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meyermike_1

Please, I need Lacanosa Hoya help.

I have been struggling to keep all of mine healthy for years and I finally decided to ask for help.

I have a watering issue. I have them growing in a very good soil mix and growing outside they are thriving, but once I get them inside, how much light should they get and are they fussy on watering needs?

Do they like to be constantly moist, to dry out, or dry beyond dry out?

The leaves always seem to turn yellow and I loose many leaves, or they get soft, the leaves will fall off and all I will have are bare vines by the end of winter.

Also, do they have high light needs come winter?

Please help me to not have to go through this again.

Right now they are still outside since day temps are nice and warm in a sunnier location. I bring them in at night when temps drop below the mid fifties. But once I bring them in for good I want to be prepared.

Thanks in advance))

Mike

Comments (24)

  • 5 years ago

    I too had mine outside, but they have been brought in now for about the last three weeks. My lacunosa sits in a southwestern window. I'm in eastern PA. It receives pretty much full sun on the window sill, but cause it's winter, it's not as intense as outside in the summer in direct light. There they get dappled shade.


    I let mine go a few days between watering. They aren't moist but they aren't dry either, if that makes sense. I give them a little water about once a week or so just to keep them damp.


    The move inside will shock them a little, but they recover quickly. I still feed them about every five weeks, a very dilute miracle grow orchid fertilizer.


    I found that I need to be much more diligent in checking for mealy bugs, since they seem to thrive indoors.


    Hope this info helps. Best of luck with yours.

  • 5 years ago

    Hi Mike, I had my lacunosa outside this summer, too. I also had trouble with leaves yellowing and falling off. For me this happened in the fall right before/when I moved the plant back inside. I think that, in my case, it may be due to the plant being too wet for a while. I know we had a really dry summer over all, but right toward the end we had a few days of off and on pretty heavy rain. Since I've had it inside, I've been letting it dry out pretty well between watering, and I think it's starting to look better.

    Mine is getting bright indirect light, with a little direct sun every now and then. It's in my sunroom that has a bank of west windows, a south sliding door, and skylights. It's hanging in front of the west windows, which are somewhat shaded by trees.

  • 5 years ago

    I have what was a fairly large lacunosa "snow caps" that I bought at a big box store. On that same shopping trip, I also bought a lacunosa "ruby sue" which has subsequently expired (bit the dust). The snow caps has very thin leaves. It is hanging on but always has a terrible case of the mealies. I've sprayed, I've repotted, I've used systemic. Still has mealies. Tonight I spent a good 45 minutes with alcohol soaked q-tips carefully swabbing off more of those stupid disgusting little trilobytes. But I did notice that it has quite a few tiny new leaves coming as well. So the plant is trying! I have it on my plant shelf only a few inches from a grow light. I've been watering it once a week to 10 days when it becomes completely dry.

    I have another small lacunosa that I got from an independent nursery prior to the big box store ones. It's perfectly happy. It's in a chunky potting mix in an East-facing window. I water it when it becomes completely dry. It has stronger, thicker leaves. I'm not sure what that means, maybe the cutting was taken from a more mature plant? Anyway, it gives me no trouble. But I wouldn't call it a rapid grower either. I'll post some pics tomorrow.

  • 5 years ago

    Lacunosa #1, plain green variety with wider and sturdier leaves. Has been growing in its original nursery pot with a chunky mix for more than a year. Purchased from a small independent plant shop labeled "lacunosa" but label isn't the end all be all since I have seen many hoyas mislabled. Never gives me any guff. First picture from February 2020.

    Picture taken today. It has grown a bit. Sits about a foot from an east-facing window.

    Lacunosa #2, "Snow caps". Purchased from big box store in large hanging basket. It started going downhill so I repotted it in a smaller pot with chunkier mix. It regularly suffers from mealy bugs. Leaves are longer, more narrow than the other. And much thinner. This one is under a grow light on a plant shelf. It has new growth which is encouraging. But it isn't the prettiest plant.

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Here is a photo of hoya lacunosa it is grow indoors all year round here in the uk. I do not think most hoya are high light loving plants more dappled shade plants. I have had it for a few years now growing in a north facing window it gets a few hours direct sun in the morning and maybe a bit in the evening. It gets watered once a week with rain water! poured on until its comes through the bottom of the pot left to drain then placed back in the window. In the summer it might get put in a bucket of water until the air bubbles stop coming out, or placed outside in a heavy rain shower. it is fed once every two to 3 weeks in the summer either with a cactus feed or a bonsai 0-10-10 feed. The mix with all my hoya is pretty open the standard pine park, perlite with a compst of your choice. Hope this helps in some way Mike


  • 5 years ago

    Thanks everyone I really appreciate the help! Yours all look fantastic.
    Wendy I had no idea you even had any. You described what happens to mines when I leave them out too long too. I now bring the in on colder nights and they love it outside still.
    Fragrant wow! You have some of the nicest looking fragrant plants.
    Pop mama , that can be very frustrating darn critters like they are immune to everything. What worked for me was sinking my plant completely submerged under soapy water for at least 20 minutes. That easy )
    Thanks again. Here is some of mine I just brought in for the night. I dunked them all under water for 1/2 hour all are very happy for now.

