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Hoya bella losing leaves

ColmOColmO Posts: 101
in Problem solving
hallo everyone. i've just moved, and my plants are now facing a north east window. the Hoya did produce some tiny flower buds, but they didn't amount to anything. but it does have a fair amount of new foliage. and now some of the leaves are coming off. the bookcase it is on the top of (this is temporary) will occasionally get knocked, and i'm not sure if that's what's causing it. i'm going to keep a close eye on it. most of the leaves are not sustainable ones anyway, but one or two have been succulent, healthy leaves. meanwhile, any thoughts gratefully received.
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  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    I would guess if it's up on a shelf facing a window, the leaves on top won't be getting any real light, so are useless to the plant and it will shed them. I also notice a few yellow ones and the fact it's sitting in a bowl / decorative pot. Make sure you aren't waterlogging it. Probably safest to put it in a shallow saucer so it can't ever sit in water.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697
    We have one in our conservatory which is HOT at the moment so the leaves are very low green compared to yours. However it is in flower now and the fragrance is great (but it has been in situ for many years).  Yours look great. It could be just that bella is saying "not sure why you have moved me but I will take some time to sort myself out".
  • ColmOColmO Posts: 101
    edited June 2023
    thank you Loxley. i think you may be right, i may have over-watered it. the trouble is that because all the growth is on one side, there are some heavy stones on top of the soil to prevent it from toppling over. so it's not easy to tell, but the soil does seem to be quite moist. and in the past, it has been my experience that if plants are too wet, a slight knock will make them lose leaves, and that seems to be what's happening here. is there any way i can dry it out? but i will take it out of the bowl and put it in a saucer, and i'll put it on a lower shelf. the concern there is i want to put it somewhere where it won't be disturbed, but i'm struggling with that until i've got all my shelves up on the wall, which will be a while. so i would like to repot it, but i am very scared of doing that.
  • ColmOColmO Posts: 101
    thank you bertrand-mabel. at least it's cooled down a bit now! i hope you're right that it's just adjusting to the new environment, but as Loxley has suggested, i think i may have over-watered it. i hope i can dry it out.
  • ColmOColmO Posts: 101
    i've moved the plant down a shelf, and onto another book case that will get knocked a lot less. it seems that the leaves come off when the book case is knocked, but not if the leaves are brushed against. so it should be okay now till the soil dries out a bit. i would like to lean it forward for that reason, but in view of the stones on top of the soil, i can't do that. i hope i haven't done any lasting damage.

    these are some healthy leaves that have come off. is there any way i could propagate them, or is that far too fanciful? many thanks.


  • bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697
    These leaves look like old leaves.
    Are you feeding Hoya?
    Could be that there is too much nitrogen so more leaves instead of flowers.
    Sorry to rub it in but ours is in full flower now and the fragrance is brilliant.
  • ColmOColmO Posts: 101
    thanks bertrand-mabel. yes, they are, but they're pretty succulent, which is why i thought i might be able to do something with them.

    i've been feeding her, along with my other house plants, with Baby Bio. should i stop doing that now? perhaps that's why i've never had more than half a dozen flowers.

    i am very glad your plant is in such good condition, it must be very happy. my plants and i have had a bad year or so, a right annus horriblis, in a place where we really didn't want to be. but we made the most of it, we're still alive, in hopefully a better and happier place, and i hope i now have the chance to make them very happy too.

    it does seem i have overwatered her to some extent, and so i've stopped for now. i would like to put the pot at an angle in order to drain it, but i'm scared to do that because of all the stones on the top which prevent the plant from toppling over (it was originally in a hanging basket). i think the best thing would to repot, but i don't think that's a good idea while she's still getting used to her new situation. when actually would be a good time? in any case, i would need help with doing that. my instinct is to let her grow free, and therefore trail, hopefully not all on one side of the pot, but perhaps there is something to be said for training around a hoop, or something like that. i would certainly like the pot to be free standing, without the counterbalance stones. not sure how to solve this quandry.

    all my plants are currently facing a north east window. the only other option is, or will be, a south west facing window. would that be better for Hoya? if so, it's going to be a good few weeks yet before i can move her.


  • bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697
    We rarely feed ours. We also have Hoya carnosa which is in full flower now. Both are in our conservatory and this time of the year get no direct sunlight until late in the day. There is no heating in the conservatory and they stay there all year round.
    When you do get any flowers make sure you don't cut of the "old" flower stalk as this will be where the next flower will come from and gradually the plant will have more new stalks.
    Info does say South and/or West facing but ours are in much shade for most of the day. Feeding also only once a month and water reduced in the winter.
    If you can put the whole pot in a much heavier pot (but keep checking that it isn't sitting in water). We also have other plants that want to topple over and we use stones to counterbalance the problem.
    Hope bella gives you some flowers maybe not this year but next and this helps to lft your spirits.
  • ColmOColmO Posts: 101
    hallo bertrand-mabel, sorry i didn't reply before, i've been really busy. but i'm still worried about my Hoya bella. it's still losing leaves, although not so many, and some are now yellowing, which is quite a recent development. the soil (which is covered by stones as counterbalance) is quite moist, but the leaves look quite dry. it is 9' away from the window, and about 3' 6" from the floor.

    should i cut off the yellowing leaves, even though there are healthy leaves below them?

    i suspect it may be time for repotting? i think it needs action pretty urgently now.



  • bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697
    It needs a repot. The pot it is in is too small and it looks like very little compost in the pot. Not easy to repot bella with all the trailing stems but you do need to do it. It needs a good water as well. It looks as though you have moved (or moving) so maybe bella has also been moved and doesn't like the new aspect. I understand why you are using the stones to stop the plant falling over but take care that they don't compact the compost down and stop water getting into the root ball. Our bella also has yellowing on leaves but we just ignore them and new growth soon comes along.
     Good luck.
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