They're in my usual mix, around 2/3 orchid bark and the remaining a blend of strained large perlite and peat. As I mentioned, I do not believe moisture is the issue, as they are being watered the same as my other plants and if anything even more carefully since the leaves started turning. This was a slow drop, so I had plenty of time to stick my finger in the soil a million times and obsess about whether the most obvious culprit was at fault.

I did think it might be a nutrition issue, since I've cut back my fertilization a bit with the onset of Winter. Also, I haven't installed supplemental Winter lighting yet as they are in bright windows. But it does seem strange that these two would complain about such issues if the other 150 Hoyas all about them are stable or putting out loads of new growth.

It happens that both of these plants are established cuttings purchased last Spring from your TG. They grew generously this summer and I've never had any problems with them, but I wanted to mention that they are still very young, and so not as robust as more mature plants.

Perhaps try checking for moisture from the BOTTOM of the pot as well; try to stick a pencil or thin wooden chopstick up the drainage hole & see if it comes out wet.

Sometimes drainage issues occur & one may not realize it until too late.

I just experienced this w/ a variegated H. australis; by the time I saw the problem it was too late. I had the last little sprig in some water, hoping it survives.

Good luck!

If it means anything my Hoya patella was a temperamental little thing for the first couple of years. I just ignore it now, well I don't fuss over it too much and if new growth dies back so be it. My plant has not dropped leaves lately but it did in those first couple of years.
I am not too sure what to suggest but I do know that this is a warm grower from low elevations in Papua New Guinea so it will more than likely dislike cool drafts.
Lately I have had problems with salt accumulation in some recently potted Hoyas. I used coconut husk chips but only rinsed them twice because they were from the hydroponics store and were prerinsed, big mistake. Those pots have salt accumulation on top of the mix and one cutting a friend gave me (Hoya pubifera) has yellowed and dropped almost all of it's leaves. I am in the process of leaching the salts using RO/DI water. Have you noticed any white salt buildup on the potting mix?

It might be that the change of seasons has upset your plant and that it will be fine even though it did drop some leaves. I find that often times when light levels change etc. new growth that was doing so well can decide that conditions are not in favor of all that growth after all and the plant aborts the growth.

Mike

Some great advice!

When light and temperature change, nutrient uptake also changes.

But if salt accumulation is the issue, as Mike mentioned, you probably don't want
to fertilize just yet. To help flush salt build-up, I add a capful of white vinegar
to a gallon of tepid water.
Then I thoroughly flush the mix and follow it with fresh water.

After a good flushing, I replace those lost salts with a mild dose of fertilizer.

(On a side-note, excessive salt and moisture-retention are the two main reasons that I don't
use coco products for my own plants).

Although it sounds like your mix is excellent (great job, by the way!), I'd do as
Karen suggests and make sure the lower portion of the container isn't staying wet.

In the end, it could just be the changing season and the nature of the young plants.
Since Mike has grown these, I'd be inclined to take his advice.


Josh

I had a darwinii that did something similar to yours. I've had the plant for several weeks...it was a newly rooted plant when I received it. It was a small plant, had 4 leaves when I got it and two new ones grew shortly after. Things looked like it was going well...then shortly after I noticed one leaf yellowing (I always panic) when I see a yellow leaf,lol...then another and another...I lost the plant eventually...and to this day I have NO idea what went wrong!

Not saying that this is what's happening to yours, honestly I not to worry you...just wanted to let you know some plants just seems to do this w/out too much warning or doing anything out of the ordinary. I didn't think I was over watering it...I treated it the same as most of my hoyas, I use a very fast draining potting mix, so I couldn't figure out what was going on...I tried to save it...but whatever it was might have already started before I got it or shortly after I've had it. Bottom line is sometimes, plants just gets sick even though we give it the best possible care we can...I wish I knew why some plants do this.

Any ways...yours doesn't sound like its any thing as bad as mine...as my leaves yellowed very quickly and more than one at a time...it went into decline quickly and lost it. I'm sure yours will do just fine...just keep doing what you're doing and keep the moisture in check...and make sure its not staying too moist, but I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you don't already know :o)...Good luck, please keep us posted. I'm keeping fingers crossed for you.

GG I forgot to ask if the leaves were just plain yellow or if they had any other markings on them when they dropped?

Today after I replied the first time I went into the living room and was shocked to see my big and always very healthy Hoya sp Haruku had a whole bunch of yellow leaves. I suspect that the potting mix had stayed wet longer than usual because of the gloomy weather we are having and these kind of conditions, cool and wet, are perfect for weakening a plant and allowing fungi to get the upper hand.