  • 5 years ago

    A few more. No idea the name of any of them. I know one is a black Khriona think that’s how you spell it and snow something.

  • 5 years ago

    A couple more

  • 5 years ago

    Here is another. Wish I knew the names

  • 5 years ago

    Here is a couple of extras , air plants and orchids. Hopefully the dame lighting will work for the Hoya )

  • 5 years ago

    And my black leaf one. Thank you

  • 5 years ago

    Wow! Your hoyas look fantastic. Huge specimens. You could make a lot of money selling cuttings. Wowsa. I'm envious! Mine look pathetic compared to those. Whatever you are doing seems to be working.

  • 5 years ago

    Incredible bunch of hoyas, Mike! Ohh and a lovely orchid, wow!! Treat for the eyes heh :)
    My Laconosas did best indoors with bright indirect light and watered when almost dry. The room was on the warm side all winter. They hated to be watered when already moist as leaves would sadly turn yellow. Also hated to be neglected and overly dried out, as they’d drop whole sections.
    Still figuring where to place my hoyas for the winter, I think they will be in a room with skylights rather than being in a window (as no space).
    Ttyl my friend..
    Nancy

    Meyermike(Zone 6a Ma.) thanked nanzjade z5 MA
  • 5 years ago

    I found one more. This one was labeled as possibly being khroniana. But if it is, it isn't khroniana black. Looks more like my other lacunosa.

    Meyermike(Zone 6a Ma.) thanked popmama (Colorado, USDA z5)
  • 5 years ago

    Popmama, funny you should mention that, but that is why I bought them. I know they are very hard to attain and in fact it took me two years to find the black one. I paid almost 50 bucks for two small cuttings. lol Crazy

    Nancy, thank you. I love your Ruby Sue, you should post that one here if you can. I would love to see that one again. Thanks))

  • 5 years ago

    Well you have done very well with two small cuttings!

  • 5 years ago

    Love seeing all these Hoyas! Here's my kind of sad lacunosa. It was doing really well and had a lot of new growth, until those heavy rains at the end of the summer, coupled with cool nights. A lot of leaves yellowed and fell off, and I cut back a lot of it.

    The leaves that are left are looking better now, so hopefully it will be fine.

    Here's my little krohniana 'Super Eskimo'. Just got this one a couple of months ago.

    A little krohniana with black leaves is en route to me now from Gardino. Yep, had to pay $50 for it.

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    I love your Super Eskimo! that's a khroniana right?

  • 5 years ago

    Yes it is, I love Hoyas with silver leaves :-)

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Wendy, I'll bet you are SO excited!! That is what mine looked like when I got mine. I did loose one because I didn't think to re pot it into a good porous mix and left it in the peat it came in. Now they are all thriving in my new mix and growing fast. I am happy for you. Wait until you see the true colors lights or the sun bring out in them. Keep me updated please. BY the way, you can't buy those anymore. You struck gold my friend)

    That first one I see, can you tell me the name. I have it and I will post a [pic but I think it's time to start labeling mine up. Good work.

  • 5 years ago

    I am excited! I've been wanting a black leaf one for a long time, and have seen them come up on Ebay a few times, but when they have, they've gone for more $$ than I wanted to spend. I was happy to see Gardino's list 3 of them on Ebay for $50 buy it now. Still pricey, but affordable. Fortunately I was looking at Ebay at the right time, because all three sold right away.

    The mix it was in wasn't too bad, at least it had quite a bit of perlite in it, but I did repot it into a chunkier mix today. I have learned that getting new plants into a mix I'm used to as soon as I get them works out much better!

    The other one I got from them is Hoya heuschkeliana. I think that's how it's spelled. Quite a mouthful, I don't have a clue how to pronounce it :-)

  • 5 years ago

    Wendy. Lol. I don’t know how to say it either. Lol. Hete is mine. It grew a lot in a chunky mix. I had no idea you were looking for the other or I would of hooked you up. I already started a few cuttings off my mother plant for bank up. I’ll always have your back. Also included are the cuttings I started. One pot I almost lost to a peat mix. Thank god I caught it in time.

  • 5 years ago

    Those up top are three cuttings I got going of the black.
    This one I am about to post is a combo of black and snow cap. I almost lost it. I think it’s coming back now !! These two are in the same pot. One different on each side. Should grow interesting. Love your cuttings