Quinn,

Have you had your lacunosa quite awhile and is it an EA plant? Lacunosa was the first EA Hoya I found, and it was 2004 or earlier (I keep a database of my plants, and in 2004 I added the month & year that I aquired plants , and since I don't have that info on lacunosa, I know it was before then...) With EA's old soil, I think if it dried out a little too much, it was hard to rewet and even though the top may feel moist, the under soil wasn't wet, or maybe had pockets where it wouldn't moisten. So how I've always watered these EA plants with the old soil is to water until it drains out of the holes, wait 15-20 minutes, repeat, and once more after another 15-20 minutes.

Lacunosa is, IMO, one that doesn't like to dry out too much. But using this method, I let the soil surface start to dry, which is how it sounds like you were doing before. With keeping it constantly wet, I'd just watch it carefully for signs of rot. It would probably help to add some hydrogen peroxide to your water if you're not already doing so.

Denise in Omaha

No, it is a cutting from about June or so. It is currently in a 4 in hanging pot. Originally I was letting it dry out a bit because I felt like it might have been a bit overpotted (mainly at the bottom of the pot - went from a 2.5 or 3 in pot to that 4 in) but I think it may have grown roots into that part of the soil now as well. It is looking good in the 4 in pot, with constant growth. I tend to water this one by checking the leaves; if they start feeling a little softer, it gets water. I was just surprised when it started demanding water while the surface still looked damp. I didn't quite believe it at first, but now that I've increased watering, even the one leaf that was always a little droopy has perked up. I water til I see it start to drain out into the saucer. I may have to look into adding the peroxide... how much do you add per gallon? Do you have to add it just before watering or can you premix it and store it in a gallon jug? I grow in a room without handy access to a sink, so I store gallon jugs of water with VF-11 in them to make watering easier.

Quinn,

I use half-gallon jugs (because they're easier to handle) and I put 1 oz. in a half gallon. I typically use it all, but if you buy it at Walmart, it's cheap enough that a little waste is no big deal. (I get it for 98 cents a quart...)

If what you're doing is working, by all means keep doing it! I have a heck of a time having success starting lacunosa. If I can get it past a certain point, the cuttings do fine, but it's like what you describe - they go back and forth between perking up and dehydrating. Next time I take cuttings, I'll keep them constantly wet and see if I don't have better success.

Denise in Omaha

Am wondering about this right now. How interesting to have this conversation at this particular moment.

I have a new speckled Lacunosa in a large (hanging type) pot, likely from EA, but w/ a somewhat improved-seeming mix (someone mentioned recently who had toured their facilities that they were working on changing their Hoya mix).

Anyway, I've only had it for a couple of weeks, am seeing lots of new growth & have observed everything is bright & firm just as the top of the mix seems to be starting to dry. Am new to Hoyas potted this large, but seems to me this larger pot still has lots of moisture 1/3 down into the mix. I'm watching this closely, happens I have it seated where I can look directly down into the mix & see how dry it looks.

I recall from prior times that Lacunosa & what seems to be Lacunosa Tove seemed to prefer to stay moist in my home, almost moist like a terrarium, or a wick watered plant.

Karen,

I think letting it dry just a bit on top is ok. Even though it's wet deeper, lacunosa's roots are pretty shallow, which is why I think it seems to prefer to be wetter.

Don't you love the speckled lacunosa? I got an EA one that was suffering and managed to save some of it, so I've got a 5" hanging pot that's doing pretty good. I'm anxious to see how it does as spring approaches.

Denise in Omaha

So far, doing pretty good with the lacunosa cuttings. I can't remember which of them started off with some roots, but I've got speckled lacunosa (which I love - it is gorgeous!), regular lacunosa, and Royal Flush. In any case, whether or not they started with some roots, I still treat them like cuttings, because I've noticed lacunosa pouts when you mess with the roots in any way. I've learned to expect that when repotted, even if you don't really disturb the rootball much, it wilts for a while, maybe up to two weeks or so? Can't remember, but definitely long enough to start making one feel worried.

Here's how I've been rooting lacunosa. I keep it in a terrarium during the rooting process, and two out of three times the pot was sitting in a tray of Hydroton. There was a saucer between the Hydroton and the pot, so that it wouldn't be sitting directly in the Hydroton. I kept the soil moist, kept some water in the tray of Hydroton, and watered the leaves either every day or every other day. I'm guessing it doesn't need to be Hydroton, pebbles probably work just as well, but I have the Hydroton, so I use it. I have a chemical wash bottle, which makes it easy to deliver a stream of water pretty much exactly where I want it, so I can avoid hitting the soil too much if it is still damp. I knew it was rooted when the whole plant just seemed to perk up, and especially when it put out new growth. The third one is not in the tray of Hydroton, but nearby. It would've been in there too, but there was no room.

Speckled lacunosa and regular lacunosa have been out of the terrarium for months now. Speckled lacunosa is currently in a 2.5 in pot, sitting in a 6 in tray roughly 1.5 in deep, filled with Hydroton. This is the one that doesn't mind drying out a bit. Regular lacunosa is in a 4 in hanging pot, and seems to want to be wet all the time. Royal Flush is still in a cutting stage, but is growing and starting to perk up. The new stems are purple, and the new leaves are striking, purplish with speckles. But it doesn't seem to have those nice dimple-y dents.

