What should I do?
My #Hoyacarnosa (crimson princess) isn't doing well, at least partially. It's weird. Most of her vines feel normal and are ok. However, a couple of them are noticeably unhappy. They have a shriveled appearance. She typically hangs in a South-Southwest facing window along with some other plants. I water her when she's dry. She has lost a good amount of foliage since I got her. Why is this happening? :(
4
Best Answer
Shriveling means the plant isn’t able to absorb water, so in your case this is likely due to root rot on the affected stems.
Root rot can be caused by either watering too often and not allowing the soil to dry out deep enough, or (especially for plants with delicate roots like Hoyas) it can be caused by letting the plant dry out too much, which leads to partial root death and root rot.
I would consider taking several cuttings from the plant and placing them in a cup of water (or better yet: water + perlite/pumice) to attempt to re-root those pieces. Be sure the leaves and petioles (between stem and leaf) stay out of the water as much as possible to prevent rotting before they root. For optimal results, you probably want to take cuttings from the unwilted part of the plant too, instead of just the wilted parts. The wilted pieces may already be too damaged for cuttings to survive easily.
Assuming you plan to leave part of the unwilted part of the plant in the existing pot, you should still try and remove as much of the dead roots as possible that came from the wilted stems you are taking out. This will help prevent the existing rot from spreading to the healthy roots.
Do keep a close eye on this plant for a while, because the root rot disease still may end up spreading to the whole plant at this point no matter what you do. In that case, at the first sign of any decline in the rest of the plant, I’d turn the whole remaining plant into cuttings. Alternatively, you could also try repotting some of the plant after cleaning off any roots that look obviously rotten. After cleaning off all the old soil and cutting off rotten roots, dip the remaining roots in hydrogen peroxide before replanting in fresh well-draining soil.
Good luck!
Root rot can be caused by either watering too often and not allowing the soil to dry out deep enough, or (especially for plants with delicate roots like Hoyas) it can be caused by letting the plant dry out too much, which leads to partial root death and root rot.
I would consider taking several cuttings from the plant and placing them in a cup of water (or better yet: water + perlite/pumice) to attempt to re-root those pieces. Be sure the leaves and petioles (between stem and leaf) stay out of the water as much as possible to prevent rotting before they root. For optimal results, you probably want to take cuttings from the unwilted part of the plant too, instead of just the wilted parts. The wilted pieces may already be too damaged for cuttings to survive easily.
Assuming you plan to leave part of the unwilted part of the plant in the existing pot, you should still try and remove as much of the dead roots as possible that came from the wilted stems you are taking out. This will help prevent the existing rot from spreading to the healthy roots.
Do keep a close eye on this plant for a while, because the root rot disease still may end up spreading to the whole plant at this point no matter what you do. In that case, at the first sign of any decline in the rest of the plant, I’d turn the whole remaining plant into cuttings. Alternatively, you could also try repotting some of the plant after cleaning off any roots that look obviously rotten. After cleaning off all the old soil and cutting off rotten roots, dip the remaining roots in hydrogen peroxide before replanting in fresh well-draining soil.
Good luck!
