The medium was soiless but it started drying out SO much I added soil to it. I'm trying to root it But it's drying rapidly

Aururawa is this what I think or just a new stem coming?

Pardon me, but how is that mix soilless? It looks pretty soil-like from here - or is it mostly peat?

You're trying to soil root that big thing as a cutting? Why? Why not cut it into several sections? I'd expect you'd get better results.

I'd cut off sections that look completely dried out & dead like the next to the last pic. Sorry but that piece will not get better.

I said I WAS soiless.. Then it dried out..So I added soil to retain moisture.

I will try cutting it. I may just trash it.thanks anyway

As for the carnosa compacta, it is still salveagable. You will need to make multiple cuttings and bag up. It tends to wrinkle significantly, in my experience, when rooting, but quickly plumps back up, once rooted.

As for watering issues/media not at least absorbing some moisture, are you pre-soaking your media? How often do you water? What is the humidity and temp of your house? Where exactly do you keep your plants? Hoyas are generally not difficult to care for (at least most species), so I am very confused, as it seems you cannot seem to keep your plants happy, no matter what you try.

Oh, and take the gloves off! I am unsure of what type of gloves you are using, but many types have a powder or spray coating of chemicals on the outside, that may not be the best thing for your plants. You don't need to handle them with gloves. Even if they have signs of disease or pest issues. Just isolate and treat ones with symptoms.

Unless you are allergic to the sap, nothing the hoya has can be transferred to you, and as long as you are practicing good plant husbandry (isolating and treating the sick ones, sterilizing pots and cutting equipment, using new, clean potting media), there is almost no risk of contamination to your other hoyas.

A couple of true stories to show you how resilient hoyas are:

my Hoya sp. Sweet Scent came down with fungal spots over the winter. It was next to several other hoyas, none of the others developed the fungus. I isolated and treated, un-gloved, with cinnamon paste. The worst that happened was the plant lost 6 or 7 leaves (the most damaged ones). It has since fully recovered, and none of the ones next to it developed any issues.

I have had a hoya with scale (like 6 or 7 on the stem, and quite a few on the leaf undersides) in a tray with 17 other hoyas (18-tray). I checled EVERY SINGLE hoya I own, and only that hoya and two others, had scale. I treated ALL, as preventative. I never isolated the three with scale, I just used my alcohol and baby shampoo solution on every single part of each plant, treated with a systemic, and placed them back with the others. Only one needed another alcohol/shampoo bath, until the systemic kicked in.

I am confused also because I have hoyas that are doing great with no issues and putting out new growth then I have others that are not doing well but they are all in same area with bright light with the same chunky mix.idk? The gloves are nitrile w/o powder but I wear them for other reasons.my Windows are kind of drafty so I use space heaters. It seems dry to me so I mist

I just found a long strand from my krinkle 8 also not taking up water. The vine had bent at the soil line...don't be afraid to cut it up. Its either that or it dies. I got 23 cutting off of mine lol plus 1 pot of leaves. Hurt me to throw them :-/

I love krinkle 8 just can't find them any where

"Windows are kind of drafty so I use space heaters. It seems dry to me so I mist"

IMO this sounds contradictory & confusing. If I were I Hoya I wouldn't know if I should be hot or cold in that setting. I'd stop misting, as it doesn't actually help.

Pls. specify components for your soilless mix, as folks mean pretty different things by that term. I 'hear' that you added soil thinking it was too dry. What I learned was soilless mix was equal parts of peat, perlite & vermiculite.

Perhaps you think Hoyas are supposed to stay pretty wet, which is not what I've found, they need to dry somewhat btwn waterings.

I'm sorry you feel this is severely dehydrated (it's not severe to me) & that you feel you should toss it.

Working w/ one's conditions & experimenting are parts of the learning curves in gardening & in Hoyas. It takes some time, experimentation, patience & determination. Not just money & some folks ability to buy, buy, buy.

I wouldn't toss it, I'd cut & root it in sections as suggested above, just toss just the most brittle (& obviously gone) pieces.

Good luck!

Bridgett, how are your cuttings doing? Mine all plumped up already. Haven't lost one yet. No new growth but all still alive.

lydia they look great! you have a magic touch.

Thank you, Laura :)

Can you sell me 1?

Bridgett, how is your plant doing? Did you cut it up in sections and try to root it? How did it go?

Parts of it are OK and parts of it died. It still has not plumped yet.

Noobie mistake. I did not know I was supposed to soak the fine orchid mix. I have many, many plants in it now. What is the best way to fix this situation? Throw them in s/h while I soak the mix - some have been it in for months.... :( Or spray the hell out of them now to make the mix as wet as possible?? Help!!! Now I know why I am watering everyday - no one has suffered yet. . .

I have forgotten to soak the mix before. I just usually water the ones in the forgotten mix really well, then remove them from the mix and let them hang out without any media overnight, while I soak the mix. Rinse mix well the following morning, and repot. No ill effects from doing this.

I just checked about 8 plants and they are all thriving. I spray at least twice a day with a high blast sprayer and run a humidifier. Moving forward, all medium will be soaked overnight!! Gosh, even on the outrageously expensive bag of fine orchid mix it clearly says to soak it!! So glad I read Garden Web! Thx, aurorawa, I had my fingers crossed you would answer!!

One more question regarding the soaked mixture.... can that be stored if I don't need it all the next day?

Yes, just drain and rinse well before placing in clean bag.