Hi there! My Hindu rope plant has been starting to wrinkle and some leaves have yellowed and shriveled. This started to happen after I repotted it. I water it when the soil gets very dry, once every week or two weeks. Any help would be appreciated!

I have one of these, and when the leaves look like that I water it. I understand from others about this plant that it can be picky about watering and repotting; they will soon see this post and help you further.

Your plant leaves are shriveled because they are dehydrated. That could be because the soil is getting too dry.

However, that can also be a result of roots that were badly damaged during repotting. This is likely if you removed some or most of the original soil when you repotted.

Finally, if the soil has stayed too wet for too long the roots may have rotted and are no longer able to absorb water even though the soil has lots of water.

Thanks you two! I'll try watering it more and see if that helps,

amm13 said:Thanks you two! I'll try watering it more and see if that helps,

If it's simply dehydrated, your plant will plump right up within a few hours of being watered. If it's not doing that, then it's not drinking -- and you need to check the roots before you think about watering more!

romalu said:

If it's simply dehydrated, your plant will plump right up within a few hours of being watered. If it's not doing that, then it's not drinking -- and you need to check the roots before you think about watering more!

Hmmm... it only improved a little bit. How do I check the roots? (I am very new to this!)

I noticed that some of the roots are popping out a bit from the top and are dried out and tan. I tried to cover it with more soil.

Inspecting roots is hazardous unless you know what you are doing and what to look for. Adding soil on top is not a good idea so you should remove it.

If your plant improves some after watering that is a positive although not a definitive sign. I suggest that you attend carefully to the watering and see how it does. Look for healthy new leaves to emerge even as older ones don't improve.

If the roots have rotted from overwatering, then there is not much that can be done. Replacing the soil is not a solution. If it has been underwatered, recovery will be slow.

WillC said:Inspecting roots is hazardous unless you know what you are doing and what to look for. Adding soil on top is not a good idea so you should remove it.

If your plant improves some after watering that is a positive although not a definitive sign. I suggest that you attend carefully to the watering and see how it does. Look for healthy new leaves to emerge even as older ones don't improve.

If the roots have rotted from overwatering, then there is not much that can be done. Replacing the soil is not a solution. If it has been underwatered, recovery will be slow.

Oops... I didn't see that, and I was curious and took the plant out to look at the roots. There were a few healthy plump looking roots, but a lot of them were dried out. The rootball was very loose. No rotting, though! Hopefully I didn't kill it even more by repotting it again. If so, oh well - thank you for your advice. If I encounter this problem again, I'll know what to do.

I'm on my second Hindu Rope myself. It is safe to say they are a bit tricky to keep happy.

hlutzow said:I'm on my second Hindu Rope myself. It is safe to say they are a bit tricky to keep happy.

Not really, at least not in my experience. Mine's been thriving on neglect in my south window for 4 years now! I water only when it's pretty dry through, give it a dose of plant food a few times a year when I remember and otherwise ignore it. And that's pretty much exactly what they need, because they're semi-succulent.

I will note that a somewhat loose and well draining soil mix is recommended (add some extra perlite/pumice and orchid bark to regular potting soil). Hoyas are epiphytic so they like their feet on the dry side. If you live somewhere on the humid side, regular potting mix will dry too slowly and cause rot issues.

romalu said:

Not really, at least not in my experience. Mine's been thriving on neglect in my south window for 4 years now! I water only when it's pretty dry through, give it a dose of plant food a few times a year when I remember and otherwise ignore it. And that's pretty much exactly what they need, because they're semi-succulent.

I will note that a somewhat loose and well draining soil mix is recommended (add some extra perlite/pumice and orchid bark to regular potting soil). Hoyas are epiphytic so they like their feet on the dry side. If you live somewhere on the humid side, regular potting mix will dry too slowly and cause rot issues.

Thanks for the info. Maybe this time I won't kill it.

hlutzow said:

Thanks for the info. Maybe this time I won't kill it.

Good luck! I had one other thought when I noticed you were in FL -- find a spot with some good air flow and lower humidity if possible. I'm 99% sure that one of the big reasons I have so little trouble with mine is that I live in a dry climate. Low humidity -> little to no moisture trapped in those curly leaves -> almost no chance of fungal/bacterial disease issues. Low risk of bugs, too.