Hoya talk forum: Obscura
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| OK, I bought it at a plant show. It had 2 well rooted cuttings in what I NOW think was just plain peat soil. Please,see first pic -top left plant on the table.Bloomed on remaining cutting ( single peduncle) twice and sprouted 2 small leaves recently. I lost 1 cutting long ago because soil retained too much water in my outdoor condition,despite growing in morning sun. 2nd cutting looked sick ,so I changed soil to more loose mix and put it in shade of a tree where it gets filtered sun. Still not well. I found part of the stem in even that lose mix rotten and tiny roots forming on the node above soil. Soil drenched due to rains despite fairly lose structure.And all the light material of soil somehow on top and soil sunk in the lower part of the pot. So when you look at the second pic, it appears soil is fairly lose but in the bottom part of pot it was all wet soil.Just changed mix again(more airy) again today (less soil), new mix and smaller new pot. I am now going to keep it in the patio protected from rain until roots have chance to grow better. Any advise to help it grow will be highly appreciated. Hope it is not too late to save it. But here are pics of how it looks like now Pic #2 of leaves and #3 of teeny tiny roots. .-    |
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| This hoya is supposed to be one of the more easier ones to grow but for over 2 years I had tons of problems to get this silly hoya to grow.It kept getting soft wrinkly leaves.I restarted obscura so many times until this winter when again I had to cut the roots off i decided to grow it only in pumice rocks.Since doing this it is growing nicely and seems happy. |
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I've only had this one for a few months, but it isn't a fussy Hoya for me so far. I'll let you know if it throws fits in Zone 7 in the winter...  You have the right idea, though...give it some time to get used to your new soil and then water when dry-ish. The mix you have looks good - nice and chunky. |
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| I got mine last fall and it kinda sat all winter. I ended up taking it out of the pot it came in and repotted it into a slightly smaller pot, and put it on a regular fertilizer program. It hangs out side where it gets morning sun for a few hours, then dappled sun/shade then shade. It's been going gang busters. I did some cuttings in a 50/50 mix of perlite and vermiculite and they rooted easily, you might try that till the roots get established again instead of soil. Then when you pot up make sure you have a mix that drains well. |
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| I think mj has the best advice.... Cold soggy thick soil is not the best....guaranteed to fail..... Leap. The net will appear. |
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| Thanks everybody. I AM listening to all of you. Please keep it coming.... More questions- What does Vermiculite do? I thought it is to retain moisture. But we have tons of moisture in air anyway. I can get vermiculite and perlite here easily. So, I will follow the advise so those tiny roots grow.Eventually it will need soil mix. MJ, can you please share your soil recipe for obscura? I thought obscura likes moisture....not soggy/wet soil . That has been a challenge due to weather. Now, how do you make a soil that stays moist but not soggy, given all the heavy constant rain here for 2-3 months.......rest of the time extremely hot and humid without rain or with short periods of rain. If I make it too light, it would get too dry during dry time here...right? Should it stay in the porch or house? Or does it not require moisture? |
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| I would be nice to just walk away once they are potted, wouldn't it? I hang many pots outdoors here (try 10feet of rain over 2.5 months). We get rain nearly every night. They have perlite, orchid bark and lava cinders in the media. I prefer the orchid chips over vermiculite because ...well...it's cheaper and gives the medium organic material. I use lava cinders because it is cheaper. Even the plants I have hanging under the eaves in my regular mix (no cinders) from the greenhouse don't need as much watering as they get humidity from the air. Should we have a dry spell and I need to water...I just water them. Leap. The net will appear. |
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| Thanks Carol. So, you use Lava cinders if you have the pots out in rain and no Lava when they hang in the greenhouse ? I have a bag of red lava rocks here, may be I should add some to my mixes in future. Have orchid chips at home too. I find they can hold a lot of moisture. Just transferred that obscura into pure perlite. Do I have to add vermiculite? |
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| Alka....Red Lava chips are too high in iron and not good for plants. So as not to really confuse...what do you grow your H. lacunosa in? I find H. obscura likes the same conditions. I wouldn't grow it in pure perlite. Perlite is great for holding little water and providing air spaces for roots. I would mix it at least 1/2 with orchid bark. OK...think of it this way: Growing in a crotch of a tree, what would it find to grow in? Some leaf matter - some partially broken down, maybe some rocks or seeds unsprouted dropped by a bird - moss - ALL of which drain quickly and there are little air pockets between them because they aren't Peat Moss which is really deadly (for me...as it stays soggy wet and then dries out and is like arock). Leap. The net will appear. |
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| Red lava high in Iron? I did not know that! I wash it well before use but it will probably still retain some. Red lava works well here in south Florida,does not wash/blow away and is a popular media for certain Orchids because everything else causes rot due to too much moisture around roots. You probably use black Lava rocks...not available here. I got lacunosa recently, tiny 2.5 inch pot. It is in the same soil it came in and inside the porch. I water when it looks that soil needs watering but as far as I can tell mostly peat and some perlite. I know I will have to change the soil eventually but it is thriving and growing nicely,already triple the original size. Bark and perlite mix...no problem.....Thanks. |
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| That combination works really well for me, especially if you have it outside in the elements. Leap. The net will appear. |
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| I'm on my second go with obscura. It really didn't seem to like me at all - but the last cut I got has tripled in size this year, and is just flowering for the first time. Too late to take a pic now - but will tomorrow. I planted it in a shallow buld bowl with a mix of compost, bark and perlite. For me vermiculite breaks down to a mush very quickly. I water when dry, and it seems to be working....for now  |
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| Thanks Julie. Do you grow yours indoor? Although I am trying to root it in the covered porch now, it will go outside to hang in a tree once it has good roots. I will baby it to a point but if it requires special place for too long,it will be difficult for me. Compost.....you mean leaf compost or composted manure? I can make leaf compost but here compost gets wet. But that gives me idea, may be a little worm compost when it has good roots. I never understand what this vermiculite is supposed to do......help retain water? Can someone please educate me how their plants benefit from it? |
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| Alka...I never understood what good it does either!!! It sounds like you are really doing a good job growing your plants. Remember...there are just some plants that aren't as healthy as others and, I feel, it has a lot to do with how they are grown originally; if they are fed well, if they are strong.... Just sayin'.... Some clones just aren't as strong as others... don't give up...it's not entirely 'up to you'....the plant needs to be vigorous and healthy too!!!!  Leap. The net will appear. |
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plumania wrote:Thanks Julie. Do you grow yours indoor? Yes Alka, I grow all my hoyas indoors. It's far too cold in the uk to have these babies outside for more than a couple of weeks! The compost I refer to is just regular potting compost from a garden centre, mixed with bark and perlite. Sometimes I throw in some charcoal for good measure, but not always. Perlite for me adds air space to the mix and some moisture retention. Heres my new flower This is obviously the pink/orange clone. and the leaves:  |
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| That is very pretty obscura Julie. Thanks a lot. |
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