are so dry, frizzy and brown. Wasn't sure if this was the problem.
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Here's what you need: 6 pack containers (what you bought your Wave petunias/whatever in) A bucket Chlorine bleach A medium ("soil") to stick the cuttings in Rooting hormone 1 gallon ziplock plastic bags Here's what you do: Put 1 cup of bleach and 9 cups of water into the bucket, and wash your previously enjoyed 6 pack containers thoroughly in the solution, gettin all old dirt off. Rinse extremely well, until you can't smell the bleach on them anymore. You've now sterilized your containers. For your medium, go to Home Depot or Lowes and get a good potting mix and a bag of perlite -- both sell perlite, just ask for it. Mix the potting mix and perlite together about even -- 1/2 mix and 1/2 perlite. Put this into your sterilized containers and moisten until water flows out the bottom of the cells. Don't pack down the mix, though -- you want it light with a lot of air in it. This prevents rot of the cutting, a common problem when using plain potting mix. Poke a hole in the middle of each cell with a pencil to receive the cuttings. The last thing you do is take your cuttings. For both species, use the growing tips. Cut off about 3 nodes worth below the littlest baby leaves (nodes are where the leaves come out of the stem) and cut the leaves off the bottom two nodes. If remaining leaves are large and might be in the way, cut them in half on an angle. The allamanda has milky sap, as I recall, so let that sap stop oozing before you dip the cut end in rooting hormone. Don't wait at all to stick the thunbergia -- you never want a cutting to wilt. Dip just the cut end in rooting hormone and insert into the holes you made, one cutting per cell, getting at least one node below soil level. Gently firm the medium around each cutting. When all are stuck, water in with a gentle spray. Then put the 6 pack in a gallan ziplock bag (bottom of the cellpack on the bottom of the bag, not sideways) and zip it shut. Keep in a shady spot (no sun or you'll cook your cuttings) and check daily to see if it needs a little venting. Often you won't need to open it up until the cuttings are rooted. All decent garden centers around here carry Rootone, but if you can't find it check out AM Leonard online -- they're a big horticultural supplier. Soeur
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Denise
7 years ago
If you think they need hydrating, you can soak them. If you've already potted them up, just make sure it doesn't dry out too much between waterings for a few times. I think it looks fine...

Denise in Omaha
Monica bf N. Carolina zone 7B
Original Author
7 years ago
Sounds good. Thanks for your help.
Jimmy
7 years ago
I don't think it is good practice to disturb the roots unless the problem is obvious in which most cases is due to overwatering. Wahing off every bit of soil will damage the sheath around the roots and could invite bad bacteria in and cause root rot. Also the plant will take all of its energy to repair and grow new roots,so new leaves may take months to form. For me is in hard to see bad roots without the help of a magnafying loupe because some of the nutrients I use actually discolor the roots even though they are perfectly healthy. Here is H naumannii from the top and the bottom to explain better.
I use net pots inside of a plastic pot to keep the sides from drying out too quickly.
Monica bf N. Carolina zone 7B
Original Author
7 years ago
Jimmy, do you use the net pots to give the roots more oxygen? Another gorgeous Hoya with dark healthy leaves. :-)
Denise
7 years ago
I use the net pots when I grow in hydroton - I hadn't thought of using them with soil, so I'm intrigued. I may have to try this. It does seem like a good way to check on the roots without disturbing them... I can say, though, that with hydroton, they can grow such a mass of roots as to encompass the net pot, then when it's time to up-pot, you literally have to cut the net pot off of the root system!

Denise in Omaha
Brenda Brown
7 years ago
I just got my first Hoya plant and all I know about it is what I have read on the internet. I've had it about three months and so far it's doing a lot better than it did when a friend gave it to me. I didn't re-pot, gave a small diluted amount of Miracle Grow, it's on my deck but in a spot that doesn't get sun (it almost does). Do I sound like I'm doing the right thing so far? I really want it to grow and be beautiful. Thanks.

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