After plenty of research I was thinking that it could have gotten sun scorched. It sat in a south window. The only thing is that my krimson queen did not show these same symptoms. Could it be because the krimson queen is older therefore hardier? I moved them both outside where they get morning sun, warmer temps, and partial shade.

Thoughts?

Michelle

Hi Michelle,

If it was sitting in a south window, I'd guess that was probably it. I actually grow my lacunosa in a north window, where it gets NO direct sun at all, only bright reflected light and it blooms almost constantly and looks healthy and green. If your south window is your only source for sun, I would grow both of them back from the window a ways.

They'll be ok outside for the summer, but I'd keep them pretty shaded, keeping in mind that outside light is much, MUCH brighter than indoor light. The most sun any of mine get outside is some dappled sunlight that comes down through a shelf full of plants on a north porch.

Congrats on getting a nice 'Krimson Queen'. It's my old-time favorite because it's the one that got me hooked on Hoyas 35 years ago. Your friend must not be as attached to her plant(s) as we Hoya addicts are. I remember days of moving 1000, 1500 miles, packing up plants and leaving behind other "stuff" because I wouldn't part with certain plants! Of course, youth has the benefit of energy and enthusiasm and I might be more selective about what I would keep if I had to move now!

Denise in Omaha

Denise,
Thanks for the suggestions. I really appreciate it! I too thought of moving them away from the window and since they are outside now I will use the opportunity to set up something. Now they are on my deck which faces north and they have no direct light with the exception of a few hours in the morning. I just worry that they may get too much water with all the rain that we have been experiencing. I have been keeping an eye on them and have moved them inside during times of heavy rainfall.

I really do enjoy the Krimson Queen and look forward to the day when I can experience it in bloom. My friend was quite attached to this plant so I was really touched that she gave me the plant. She had several Hoya's and she told me about each one of them. She moved from Minnesota back to Texas last November and made a special trip back just to pick up her plants. :)

Here is the Krimson Queen last summer when it still was with my friend.

Thanks.
Michelle

Michelle,

I wouldn't worry too much about rain. It's different than watering with your watering can. I've found that most plants, even succulents and cacti, can take quite a bit of rainwater and even stay fairly wet when it's hot without any ill effects. In fact, rainwater seems remarkably beneficial and I find plants that have been faltering will very often perk right up if put outside to recieve rainwater. So unless it's raining every day and/or not getting particularly warm during the day, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just keep a close eye out for yellowing leaves. That's usually your first sign of overwatering.

Denise in Omaha

The past week it has been raining in the evening but temps during the day are 80's, close to 90. Today the humidity is quite high which I'm sure the Hoya's are enjoying. I will keep an eye out for the yellowing of the leaves.

Thank-you for helping out this newbie, Denise.

Hi Denise,

You said something that is my main problem: "That's usually your first sign of overwatering".

I'm a overwatering person, most of my hoyas are getting yellow leaves..... it is winter now here, and I thought this would be normal at this season of the year.... but thinking in what you wrote, I believe the main problem is my overwatering mania/obsession..... is there any thing to cure this???? LOL

I also have 2 hoyas that lost all their leaves and the stem still green, it is albiflora and neoebudica, they still alive as the stem is green, but there is no leaf left!

Any idea what is happening to them????

Thanks

Mitzi

Since my last message I continue to struggle with my hoya lacunosa sno cap. It spends its time outside with 90 temps and high humidity. I figuare it would enjoy the humidity. The light on my deck is filtered. A few weeks ago I realized that the soil was staying too moist and it was compacted so I changed the medium. It is a mix that provides better drainage and it is mixed with vermiculite. It has also been fertilized and I give it superthrive. It still continues to struggle. It gets watered once a week but this week I was wondering if that was too long in these 90 degree temps. It was quite dry when it was watered. Today the soil is still moist. It has lost leaves and some of the vines are dying back. Yesterday I placed it in an aquarium but today I'm wondering if it was too hot; the pot was quite warm. I'm worried that my first lacunosa sno cap will not survive which is upsetting. I got this plant for mother's day and it was my first purchased Hoya. I have one other that was given to me by a dear friend. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Your help would be greatly appreciated!

