Hi there,

Misting won't hurt, but there might be other things going on. How often do you water it? I don't see how those leaves being farther from the soil level would matter. The plant itself might be dehydrated and may just be showing in those leaves. If your other hoya is doing ok and is just as close to the light, then the bright light shouldn't be an issue (this hoya does fine with bright light).

Do you have a picture?

Gabi

Stick your finger down deep into the soil to see if it's damp throughout the pot. Sometimes with EA soil (or any soil mix with peat in it) if it is allowed to dry out it is hard for moisture to soak all the way through. If when you put your finger down in and find dry soil run some water in the kitchen sink and let the pot rest there and soak up water. It may take a half hour or so depending on how far up the dryness is.
Another way to tell if its not getting thoroughly watered is by the weight of the basket or pot when you pick it up. If its watered good it should feel somewhat heavy. Dry soil is usually fairly light compared to watered down soil.
This is just something you might check as to the reason for the wrinkled leaves.,,,,,Debbie

The pot's quite heavy 'cause I just watered it a few days ago though it was kinda dry when I watered it, but not for long. Even a tiny period of dryness will wrinkle leaves?

I don't know but suspect something's wrong in the drainage. Did you knock the pot against the table when potting it up to settle the mix (maybe there's a air pocket).

I have the same going on w/ a small no ID Carnosa. Most of the plant looks good, yet one branch is wrinkly. I plan to unpot it this wknd & find out what's going on underneath the mix -- a problem of SOME sort.

You might unpot it to check underneath, that's really the only way to be sure what's going on.

No bunnygurl, a tiny period of dryness will definitely not wrinkle the leaves. I sometimes neglect my plants for much longer than a "tiny" period!! So you shouldn't think that you waited too long - that will only make you water more often, which is not good with carnosas.

I would recommend watering only when dry (you can water from underneath if you prefer...just place it in a bowl of water for it to suck up), but water fully when you do water the plant.

If this is an EA hoya, then I recommend taking the bottom saucer off. I've always had problems with my EA hoyas until I started doing this - now they are all healthy and most are blooming machines. I also leave the original EA soil.

Good luck,
Gabi

I took it down and had a much closer and thorough examination of it, and all the wrinkled leaves on attached to a stem that's shriveled, dry and dark brown.

Is this stem dead and will eventually fall off taking the leaves with it, or are the leaves going to die and I'll have a ring of brown on my loop? Should I remove it now it the off chance that this is something that can spread?

I'm not sure where it's from but I don't think it's from EA. There was no attached bottom. Just a regular green plastic pot.

Thanks for all the help so far!

I have a Hoya that is very sensitive to drying out and it does just what your plant is showing, dried stems close to the base of the plant. I would take a cutting of the healthy part of the stem and try to root it. The cutting will need very high humidity if it is dehydrated, a clear plastic bag and some sphagnum moss if you have it.

Make sure to keep an eye on the large plant and it's potting mix and don't allow it to stay dry for long.

Mike

Just my opinion, but I'd cut off the dried up stem which will not recover, nor will its wrinkly leaves.

My suggestion to unpot the pot is to see if the roots below have dried up & died. If so, that portion of the plant will not recover so I'd cut it off of the remaining healthy part of the plant.

Argh, I just bought this plant like a week ago. It was a fairly inexpensive plant, but I really like it so I'm gonna do what you suggested PG.

Thanks guys!

Hi Bunny,

If it's any consolation, I just did exactly that to mine. Some no ID all green Carnosa (only cost $2.98, small, 3" pot) but I like it.

Sure enough on my plant, what I found is the branch of the wrinkly leaves had lost its roots which were all dried up & shriveled. As it was separate from the other 2 small pieces of the plant, I was able to separate it.

I refreshed the mix & gave the plant a long drink w/ VF-11.

Good luck w/ yours.

Could a person kill a stem by twist-tying it too tightly to the hoop?

I removed the stem a few days ago from the rest of the plant (it wasn't even rooted in the dirt). All the yellow wrinkly leaves were attached to this stem and the worst area was between the unrooted stem bottom and where the twist tie was on surprisingly tightly. Could this have caused the stem to dehydrate then be so brittle it broke from the ground?

The roots looked good and I loosened all the ties and it looks much better now.

I'm not the one to answer this question, but I often wonder the same thing about tight stems. The way you explained it makes perfect sense to me.

I'm glad it's lookin better. And hopefully that was the only problem and it's on the mend.

Oop. Yeah I already tossed the stem, but I'll definitely remember the moral for next if there is a next time.

Thanks everyone!

I have a very large H Carnosa that has just begun doing this. Unpotted it to find that one of it's stems leads to ... no roots. The other two stems lead to roots that seem a little dried out perhaps. I've just sunk the three stems into a bucket of water. Idea is to let them re-root themselves. Will keep you posted.

What does EA stand for? "If this is an EA hoya,", "EA soil"

Exotic Angel, the particular brand or nursery of this common supplier of Big Box Stores which we often see most places.