Has anyone ever wick watered a hoya? Specifically, the ones that hate drying out even a little. I just converted all my African violets to wick watering, so I have wick watering on the brain right now.

Quinnfyre...for the stupid people on this forum (namely ME!!), would you mind describing "wick watering", i.e., how you did this with your AV's...step-by-step if possible? Thanks a million!! Patrick

Oh, it's not too tricky. Basically, you obtain a reservoir. In my case, it's the smaller sized plastic container that takeout Chinese egg drop soup comes in. Mix up a batch of very breathable potting mix. I use an AV mix from a company I like, but mix 1 part of that to 1 part perlite. A standard AV mix is 1 part peat moss, 1 part vermiculite, and 1 part perlite, but I think the mix I get is even lighter. Next, measure out a length of what you plan on using as a wick. I use this twine that I got from the same place I get my potting mix, but anything that is made from acrylic or other synthetic fibers in a yarn like form will work. It is important not to use natural fibers because those will rot. You want the wick to reach from about the rim of the pot to the bottom of the reservoir.

Then gently remove as much of the old potting mix as possible from the AV. Try to get most of it off, because the heavier mix will promote root rot. Put a bit of the new mix in the pot to anchor the wick, holding one end of the wick at the top rim and threading the other end out one of the drainage holes. Place the AV in the pot, so that the lowest row of leaves sits just above where the soil surface line will be, and carefully fill up with the light mix. Don't tamp down the soil too much, just enough to help anchor the plant. Punch a hole in the lid of the reservoir, feed the wick through. Fill the reservoir with a half strength concentration of AV fertilizer, then put the lid on, making sure the wick sits nicely in the water (reaches the bottom). Water a bit from the top to get the wick going, and keep an eye on it for a while. It may wilt a bit due to being disturbed; you can cover it with a plastic bag to minimize this. In a few days, it should start to perk up and settle in. Now, just keep the reservoir full, and it will water itself. It's a great way to keep the AVs evenly watered, and especially helpful when you have a large collection. My collection is larger than your casual AV grower, but does not even begin to approach the size of the hardcore AV growers that have hundreds. I don't have that kind of room, especially with the hoyas as competition : )

I use capillary matting and a reservoir to water my Hoya multiflora and it works very well and is similar to using a wick.

Mike

Hi
I have started to play around with wicking some of my hoyas so when I go away in march I will not worry so much about them.This hoya has been set up for the last three weeks and it seems happy.

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As you can see I cut a hole in the lid of a sour cream container and then have a wick in the bottom of the pot down into the water.

Cindy

Quinnfyre...thanks so much for the information...I really appreciate it...and I never knew this before...in all of the years of growing houseplants. I don't have too many AV's...but, I tend to let them dry out far too much...and far too often...it'd be nice to have them receive water when they need it and not to have to rely solely on me!! LOL Thanks again!! Fondly, Patrick

Capillary matting is also a good way to automate the watering process somewhat. I discovered, however, that it wouldn't work for me, as all the pots I was using are raised up ever so slightly at the bottom rim, so that the bottom drainage holes could not come in contact with the matting properly. Maybe if I used an extra fluffy matting, it would work, but I was trying out this thing called a Watermaid, and the matting on that was flat. I made it work by wicking the plant normally, and sticking the wick into the Watermaid reservoir. I would've used my normal reservoir, but I needed something with less height so that the AV could fit back onto the shelf, so the Watermaid fit the bill. I have one more, trying to figure out if I have a pot that will actually work with it as is.

Hi Cindy, I don't think I've seen anyone make that kind of a reservoir before. I personally don't think I could use that exact container, but your method could also work with the larger sized plastic takeout containers. I just need it to be a clear or translucent container; I have out-of-sight, out-of-mind disease : ) If I can't see it, I will probably forget to check the water level at some point. Just for those of you that might want to try out wicking AVs, that wick is too big for them, they'll get too wet (or so I've been told) but I can see it working for hoyas in larger containers.

I might have to experiment with wicking hoyas, maybe with cutting starts of my moisture loving ones. Well, once they get big enough for me to take cuttings, that is.

Patrick, give wicking a try with one or two of your AVs. That way, you can see if both you and the AVs like it. I'll try and take a pic of my setup tomorrow so you can see what it looks like.

Hi Quinn,

I recieved a cutting of lucanosa from Denise last spring. She didn't tell me and I didn't know any better, that they are difficult to root. As a matter of fact I didn't know her take on it until I read her post here. Mine rooted just fine, as a matter of fact, I have taken cuttings from it several times and just stuck the fresh cuttings back into the pot with the mother plant, as I do with all of my hoyas, until I get a full pot. Mine isn't in the super chunky mix I use for most of my hoyas, its more soil than chunk. With that being said, I would say I grow mine on the damp side. I have yet to notice limp, droopy leaves. Oh, I hope I didn't go and learn too much about these guys and now I'm goin to fret over it more than I did before . . . sigh.

About your method of watering AV's. My grandmother grew AV's and did the same thing, except she used a piece of her pantyhose or nylon stockings for a wick. We used to make her AV pots in our ceramic class. I still have one from her collection. As an experiment, I started leaves from her plant . When they produced a plant, I used the wick method on two of the plantlettes and the other two I watered myself. I must say, the wicked ones did far better than the other two. I certainly is easier to fill a reservoir than to water by hand, but I don't know if I'd do it with a hoya. I'd be scared it would stay too wet.

Maid~