Michelle

Hi Michelle,
I have two lacunosa, one dark and one light green. I grow them under lights. Temperature is most of the time 78 F. I know this about them, they do not like compacted soil. They do not like to be wet and I let them go dry once in a while. When I repot them they bleed the white sap lose leaves and come back slowly and then I do not touch them even to turn them, just water with diluted fish emulsion and in winter times, they are kept dryer. They are picky to me! One thing I know is when you water too much with super thrive it turns leaves yellow and is too much for some plants. I would be using half as much or once a month at half of what it tells you to use on the bottle during the growing season. Maybe just 2 drops in a gallon of water. Or lay off and see what happens without it. Hope this helps. ~ Mary

I wouldn't have added Vermiculite. Not sure what your thinking was, but it's my impression vermiculite retains water. I would have added perlite instead to help make for faster drainage.

I believe (tho' your intentions are good) you are killing it w/ kindness. I'd quit the fertilizer (which won't help an ailing plant, it's not like medicine) & also quit the superthrive (which I don't believe works anyway). Just use plan old water & if anything cut back.

I agree it might be the fertiliser which could be the problem. A lot of Hoyas are basically epiphytes. They normally grow up tree trunks and into the forest canopy. They get very little nutrient and do well on water from humidity in the air. When mature they get up into the tree canopy where the top of the plant is exposed to more ditect sun. They're really quite a tough plant. Their natural growth habits should give you a clue as to how they prefer to be treated.

I will just water it with the rain water I use and see if that helps it. Would you suggest keeping it in the aquarium for now or just leave it sitting on my table on my deck? My deck faces north. Where my table sits it will get morning sun and shade during the rest of the day. The rest of the deck gets all day sun.

The reason I have vermiculite is because I read online that both vermiculite and perlite were options for the Hoyas. I had a tough time finding perlite but I did find the vermiculite at Lowes. My thinking at this time is not to stress the plant out by repotting but next time around to use perlite. Would you agree?

Thank-you both for your suggestions. I really appreciate your advice.

Michelle

You aren't crazy. People often recommend using vermiculite to create a more "airy" mix, such as when water-wicking Gesneriads, for example. But PG is correct - it does retain much more moisture than perlite, making it an uncommon addition to Hoya mediums. It's probably okay for now, though, because lacunosa likes a bit more moisture and carnosa is so tough.

It sounds like with this crazy weather you've just been having some ups and downs with the watering schedule. If it was outside in 90 degree weather, once a week was probably not frequent enough for lacunosa. For a while, check in on it more regularly. Stick your finger in the medium and whenever the top couple inches feel dry, give it a drink until water runs out the bottom. My guess is the right pace is around 2x a week, in summer, outdoors. Mine are indoors, but with this weather they still have been drying out too fast for once a week watering. You just need to figure out the right pace for it.

Hoya lacunosa is pretty expressive when it doesn't like the watering schedule. A bit of die-back and dropped leaves is not completely scary if you know you've been letting it go bone dry.

There's no reason to stop fertilizing it (weak dilution, every time you water), but that's not the problem, so don't overload it either.

I wouldn't think that a north facing deck would be a bad place to have it, but this weather has been a bit intense. Most Hoyas do well outside with no direct sunlight, so maybe when you take it out again, put it somewhere it stays in filtered light. A little recovery period in an aquarium isn't a bad idea at all if you're worried about it. You won't need to water it very often in there and it can just chill out. I doubt this is necessary but Hoyas like it. Of course they like good light, too, so it's your call.

Good morning. My newest news is that I have a brand new sno caps. I am very appreciative of the person who sent it to me. I can't thank you enough! This new one looks very different from the one I initially recieved, has a peduncle, and is doing very well.

My other hoya lacunosa sno cap has lost all stems but one. One of the stems I took a cutting before it died. So I have two stems with leaves growing, both in separate containers. Since my main plant mostly died off I moved it out of the larger pot into a small container and did not add vermiculite to the mix. I also found a different spot on the deck where it gets less intense light and have not fertilized it for a little while. It has been holding on but no new growth. We'll see what happens.

It's kind of interesting how different the two plants are but both are the same type of hoya. Could there be different varieties of Hoya lacunosa sno caps? The new one has the spotted dark green leaves. The older one is lighter green, no spots (other than being sun scorched), and has extremely thick, to almost being fat, leaves. If it survives and startes to show growth it will be interesting to see if it changes to resemble the newest Hoya lacunosa sno cap.

Thanks for all your help!
Michelle