I received this Macrophylla 'Pot of Gold' in the mail today and one of the leaves has these marks. I've never seen anything like it in person and am worried it may be some sort-of fungal or bacterial issue. Am I being paranoid and it's just cosmetic? Thanks so much for any help! I'm new, so hopefully I did this right.

Can you share a photo of the rest of the plant?

Thanks so much for replying and thanks! Here's a picture of the whole plant. I'm not concerned about the withering new growth as I know that's most likely due to shipping stress.

I would be concerned about the look of the whole plant. All you can do is take care of it and wait.

Well that's not comforting. May I ask what concerns you about the whole plant? I'm by far not an expert but I've received plants in the mail before and nothing else set my alarm bells off besides the one leaf. I've tried to contact the seller but they have yet to respond. Thanks again for your time

Hi neesh19,

I'd be concerned about the entire plant too, something may be going on at root level. Both of the mature leaves on your Hoya macrophylla appear a bit puckered, which makes me wonder if the stems may not be taking up sufficient moisture. The black spots on the one leaf may be the beginnings of a fungal issue which could have occurred while it was wrapped and packed in a box during transit. The size of the pot looks right for the size of the plant but the soil appears a bit dense and not conducive to a healthy Hoya but perhaps that's just the camera lighting and/or my old eyes.

Many commercial growers use a moisture retentive soil because the plants spend time enclosed in trucks for transport to garden centers around the country. When plants are packed for mail shipment, they are usually in moist soil and wrapped in paper. Those moist, humid conditions can also cause issues. I got a Wax Plant (Hoya macrophylla 'Variegata') 4 months ago and had to repot it upon arrival because the mix it was growing in was very dense and water retentive. I've been growing Hoyas for more than 15 years and learned from a Hoya nursery in Hawaii that this genera of plants require a light, chunky mix that offers good aeration at root level and proper drainage. For many years now I've been using a mixture of potting soil with a good amount of orchid bark mix and perlite added, which makes for a light, airy medium that Hoyas love.

I'd advise keeping a close eye on it and continue trying to contact the vendor. I'd also send photos to the vendor so that they can see the condition of the plant.

Oh wow, thank you so much Plantladylin for your thoughtful response. I was a bit disappointed in the shipping when the plant arrived as the soil was wet and the whole plant was wrapped in wet paper towels. Due to slow shipping times it was also in the mail for 5 days or so. I have ordered from this seller once before and the soil they use is very compact. I did re-pot my other hoya from them in my own soil mix. I am hesitant to re-pot this Hoya or even look at its root system as I am unsure if the seller will claim I did something to the plant by disturbing it. Upon arrival I sent them multiple photographs and I just hope they get back to me, because this was quite expensive.

As I said, I don't want to do anything to it yet until the seller responds, but would it be advantageous to snip off the leaf with the spots?

I wouldn't remove the leaf for two reasons:

1). Its still alive and green so is benefitting the plant

2). You haven't heard back from the seller.

I had to repot my Macrophylla when I got it. In fact the only ones i haven't had to immediately repot were the ones from Flori-Culture.

The seller got back to me and told me it's basically just cosmetic damage from shipping, but the leaf is turning yellow, which in my experience means it's about to fall off. I did repot and inspected the roots, they look okay and I didn't see any signs of rot. I emailed the seller back about my disappointment so hopefully they'll offer some sort-of compensation. I normally wouldn't mind as much, but this plant was not inexpensive and it's not easy for me to replace.

At least I discovered two peduncles on my chinghungensis and one on my nummularioides today, so hopefully those don't fall off.

Thank you both again for your help!

Just this morning I had to repot my Hoya macrophylla 'Variegata' because the winds blew it over and it smashed onto the pool deck. Luckily, I had a small plastic hanging basket pot in the garage which fit the roots perfectly. We've had a lot of rain the past two days and I noticed a black spot on one of the leaves (visible on the left in the photo) that I'll be keeping watch on.