These are some of the leaves that I removed from my plant. This appears to be a fungal infection so I have treated with a fungicide. I sure hope this is not a virus but I know almost nothing about virus in Asclepiadeceae family plants. I feel terrible that this has happened to an otherwise vigorous plant but hopefully it pulls through. I did notice that my Hoya elliptica also had a few leaves with similar markings but I had accidentally let that plant dry out. I really hope that there is not some nasty disease making it's rounds in my Hoya collection.

Mike

Mike,
I did a bit of searching, but couldn't come up with much.
There was an older Thread on this Forum that showed some similarly afflicted leaves.
Someone suggested Leaf Miner as a possible culprit....but I couldn't confirm this on my own,
nor could I find information on Leaf Miner and Hoyas.

Josh

Lower leaves turn yellow and drop naturally, but if it's occurring at an abnormal rate then it may be a problem with the roots.

I've had lower leaf yellowing and drop occur as a symptom of root rot while dealing with freshly rooted cuttings. You may want to check the roots for rot or pests if you can't find any other reasons.
I've also had the lower leaves yellow and drop off my H. imperialis, but I suspect insufficient moisture to be the culprit in that case.

Josh the damage happened very fast, 24 hours or less so it is most likely not an insect. I am quite confident that this is a fungi.
I did find one webpage that cites several papers on plant pathology including a couple specifically on Hoya. It's reassuring that there is no mention of virus.

Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: Hoya deseases

Mike, have you checked for root destruction of any type?


Josh

Thanks everyone for all the kind words and advice! I really appreciate the interest taken.

To answer your question, Mike, there were no unusual markings on the leaves. Just your standard yellow creep. It took well over a week for each villosa leaf to turn completely yellow and fall. The patella yellowed much faster and lost two leaves within a week. I'm very sorry to hear about your sp. Haraku. Mine got mad during the weather change, too. Thanks for your feedback about patella. I am indeed hoping she is just touchy.

The villosa was dry when I got back in town from Thanksgiving, so I had watered it the day before posting here. But, I'm going to let it dry out again and at that time check the bottom for drainage problems as Karen suggests. It is in a clear orchid pot, so I can watch the roots and moisture levels a bit.

However, if I get another yellow leaf from either, I'm going to bite the bullet and pull them both out of their pots and check their roots, per Rennet. I'm a little wary to do so immediately, because it seems to me when the climate changes all the leaves (even green ones) get a little inclined to drop at the slightest touch. Is this just me? I lost two mature leaves off of pachyclada, which has been in the middle of a growth spurt, when I tried to move it away from the window ledge to a warmer spot. Annnyway, it made a bit paranoid about handling my plants too much at the moment.

I went ahead and moved the humidity dome that houses patella to a supremely draft-free spot. Do you think I should take the top off so they dry out more quickly? It's housed with some other humidity-loving Hoyas and they'd been acting extraordinarily happy in that little microclimate, so I'm inclined to believe the draft was the problem. They rarely get watered, just sprayed with VF-11 water. If I wanted to flush the medium for mineral buildup, I'd need to intentionally dry them out b/c you know how terrarium-like setups are - they stay moist a long time.

My patella is in my terrarium, and is finally putting out new growth. It has been staying pretty moist in there, and not too warm, but not at all cold. (Like low 70s, high 60s.) It does have air circulation via a computer fan. I am excited by the new growth because there are very few leaves on this one, so the addition of two more leaves really makes a difference! It was definitely picky before it got in the terrarium, so it may just end up staying there for good.

My villosa seems ok at the moment. But I haven't really looked at it since I got back from a 5 day trip to the Chicago area (translation: burbs). I have noticed it is more likely than some of my others to decide to yellow some new growth and drop it. I don't know. I overpotted it in coco husk chips and don't water it super frequently. It does get a lot of light, as it is directly under a CFL.

Hope this info offers up some more clues.

Josh I think I will take a closer look at my plant on the weekend, unpotting it if I have to.
This plant is always thirsty and whenever I take it down it seems to be dry so who knows maybe it was dry for too long instead of being overly wet like I initially suspected. Because it has been cold here (snowing right now) the heat is on and that really drys things out fast and I have to run a humidifier just to keep some humidity in the air. I have a feeling the roots are OK and that this sudden change in growing conditions have caused the problems. It does not help that all of my heaters are directly below the windows where the plants are.

