I hope someone can add a great solution, for us both! There's nothing like a challenge!

This has really changed my outlook on plants, indoors and out, yes, outdoors has needed to become more self sufficient too. When the need to travel often surprised us about 1 1/2 years ago it immediately weeded out all the plants that really weren't happy here (ok, ok, too much impulse buying!). This was really depressing at first, but the plants, somewhere between 80 to 100, that have made it so far are doing better than they've ever done for me. These survivors don't mind the occassional neglect (they've showed me I used to hover over them too much) or are happy with the wick watering - I've never kept ferns alive until I tried that, also the first time I've kept a poinsetta through a few seasons. Are they perfect? Absolutely not but hey they are green and I'm surprised how most of them will still bloom, works for me :D Also, if a plant has a problem it immediately needs to go to someone else or if it's serious it goes in the garbage. No more playing around.

At first this all made me feel sad because it seemed so limiting, no more babies, no more trying new things. At this point tho I realize how much fun it is to take care of plants that are happy, sure an occassional one doesn't make it but I'm amazed at how many do. I find myself humming when I take care of the plants now. It's a joy to come home to my plants. This has all taught me alot.

Mike from Ontario is the man for the question! Believe he may have done a thread on this last year!
Between pets and plants it can be hard to get away!

Kelly

Hi Kelly, That's true! I'm getting cat coverage but the sitter will not under any circumstances touch my plants, his choice not mine. No one else is available. We've also been training the cats to travel with short hour long trips because in the future their coming with us will be easiest. So far so good on that one, well, for 2 out of 3 cats. Two don't mind it at all, they look out the window, no howling or reactions from either end, it doesn't bother them at all. We can block off the back of the car for them since they don't even want to hide or be in a carrier. The third, the only male, keeps telling me this idea is just plain wrong, period, tho he's slowly improving. Believe me, compared to him the plants are easy :D

Yes, I've read the post from Mike Self watering plant trays DIY that's what's made me believe it is possible to do it maybe as a regular setup. I've also found the post from quinnfyre Anyone else notice this? in Feb of this year mentioning that lacunosa likes to be "almost downright wet" where cpawl answered, with pictures, that she has been trying wicking some hoyas.

Wondering - has this been successful? Has anyone else tried it?

I think with the proper potting mix you could keep some Hoyas on a wick system but I have not tried this. I guess I do keep my Hoya multiflora on a wick but I forget to water it sometimes and it dries out so it is never constantly wet, sure that one could handle it though.
Many growers use semi-hydroponics to grow Hoyas and if the water reservoir has a large enough capacity it could work for a long trips as well.
A standard flood and drain table or one that also uses capillary matting could also be set up to water the plants and then all that is needed is a pump, timer and the drain trays and fittings. Trying to group all the plants together into groups based on their moisture preferences can be a bit tough but otherwise giving them all the same care can result in a few unhappy plants when you return.

Mike

I've been in the process of switching all my plants over to semi-hydroponics. Given a large reservoir, this could be a great system for worry-free vacations.

Below is a link to an excellent website with info about semi-hydroponics.

Here is a link that might be useful: Water Roots

mikedahms - Exactly, my first idea was to set up a flood and drain table setup with capillary matting. Read your post awhile ago with much interest and I've seen a few at the Violet Barn and they seem to work wonderfully. You're right, grouping them together based on moisture preferences would be a challenge but setting up a few areas might just work. The ONLY reason I decided to wick instead is because I have cats and a small house and have no way to keep the cats away from the plants or water supply. It is just simpler because of that to wick each plant individually. Finding the proper mix, number of wicks and size of reservoir to allow some drying is the challenge. I think I'll experiment with a few of the hoyas for now. It's summer and all are growing well so they might accept the change better (hopefully!).

andrewh - what an exceptional site! I have heard of semi-hydro through orchid forums. I am growing a few orchids in straight water but haven't tried semi hydro yet mainly because the leca is expensive - but it does last - and no one local carries it so it's mail order. It might tho be an over time solution to my problem. Have you had success with hoyas in it?

The Hydroton/LECA is somewhat expensive, initially, but it's completely reusable. Contrast that with potting soil which degrades and has to be constantly replaced. I figure it'll end up saving me money in the long term. Bonus: no more fungus gnats.