Your plant is gorgeous! Hopefully mine recovers and looks like yours one day. Thanks for sharing. Sadly for me the seller is saying this is the risk you take shipping plants in winter, but I've had plants shipped in December that didn't arrive like this. Won't be buying from them again.

Where are you and were is the seller? This is a great time of year to ship plants! Besides, that is not cold damage. It wasn't a good plant to begin with.

They said the plant was in perfect condition when they sent it and they won't do anything about the damage. I don't know why they shipped over a weekend when priority mail is only guaranteed on business days and seemed to imply that it was my fault the plant took 5 days to arrive. On their website they say they guarantee their plants for everything but freezing weather and it is not freezing weather right now, which is why I trusted ordering from them.

They're in FL and I'm in PA and I always check the 10 day forecast in my state and the states the plant would go through before I ordered. No temperatures went below 50 during its shipment. I know that's cold, but not freezing and again, I've shipped plants in far colder weather (good idea or not) and they arrived in better condition.

Just to give this thread closure in case someone else comes across a plant that has marks like mine. They have continued to spread and the leaf has yellowed and the other has fallen off. All new growth has also fallen off, The seller will give me a refund if I return the plant, which is aggravating that I have to spend money to ship back a dying plant and the leaves that fell off, but I will do it. My fear is them refusing to refund as the plant they will get back is probably going to be dead once it finally arrives.

This is the plant they're insisting I send back to them:

neesh19 said:Just to give this thread closure in case someone else comes across a plant that has marks like mine. They have continued to spread and the leaf has yellowed and the other has fallen off. All new growth has also fallen off, The seller will give me a refund if I return the plant, which is aggravating that I have to spend money to ship back a dying plant and the leaves that fell off, but I will do it. My fear is them refusing to refund as the plant they will get back is probably going to be dead once it finally arrives.

This is the plant they're insisting I send back to them:

I don't think I would return it at your expense as they don't sound like a very reputable company. I would be leery that they would issue a refund if your photos aren't evidence enough. Sounds like they are looking for an excuse not to refund your money.

It sounds like a very unreliable seller if they will not take your photo of proof that the plant is in such bad shape and not salvageable. If you spend the money to mail it back, there's still no guarantee that they will replace it, or refund your money.

I'm curious as to the name of the vendor, perhaps others here have had experience with them too and can share their experience. Is there anyplace online with reviews for the company??

I ended up going through PayPal as I agree with all of you; I didn't trust them. The case is still open but I'm hopeful. PayPal had me fill out an IC3 form as I told them I can't return the plant in its original condition as required, since the plant is pretty much a goner.

I'm squeamish about sharing the name of the vendor, but they have their own website and sell on Etsy as well as Ebay. I've bought from them before too and the plant I received that time was fine, if a bit small for the price (but I knew that).

Hi,
If vendors don't want bad reviews, they should practice good business. All they should have done is refund you and that's that. I have had hoyas in the mail for WEEKS and most of them arrived just fine. Only one died out of probably two dozen over several months.

I would let them know how disappointed you are in them, after having a previous good experience. I would tell them since they don't seem to accept any responsibility, you will be leaving a bad review. This has leverage with most sellers. If they still won't work with you, write the review. Paypal will refund you and go after them.

Some people are not trustworthy or fair. We've all been burned.

There's nowhere for me to review unfortunately. I didn't buy it on Ebay or Etsy but rather on their website and you can't review there. The seller did not care when I spoke with them through email and were pretty indifferent. I mentioned everything to them that I posted here and they didn't care. I filled out an IC3 form yesterday and called PayPal today. Ultimately PayPal decided the case in my favor so I can throw the plant away, thankfully.

I want to thank everyone in this thread though for their help and assistance.

That's why I always use PayPal. I ordered a Hoya from a Etsy shop in California that arrived in similar condition as yours. She also tried to say it was from the cold. PayPal refunded my money and I won't be ordering from her again. She was pretty obnoxious about it all. But I thought your seller was in Florida?