Mike

GG, I meant to ask you what's the room temperature you have the Patella and Villosa...just curious how cold/warm your room temperature is this time of year? Thanks!

I've noticed since I brought in my imperialis for the cold front, I've noticed some of the buds on my immature peduncles falling off...I know its due to the sudden temps/humidity so this is expected. Still, I hate to see it when it happens :o(

Quinn- Thanks for the summary. I do think it helps to hear what other people are doing and experiencing. My patella has only ever been in an aquarium or terrarium and it does seem to love it. It grew quite vigorously for me all summer. I've noticed the same thing about villosa and dropping leaves. It always struck me as odd because it looks so succulent and sturdy, but it definitely has dropped those pretty moth-antennae baby leaves for me the moment it got a bit too dry. I'm thinking I could be letting it dry out a bit more, though, given its succulence, at least when it doesn't have any new leaves.

Pug- So sorry to hear about your beautiful imperialis buds dropping. Even though it's already wowed everyone, that still bites.

It's funny you should ask about the temps b/c I'm not really sure. I moved into this apartment this summer and at the time it struck me that the thermostat readings seemed a bit gooey. I can tell you that my apartment is set to be kept at 68F, the thermostat reads 65F, and it feels pretty brisk. I have a space heater near the Hoyas that kicks on if it dips below 65 and it seems to be on a fair bit.

I've moved the patella into my bedroom with the villosa, and this is the warmest area of the apartment. Formerly, it was by the back door, and nighttime temperatures outside are in the 20s now.

I don't require much heat, so the 68 setting is for the plants, not me. But now I'm thinking... stupid me... you were meant to give those warmth loving plants more heat than 65-68F. I don't know why I was thinking the low I was avoiding was 60. I'd better stick pachyclada, patella and the other freeze babies in the rooting tank for the Winter or something.

Am I going to have to give these guys away when they get big? >_>; Are you guys actually keeping your homes above 70 all Winter? I am imagining Hoyas turning up the thermostat behind my back.

I'm knocking temperate lambii off my wish list TODAY. Lambii and I would be in a fight.

I keep my apartment quite warm but then again I don't have to pay for heat. I aim for a night time low of 65F but when growing warm growers you need the day time temps to climb into the upper 70's at least or you will start to see some of those plants sulk. Some plants are just more sensitive than others, I'm just not brave enough to chance loosing any of my plants buy testing their limits.

Having a fan going so that the air does not seperate into cool layers near the floor while all the warm air is up at the ceiling can help during the winter.

Mike

GG I don't keep the heat tempt set higher then 67 but my warm loving hoyas live on a heat mat for the winter.
My imperialis is not on the heat mat and she is suffering a bit.Her lower leaves and most of her peduncles have yellowed the past few days.I will have to more this hoya on to the heat mat.The problem is what do I remove to make room for her.

Cindy

Ah, I'm so glad of your response, Cindy, as it gives me hope for my future.

Well, I bit the bullet last night and pulled ALL warm-loving Hoyas out of the mix. I thought I had them grouped together already, but apparently some of them wandered back into the heard. Now, they're enjoying the aquarium in innocent wonder.

The cold-loving bunch formed a gang near the windows, like a bunch of kids hanging out outside a gas station.

Happily, villosa and patella seem to have stabilized. I did break down and check their roots, as I was handling everyone so much anyway, and everything looked healthy and pest-free. However, paulshirleyii (housed with patella) also dropped a leaf, which is a downright tragedy as it only had two to begin with. Into the aquarium it went, since I can't afford to lose that other leaf.

Well, the good news, I guess, is that everyone is re-situated and now I'll start working on color-coded plant labels, so I can get hysterical about drafts earlier next season. "You! Red Label! Get in the Aquarium now! Gogogogogo!"

Thanks for the tip about the fan, Mike. I do think my apartment needs some help with evening out the temperature.

The Hoya horror story continues. Today's causalities include Hoya megalaster, subclva, yellow mindorensis and flavida. All plants are showing spotting on their leaves and some leaf drop. I have a feeling that a particularly nasty fungus is at work. The only other possibility I could think of is virus being transmitted by mealies or other insects.

Sorry for the thread hijack GG but this STINKS. :(

Mike

I'm sorry, Mike. It DOES stink. How is your first casualty doing? Is the disease progressing or has it slowed down w/your countermeasures?

GG I meant to mention that my heat is on timer and at 11pm it goes off till 5am.Sometimes its down to 58 for over night period.

