I have another blog post with a Hoya soil mix (click here) that I have been using for the last year or so. When I changed my tent set up to be enclosed, I noticed it was a little too moist for my updated set up. I am currently testing out a new recipe from a very sweet Hoya friend Sara (twin_sprouts). The new mix is chunkier and airy. I am hoping it works well for me. If it doesn't, I have already repotted all of my collection YOLO. The recipe consists of horticultural charcoal, coco coir croutons, coco coir, perlite, worm castings. I decided to substitute pumice for perlite as a personal preference. I was also told to only add the worm castings when you are ready to pot. Additionally, I have started using Osmocote (14-14-14) so I added that into the mix as well. Small Batch Recipe: 1 cup coco coir croutons 1/4 cup charcoal 1/4 cup coco coir 1/4 cup worm castings 1/4 cup pumice I got my charcoal and pumice from Bonsai Jack and the rest from Amazon. I did notice that Amazon definitely did not have the cheapest price for the coco coir croutons. Once I've been using it for a while, I will do an update on how my Hoyas are like it! P.S. My tents smell like a BBQ because of the charcoal. 10/26/21 UPDATE It has been exactly a month since I switched all my Hoyas over to this mix and it was a learning experience. I definitely do not recommend switching ALL your plants over to a mix you haven't tested in your environment but c'est la vie. My personal environment: -location Southwestern Pennsylvania -Hoyas live in basic greenhouse (average humidity 80-90%, average temperature 70-80%) After I repotted my Hoyas, the majority of the collection got root rot pretty quickly. I had only watered them once, which was right after I had moved them to the new mix. This new mix definitely does not need watered often as it tends to hold onto moisture. Since it is a chunkier mix, I was expecting it to dry out faster. I ended up chopping up all my Hoyas and completely re-rooting everything in pon. If you want to try making your own pon and need a recipe with links click here. The one thing I do like this mix for is freshly rooted cuttings. I had cuttings that were rooted in LECA. I moved them to this mix and they are loving it unlike my established Hoyas. I notice the roots seem to grow thicker and it is nice knowing that I can go 10+ days without needing to water. Basially, the morale of the story is always test out new mixes before you go gung ho.
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I received these beautiful Hoya elliptica cuttings in a trade with a local plant friend. She had kindly put them in stratum. This is my first experience using this grow medium but I hear it is similar to pon. Strata is a layer of sedimentary rock or soil. The consistency of stratum is pellet like but easily crushed between your fingers. I believe it is the same as tephra. It is also commonly used in fish tanks. Stratum does require a reservoir of water. I had the cuttings in stratum for 2 weeks and I wasn't super impressed with the root growth. The smaller cutting didn't make it and the larger one did grow roots but nothing too crazy. I personally feel I get better results from LECA. The last few days of it being in stratum I did put it under a heat mat but I am not sure it really helped. Once I took the cutting out of stratum and potted it up, I decided to sanitize it. I took a microwave safe dish put the stratum in with some water and let it go for a minute and a half to two minutes. After that, I rinsed the stratum carefully.
Overall, it was fun to try a new grow medium. It is possible that maybe using a H. elliptica for a test subject wasn't the best since it tends to be a finicky Hoya. I might try again with another Hoya cutting at some point. DIY pon ingredients: Mix 4 parts pumice, 2 parts lava rock, and 1 part zeolite. To fertilize use either a liquid fertilizer or slow-release fertilizer balls like Osmocote. Pon has an air to water ratio of 45% air to 55% water. This ratio is supposed to reduce susceptibility to disease. Sometimes you will hear pon referred to as LECHUZA-PON this is just a brand name. You can use pon like soil or in a semi-hydro set up with a water reservoir. I personally prefer a semi-hydro set up with pon. A dry phase is also encouraged with pon. A dry phase can be for 2-10 days. The length of dry phase will vary based on environment, individual plant, temperature, and humidity. For additional questions click here to be taken to the LECHUZA-PON FAQ page. There are also multiple YouTube videos you can find of people making their own pon.
When I first started propagation I was exclusively using sphagnum moss. Moss is a great medium to root especially for beginners. My friend Christie was the one who told me I needed to try LECA for rooting Hoyas. I don't use moss propagation anymore but would definitely recommend using it if you don't want to venture into LECA. Click here to read about LECA propagation. For a basic moss propagation set up you will need the following:
One important lesson I learned from moss propagation, was that not all moss is created equal. When I first started my plant collection and wanted to try propagating, I made two critical mistakes: 1) I used cheap sphagnum moss that was atrocious to root in 2) I had no ventilation which caused mold/rot After that, I stopped trying to propagate because I didn't think I was capable of doing it successfully. Flash forward a couple months and I decided to try again. This time I watched a lot of videos, read articles, and got some pointers from my plant community. Once you have the right set up, propagating in moss is easy. Directions: First, put a layer about 1.5 inches thick of moss in your clear container. To wet the moss, you will use Liqui-Dirt. Make sure you follow the directions on the package because it requires two dilutions. The moss should be damp but not saturated. If you squeeze the moss in your hand, you can see how saturated it is. Next, place all your cuttings so that the bottom is partially buried in the moss. Put the lid back on the container to seal it and place it on a heat mat under grow lights. Heat mats can be on 24/7. I would recommend using grow lights for 12 hours a day. If you choose to not put any ventilation holes in your propagation box like me then I would recommend opening it up once a day to prevent mold/rot. Depending on what types of plants you are trying to root you might see root development in 2-4 weeks. Additional resources: Click here for Harli G's prop box video Recently, I completely stopped using a propagation box with sphagnum moss and switched all of my cuttings to LECA (lightweight expanded clay aggregate). I noticed that some of my moss propagations were taking such a long time to root especially the woody stemmed Hoyas. I root in LECA and then put the cuttings in soil. You just need a few basic supplies to utilize LECA. Supplies:
First, you will want to put your net pot into the cache pot. Next, I put a few LECA pebbles at the bottom. Then, I will add in my cutting and fill the net pot up with more LECA pebbles. Once your cutting in secured fill up your cache pot with Liqui-Dirt roughly a third of the way high. Lastly, stick your propagation on a heat mat that is under a grow light. Your cutting should grow decent roots in 1-2 weeks. I notice that I do have to replenish the water reservoir every 1-2 days to keep the water at a high enough level for the LECA pebbles to absorb. When you notice roots coming out of the net pot into the water reservoir that is a good sign that it's time to remove the cutting from LECA and pot it up. I first remove the net pot from the cache pot. Next, very delicately remove the cutting from the net pot making sure to not pull off any roots. If any roots are stuck on the LECA pebbles I try to gently remove them if possible. The used LECA I set aside till I get a big enough pile and then I will sterilize it. You can sterilize LECA by boiling it on the stove for 10 minutes in water. Then, use your desired potting medium to pot up the cuttings. I pot mine in soil with systemics. Lastly, water your new plant and ideally keep on heat mat for a while longer to keep developing the root system. After I am done with the cache and net pot, I use Physan 20 to disinfect the pots and leave them to dry to be reused. |
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