I think this is where it all started. This Hoya callistophylla was one of my first hoyas, and one of the first “fancy” hoyas I ever ordered. The cutting came with a u-turn in the vine, so I decided to cut after the turn and root the second piece as well. It rooted up readily.
But neither piece ever grew; no new leaves, no new vines. It tried to bloom once, but blasted all the buds. For almost two years, nothing; it was green, well rooted, but still nothing. I tried more water, less water, more light, less light. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong, since in my mind it had to be operator error.
When I heard the symptoms of flat mites, I immediately knew that’s what was going on with this guy. It was one of the first plants I treated, and within a week there were signs of new leaves on both cuttings and shortly thereafter, buds. Well the buds blasted, again, but the leaves grew. Since the sulfur it has put out four leaves. There’s a fresh set of buds, too, so maybe this time…
Because he was one of the first, I’ve got the suspicion that my flat mites arrived with this fellow. From day one, he never grew. But that issue has been addressed, and I’m hoping for great things from this guy.
I’ll keep you posted.