Mike I'm sorry to read your having some issues with your plants.I hope you can get it sorted out before to much damage is done.

Cindy

Goodness Mike....my best wishes to you that you're able to determine the cause of this. Hopefully, it'll be a fungal problem, as it'd be easily taken care of. I truly "feel" for you...as I would be a total basket case in the same situation. Best wishes on a speedy diagnosis and recovery. Fondly, Patrick

GG the Hoya sp Haruku is looking stable but the others are spread out in two different rooms so I have a feeling that this is just the beginning. I do have a systemic fungicide for situations like this so I will mix up a batch and hope for the best. I have a feeling that I might have to replace a few of these plants in the spring.

Thanks Cindy.

Patrick it's nice to hear from you. I have been thinking about this often over the last couple of days, I just hate seeing my plants in this condition. I think I am going to have to seperate the plants showing signs of fungus so that I can stop the spread and just hope for the best. I don't want to but I might just have to toss a few to get this under control.

Mike

SO sorry Mike...I too wish you're able to save the hoyas! Keeping fingers crossed you'll have it under control and stop it from spreading...Best of luck! We're all hoping for the best outcome.

@greedyghost
I'm glad the roots are ok, the leaf drop was probably something relatively minor then. I'm sure you'll have it all figured out soon enough.

@mikedahms
That picture does look pretty bad, have you checked around the base of the plants for soft tissue or discolouration? It sounds like it might be a fungal infection making its rounds in your collection. Viruses usually cause deformation rather than such abrupt leaf drop and can't spread in the way you describe without some sort of vector.

This might sound strange, but you might also smell your potting mix and see if it smells mouldy or anything. If you work with your mix a lot then you can sometimes tell if something's gone off by the smell.

I don't have any experience with the others, but subcalva did similar things to me last year around this time of year. It would get leaf yellowing, drop the leaf, then the vine would die back. Then it would do it again. I was afraid I'd lose it. Maybe this is something subcalva does when it is just starting out and it gets cold?

For me, my 'trouble children' were subcalva, variegated macrophylla, and pubicalyx 'Chimera'. They all got yellowing leaves that looked a little mushy where the stem met the leaf, and then dropped the leaf. Subcalva and variegated macrophylla had vine die-back. Pubicalyx 'Chimera' did not, thank goodness, or there just wouldn't have been anything left. I'm keeping an eye on everything this year, and if I need to, I will move things back from the window to keep them warmer. These three seem to have put out some nice growth this year, so I'm hoping they feel stronger this year.

Hope things recover quickly for you, Mike. I had to just ride things out until spring, but hopefully that is not the case for you.

Cindy- Now why haven't I thought of simply shutting it off altogether at night? That sounds like just the sort of strategy I'd enjoy. It always feels so stuffy in the morning, even with the heat turned down. Glad to know your Hoyas don't mind the dip.

Mike- Your Hoyas are lucky to have someone like you at the helm of this situation. I'm with Patrick- I feel slightly basket case-y just worrying about your plants.

Rennet- Thanks for the well wishes. I liked your thought to smell the medium.

Quinn- That surprises me about publicalyx 'Chimera' - I thought all the publicalyxs were cool growing. The idea of riding such problems out all winter makes my blood run cold.

Rennet you raise a very good point, the time frame from yellowing to leaf drop is occurring in too many plants simultaneously for virus to be the culprit. A far as vectors go there have been both flower thrips and mealies in my collection with the mealies being the only ones I am truly having trouble controlling.
I did have an issue with Leucocoprinus luteus the yellow flowerpot fungus in some of my plants a while back but that is the reason I got the fungicide in the first place. That issue seems to be dealt with but it may have weakened the plants or left an entrance for other fungi to attack via the root system. Yes the potting mix of those affected plants did have the telltale scent of fungi and I did have to watch that any attempt at fruiting was stopped early by removing the mushroom primordia. I may just have to repot some of the plants to make sure their roots are in good shape and to get them into fresh media. I have been religiously removing diseased and dropped leaves so that the fungi can not easily spread spores. I feel like sterilizing my entire apartment!!!!! LOL

Quinn thanks for that info, might just have to move subcalva up to the top of the rack where it will be warmer and hopefully happier.

Thanks everyone.

Mike

Mike,

I'm so sorry about your hoyas! I would be heartbroken. Please keep us posted!