Anyway, most of my plants have taken to it with barely a wilted leaf in sight: 16 epiphyllums (cuttings, transplanted seedlings, and full plants), 7 rhipsalis, 2 holiday cacti, 4 mini African violets, 2 Syngonium podophyllums, and 11 hoyas (compacta, australis, carnosa KP, carnosa KQ, 2 varieties of lacunosa, a huge 6-foot tall kerri, and 4 EA hoyas I'm not sure of the proper names - tsangi/bilobata/incurvula/DS-70/brevialata/kentiana/wayetti).

Many of the hoyas were in very bad shape from me being unable to figure out how/when to water the HORRIBLE mix that EA uses; they all seem to really appreciate the moist-yet-super-airy Hydroton and are putting on new growth. I thought I was going to lose the lacunosa Royal Flush after I rinsed the soil away and transplanted it, but it's recovered and is looking quite happy now. All the other hoyas transitioned without batting a leaf.

The only plants that haven't taken to it are a regular African violet I got off the discount rack at Lowes and an Easter cactus. They're quite sad looking and wilted, but either they'll adapt or they're going to the compost.

I've been using the Leca (prime agra brand) with some of my orchids, various cuttings, and one of my violets. Overall, I like it, but not sure I'm going to stick with it.

The african violet was an emergency repotting. It bloomed for the first time since I purchased when I planted it in a homemade planter (2L soda bottle) with leca. I can see the roots spreading throughout the medium and know that it's doing well.

Leca pottings are supposed to have drainage holes at bottom, so you can flood, rinse, etc. Mine generally don't have drainage. I just sort of awkwardly fill the various containers with water, let it soak for a few minutes (for salt buildup reduction, i hope!), and then sort of awkwardly empty the water into a mesh colander so it'll catch any runaway leca balls. It's worked for me, but it's a chore.

I have a few hoya leaves and cuttings that I started in jam jars with leftover leca. The leaves have all grown roots, when I really didn't think they would. The cuttings are still happily alive and I assume growing roots too. I can't see them through the jars yet.

A small philodendron and pothos cuttings are growing lots of roots through the leca. It's easy to see when you use mostly clear containers. I think it's the perfect medium for those lucky bamboo plants.

All in all, I like the LECA, but it seems needy. Because you can so clearly see when it needs water, it seems like I'm always watering my plants (every 2 days). The water levels go down so fast. I want them to last longer without water. Initially, the rinse requirements of the leca are a chore, but after that it's OK. It's inorganic, so there's different fertilizer requirements. I personally think it's harder to find appropriate pots, especially for larger plants.

But beyond all that, I like it and my plants are thriving in it. The only plants I've had issues with were non-leca.

I'm starting to consider a mix of bark/leca or cocochips/leca, but then that takes away one of the pros of leca - it's supposed to be inorganic medium with less pests and rot.

3 main links I've used in the past, including waterroots which was given above.

Water Roots - http://waterroots.com/
Hoyas - http://hoyas.ca/
Ray's - try googling ray's orchids, apparently the name is blocked. there's a forum there that's really helpful, but it's geared toward orchids.

Also, I can't imagine my plants handling a vacation without watering. But, I definitely think the leca makes things a milion times easier for an average joe to look at water level and condensation and decide. Much less risk of under or overwatering while you're away.

May I show some of my Hydro Hoyas here, on topic wicking, semi-hydro, hydro?

Here's my first, a Big purchase in Oct. 08

reverse variegated H,. kerrii:

The leca stones:

A subsequent experiment:

bit of H. nummularioides:

a look inside:

here's the 'net' baskets I use inside, don't remember where they came from, I have 3 different sizes:

That small pot of numm. is a year old now, maybe double in size, very slow growing.

I currently have some H pubera & H lacunosa in hydro, but it's VERY hot here now & I have no AC. The pubera is starting to yellow, I just took cuttings in case.

As to watering, the large varieg. Kerrii, the Hydro vendor said ony water when inside pot is BONE dry. For this one that takes 21 days & has a water meter to show me how much water to give.

The small Numm gets watered now every 2nd day, peak summer in NYC, west window, no AC.

I'm guessing based on these experiences, that medium size Hoyas (5-6" pots) could probably go 2-3 wks btwn waterings). Just measured my Hydro rev. v Kerrii, 5.5" pot (pot w/in pot).

Why not take some cuttings & try a few experiments? This could be the answer for you, seems worth a shot.

