Thank you Iochroma for your response! 😊☺️🙂
Disclaimer: I know I sound really novice and make lots of mistakes despite trying to read and learn everything I can. But I don't give up that easily, so I'm still trying.
So my plant 1 and 2 hoyas pretty much all flopped now 😒 I have one stem left in each pot because the stems just kept dying off and when I removed the stems, the roots were all stringy.
So I'm not having much hope for these two plants, but I really want to try growing them again so obviously I have to make changes.
The lighting:
Short story:
I may add supplemental artificial light.
Long story:
In the summer, they get afternoon sun. It is direct for a little while but mostly yes, it's filtered through sheer curtains and a big maple tree outside, but it does still get a bit of direct sun if the angle is right. It is definitely bright on a sunny day. But I believe you that it might not be enough still. I am toying with the idea of adding supplental artifical light like the rest of of my plants in other parts of my home because I really want plants in that window facing the street.
I have the same hoya in my kitchen east window with a wood blind, it's been there close to 20 years and I didn't do much with it over those 20 years. The leaves facing out at the bottom (where there is a little gap from the blinds) all turned yellow from too much light, but the ones shaded at all are still nice and green (and white and pink). So I just roll with it. Since I've gotten into houseplants and been giving it better care (better watering practices, pruning), it started growing a bunch of new stems and I couldn't be happier. It always flowers for me (probably because I water stressed it in previous years) but it's flowering non-stop this year, so the plant CAN do alright in the summer months at least. But still thinking about supplemental artificial light for the west window, especially for the winter months.
What I think I did wrong:
Short story:
I overwatered
Long story:
All my plants are planted in nursery style simple pots with drainage holes and just placed in cache pots. But I didn't repot right away, so I didn't check the roots and they were in a potting soil that was too dense and compact, so when I watered through, it was holding onto too much moisture. In hindsight, I probably should have just watered very lightly until I repotted into a more suitable fast draining mix. So I think I over watered, at least for plant 1.
I thought it was a humidity issue on the plant with roots at the top (plant 2) because the stems kept drying out. Thinking the roots being at the top was causing the plant to dry out way faster than the plant with a heavy compacted root ball (plant 1). But not knowing how the roots were at the time, I added a humidity tray which I think might have kept the roots too moist (especially plant 1 with the wet root ball). So plant 1 went downhill after I started with the humidity tray and went downhill fast. Plant 2 did better initially, but maybe didn't like to be repotted and slowly declined as well.
What I plan to do to fix the situation for next time and the rest of my hoyas:
Short story: I need to repot right away. Check roots and get plants into a suitable mix that I'm familiar with.
Long story:
I have a few new hoyas that I'm afraid to repot, but I know I have to, so I'm going to repot while the plant is still healthy. Also gonna be careful with the roots and not press too hard while planting (keep the pot mix nice and fluffy and airy.)
I plan to use bark, cactus soil, perlite and spagnum moss, worm castings in my mix going forward. I also bought some orchid pots with holes and saucers to hopefully give more air flow. I already have a fan going 24/7 so I hope this way it can dry out enough.
Sure! I can use a skewer stick to check moisture levels, I never even thought of that! I agree, I need to know just how dry/wet the soil is and I just can't tell yet without checking somehow. I know I will learn, but right now I can't tell. Thanks for that suggestion!
I will try to keep the plants dryer. I admit, it's hard for me not to overwater and wrap my head around plants growing in dry soil (I am used to aquatic plants and outdoor plants), but I'm learning!
I didn't water my snake plants for a week after I repotted and they actually grew in that time! So although there's so much conflicting info about whether to water after repotting or not, I think I feel more comfortable with waiting at least 24-48 hours after repotting. Maybe not a week of dryness for hoya, but a little bit to allow roots to get used to new media.
Again thank you for your insight, it is very much appreciated 😉