Lisa

Mike
This is just a idea for you to think about.I was having a mealies problem this fall.Not a big one but I saw a few.I did not want to use chemicals in the house because of my 4 cats and the stuff really makes me feel sick.I went online to find some sort of help.I started to read a orchid forum,they all say to use cinnamon extract to help with bugs.
I did order some and have used it.Its been 2 weeks and I have not seen anymore mealies.It cant hurt to give this a try,I have not seen any ill affect on my hoyas or my orchids.

Cindy

Cindy is the cinnamon extract in the form of an alcohol extraction? I am familiar with herbal medicine and I make my own tinctures and health products so making a cinnamon extraction would be easy enough. Thanks for the tip.

Mike

Hi Mike
This is what the back of the bottle says,NuNaturals uses an extract that has been extracted only with water.This eliminates the toxins that are produced when cinnamon is extracted using alcohol.Cinnamon needs to be extracted this way to maintain the purity of the extract.Alcohol is added to the final liquid product as a preservative.
The bottle is 59ml/2fl.oz.and I think it was cheap to buy and have shipped,just over 8 bucks.
I hope this helps a bit.

Cindy

Cindy that does help. I am sure the aqueous extraction is intended for human consumption vs an alchacol extraction. Seeing as the active principles can be extracted using water this can be done by simply simmering some cinnamon sticks for about 30 min and then straining and using the cooled liquid. Alcohol being added only if you intend to store any unused portion.

Thanks again.

Mike

@mikedahms
The essential oil that is responsible for the antimicrobial and antifungal properties of cinnamon is comprised mostly (90%) of cinnamaldehyde. Cinnamaldehyde is only slightly soluble in water and you would probably have better luck extracting it using an alcohol with macerated cinnamon and then distilling it (if you wish).
Water extraction should work also but your yields will be much lower.

Reference:
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf050709v

I've used cinnamon on many succulent cuttings to guard against infection/rot....
And the only time that I've ever been warned of using cinnamon was from Orchid growers!
The fear is that the cinnamon might inhibit root-growth in certain orchid species.
However, I wouldn't hesitate to use it.

Mike, I've heard that a build-up of ethylene in a box during transit can cause similar symptoms.
I'm a bit out of my ken here, but could there be a build-up of ethylene in the root-zone somehow?

Good luck, Mike. I'm very sorry to hear about this.
Emergency re-potting is definitely one of my least favorite things....I actually experience
a momentary wave of depression - then I go gather my ingredients, yell at whichever cat knocked
my precious plant out of its pot, and set to mixing.....

Josh

@greenman28
Most orchids are symbiotic with some strain or other of fungus at some point during their life cycle, and the mycorrhizal fungus is critical during germination and early growth.
I believe the fear is that cinnamon might disrupt growth of the fungus and have a negative impact on the orchid. The role such mycorrhizal fungi have in mature orchids is unknown, although it is plausible that they play a role in nutrient uptake.

Well I have been doing some more research and I admit that it is not doing anything to make me feel better about the situation. Today while watering some plants I noticed black ring spots on the back of the leaves of a couple plants that are not showing any leaf yellowing. Spots like these are often indicators of virus infection.
I found this site that mentions tomato spotted wilt virus as a disease of Hoyas so I did some investigating and was shocked at how widespread the disease is and now I have a feeling that this may indeed be virus and not entirely fungal in nature.

http://mrec.ifas.ufl.edu/foliage/folnotes/waxplant.htm

The thrip problem I had been dealing with seemed to be under control months ago but the other day I noticed thrips on one of my Gladiolus species. I have not seen thrips on any other plants and moat have been treated with a systemic several times in the past several months so the pest population should be very low.

Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: Tomatoe spotted wilt virus

Oh Mike I feel for you.This year is the first time I have had any sort of bug issues.I had soft scale this summer and then this fall I had mealies. Everything seems under control for now.
To be honest I did not even know what a thrip was,I do now.
What are you going to do?Is there some sort of way to treat your hoyas?
I wish you the best of luck.
Cindy

Mike- Thanks for sharing the research you've been doing. It is a gruesome subject. It's a horrible feeling when a problem is detected and you go about with your eyes peeled and your nerves on edge, only to discover more negative signs. I hope your collection comes around the bend soon.

Josh- I had to smile when I read your description of repotting depression. I experience just the same crushed shoulders and stomach drop. Like the sun suddenly went behind the clouds.