I'd love to see photos! Excellent! Thanks so much for taking the time. Now I know a few questions to ask :) I've got a bunch of those netted pots from orchids and pond plants when I bought them years ago, they've been around just in case. Do you use all netted baskets or a mix of them and other containers for the inner one?
Wow, that Kerrii is gorgeous! Love the leaves.

From doing some reading - Correct me if I'm wrong, I've never tried this and am very new - some versions, specifically Rays which I'd heard of, use one pot with holes toward the bottom, filled with media and plant so, when watered, only a small amount of water can stay in the bottom of the pot. I didn't try this system because that one pot couldn't hold the amount of water for the time I'd need without being huge and using a ton of media = financially a waste and I'd assume way too much is not a good thing for the plant.

The system you're using, one I hadn't heard of, uses a solid outer pot and inner netted basket and possibly a decorative outer pot if desired? Again, correct me if I'm wrong. I see a water meter - have you found that really helpful or necessary? I realize it's probably helpful since it's tough to tell what the water level is. Any suggestions how deep to make the water if I don't have a water meter?
Using 2 pots would keep the media in the inner one the right size for the plant. I assume that the outer pot could be as large as needed to start the water at a good height for the plant yet hold as much water as necessary for a length of time. From doing wick watering I've found that, surprisingly to me, the pot really doesn't have to be all that big since there is a constant draw of moisture. I'd assume this media would be the same?

This media would probably work better with plants that need to dry a bit because I assume it will hydrate quickly if it goes totally dry. Wicking can be a challenge in that way because it can be hard to start up again. It's been horribly hot and dry here too, weird tho but our humidity is still very high. Not sure which is more unhappy, me or the plants!

angeleyedcat, the containers in my opinion are harder to work with the larger the plant gets. There's various ways to go with it. I use clear containers similar to waterroots site, so I don't need water level indicators. I've had no issues with plants drying out, even when water is all gone. And, I've had very good wicking results with prime agra at least. I really don't worry about it completely drying out.

This is all a distraction from your original question though. I'd never switch to a different medium right before I leave for vacation. It's more something you might want to experiment when you have some free time. :)

The water meter came w/ that one when I bought it. The Vendor came to speak at my Indoor Gardening Society & gave a talk & demonstrations & showed slides. I believe they're called Creative Hydroponics in NJ (I have no personal interest other than having bought a plant from them). Came w/ the white pot & an inner pot w/ slits cut down towards the bottom more like an Orchid pot.

(Pardon my earlier brain glitch, I kept misspeaking: that's a variegated Kerrii, not nothing reverse about it.)

Yes, I'm probably keeping the water too high on the Leca stones (on the small Hoya), but I can't remember to water these guys daily. They need to get a bit bigger maybe for me to pot them up a size.

The netted pot technique is me flying by the seat of my pants to see what works; I'm a curious type.

I'll try to start another thread to show the solid green H. Kerrii I started in Hydro 2 months ago, pretty amazing growth.

Unfortunately these are just sudden required traveling in life that has no real plan that now happens without notice at least once every 3 to 6 weeks. No time is a good time to do this so it might as well be now :) I can definately see why clear containers would be helpful.

Actually, no distraction at all to the topic on my end knitty. All information and ideas are appreciated as this has been a long process as I work through all the plants. All of my plants which are in 4 inch pots or smaller have already been switched to wick watering, the easiest thing for me to do. Those that are happy are still here which is most which surprised me.

That's why I've moved up to the next size pots which would be my hoyas (and Thanksgiving cactus but that's a different post) The hoyas are all EA (pots filled with rooted cuttings) and are all only a few years old so are pretty young, only 2 have bloomed so I think they will adapt to another method. I have other plants in 12 inch pots and up such as 2 epiphyllums, 1 rhipsalis, 4 spider plants, 3 pothos and 2 six foot palm trees which I can barely lift (obviously I forgot that palm trees get quite big even in PA when I bought them 10 years ago!!) These are all too big and established to change. Thanks andrewh for letting me know a few of these can be successful and also pirate_girl your suggestion of cuttings would also be great in case I lose any of these big ones.

I'll check into getting a bag of leca/hydroton, it does sound like another option. In the meantime I am going to start wicking 1 or two of the hoyas, taking cuttings in case it's a disaster :) When the other media arrives I'll try 1 or 2 of the hoyas in that plus a few cuttings.

Flying by the seat of my pants is actually fun to me too, I'll try anything. I'll do a search for your new thread.