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cold damage...

amber_m
10 years ago

ok, so this last weekend the over night lows were supposed to be in the mid to low 40s... almost ALL of my hoyas that i have are ones that should be able to tolerate that for a night or two in a row... man you can imagine my surprise when i work up sunday morning with a thick layer of frost on the ground! luckily all of my plants were hanging in my sun room so i dont think many got any direct frost but there was some leaf damage... i think all of my hoyas will be fine, they just need some ER time, except for my H. pubicalyx 'black dragon' which got damage on quite a few leaves and the rest that have no visible damage feel really soft, almost life if they were dehydrated... ill post pics in a little bit... i just got a new glass lense put on my iphone (which got broken) from a friend who knows how to fix pretty much everything on smartphones for a fraction of the cost...

Comments (3)

  • amber_m
    Original Author
    10 years ago
  • amber_m
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    so you can see there is quite a bit of damage, and the leaves that LOOK like they are still okay have a very soft leathery feeling to them, im really worried that im loosing this plant since its up in my top favorites... i love those bright green leaves! any advice would be great!

  • epiphyte78
    10 years ago

    Some advice...

    Never keep all your eggs in one basket. If a plant is your favorite then propagate it as soon as you can and share divisions with your friends. Is it altruism...or insurance?

    Here's what I would do in your situation...

    1. Take as many 3 node cuttings as possible...but leave at least 3 nodes on the mother plant.

    2. Find/cut an appropriately sized wooden plank for each cutting.

    3. Drill a hole in the top of each plank to attach a hanging wire to.

    4. Cover one side of a plank with a layer of not too moist New Zealand Sphagnum moss and firmly press the moss down

    5. Place a cutting on the moss and use fishing line to secure the cutting and moss. Avoid placing the fishing line on top of the leaves.

    6. Empty/buy a clear plastic storage bin and place it in a sunny window.

    7. Place the cuttings in the bin.

    8. If the bin's cover isn't clear, then cover the bin with a clear plastic trash bag and use a chip clip to close the plastic bag.

    Ideally, you don't want to put all your cuttings in the same bin. So while you're at it you might as well get cuttings from other Hoyas that you'd also hate to lose.

    You might need to cut away damaged leaves...it's hard to say. If the damage turns to rot and starts to spread then definitely cut it back to the healthy section.

    It's important to get the moisture content of the moss just right. It should be just slightly damp. If it's too dry then the humidity will be too low. But if it's too wet then you'll increase the chances of rot.

    Within a few days you should observe roots developing. This is the best part. Unlike establishing a cutting in a pot, with this technique you'll encourage root development at each node and/or all along the stem.

    Once you see roots developing you can give the division some water with a spray bottle. You might add some diluted, soluble orchid fertilizer to the water.

    You can take a division out when the new growth is sufficiently mature. If you don't want to worry about watering mounted plants...then you can just place the entire mount in a pot with your usual mix.

    For a bit more humidity you can place a layer of gravel/pumice on the bottom of the bin.

    Heh, I think this advice probably sounds like a lot of work! It's funner than pulling weeds though. Good luck!

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