Cindy thrips are the worst pests because they are very tiny and extremely mobile. When you find them as soon as you get close they jump off the plant. A systemic is the only way I could get them under control.
Assuming that there is in fact virus that was spread by the thrips means that those plants that are showing signs of infection will need to be destroyed. Sharing cuttings will spread the virus and any other problems with thrips will do the same. Virus testing is expensive and a big pain in the butt so I am not even going to consider that route. I might loose five or six plants but most can be replaced quite easily.

Mike

@mikedahms
That's a pity, a fungus would have been much easier to deal with. If you haven't already, you should probably quarantine any plants that are under suspicion. I wouldn't jump to any conclusions just yet, but you seem well prepared to handle whatever happens next. Good luck with those pests.

How are things going with the situation, Mike?

I finished examining the plants today and applying another dose of fungicide to the worst affected. It looks like the progression of the disease is slowing down and maybe even stopping. Yellowing leaves are pretty much gone and the plants seem stable. I am going to have to keep a close eye on things and also make sure that the plants are not drying out unexpectedly. Not all of my Hoyas are in the same potting mix and some seem to dry out before the others but because I have so many I have to water on a rotating schedule. I think that I will be able to save all of my plants even though some are not in very good shape, Hoya megalaster is down to two leaves and they are showing spotting but there is new growth starting as well.
I am going to have to pay special attention to the plants that may have virus and be sure to discard them if they show further signs of infection. At this time I feel it might be premature to diagnose any plants with virus because of the stress of the fungal infection but I think I need to be very careful for the sake of my collection.

It has been snowing here for days with over a meter of snow falling in the last three days, most areas are at least waist deep. The entire city is shut down but today is an absolutely beautiful calm and brilliantly sunny day. I feel like the stress is just melting away, a welcome feeling that's for sure.

Mike

I'm so happy that things have turned around for you! There's no feeling in the world like having plants you'd almost despaired of turn the corner due to your administrations. And I find that I become especially fond of plants that had a close call.

On my end, villosa and patella both seem to have recovered fine, but I'm afraid I might lose paulshirleyi. It was in with patella and also dropped a leaf, but unfortunately it didn't have any to spare, so now all that's left is the mature vine and a new bare vine.

A meter of snow sounds lovely! It is nice not to have to wade through snow on the walk to work, but I still envy you. Snowfall really does make me vibrate with simultaneous exhilaration and peace.

You know that terribly yellow cutting of villosa that I got, well it's got roots now and there is some green returning along the midrib and veins of the leaves. I am planning on misting the cutting again with some epsom salts solution in hopes that more chlorophyll will be produced to help the cutting gather some more energy.

Hopefully your Hoya paulshirleyi pulls through even in the abscence of leaves. I think as long as there are roots that are in good shape new leaves should develop and until that happens the fresh green stem can photosynthesize.

Mike

That's great that your villosa is starting to recolor. Idk why I'm always so mesmerized by that process. It always seems like a miracle, I guess because of all the times that it ebbs away for good.

Thanks for the hopeful message about paulshirleyi. It's tucked away safe in the aquarium with my other sickie, yellow mindorensis, from the Forest Treasures 2 order. When it arrived with its last leaf falling off, it was so crazy looking next to the other 3, because they all looked as flush with health as I've ever seen.

Mike I am glad you seem to be getting things to start coming back around. Do have a question about the cinnamon though, when you boil the cinnamon, how long is the boiled mixture good for?

All you guys in the cold I just don't understand, I just hate to be cold. It was 27 here in the florida panhandle yesterday morning. I have a heating pad at the foot of my bed which I turn on at night cause if my feet get cold I freeze to death. You make me laugh when you talk about either turning off your heat at night, keeping your temps in the house in the 50/60 range. I keep my temp at the 73 mark.

Brrr it is supposed to very cold and frosty again tonight.

Dee

Dee if you want to make a extraction of anything that is kinda tough like a root or bark you usually do that by decocting the ingredients. A decoction is made by simply boiling the bark/roots in water for about 30 min. Without adding alcohol to the mixture to preserve it you will only be able to keep it a couple days before bacteria start to grow, longer if kept in the fridge. Adding some rubbing alcohol would help with the mealies as well so no harm there.
I am used to dropping the temperature down at night to get some of my orchids to bloom, it's more comfortable for sleeping to. I don't reliably get it down to 65F though so it's probably closer to what you keep your home at.

Mike

Thanks Mike. I am going to try boiling some this weekend. If I put it in the fridge, would it be ok to warm it up a little before using?

thanks,

Dee

I don't see the harm in warming it back up a little and the plants will like that more than if it were cold.

Mike