Through the years I have become firmly convinced that the place for indoor plants is indoors, all year around. Most plants which have become accustomed to living in your home will sunburn severely unless precautions are taken to protect them. Most will also be susceptible to wind damage to a much greater degree than plants which are accustomed to living outdoors. And all of them can fall prey to every insect, animal and disease which may normally attack your garden plants; they may even attract some new varieties, lured from a distance by the odor of soft, lush growth practically presented to them on a platter!
Easier to take care of when plunged in the garden? Not really. After you have prepared the space for the pots and line it with cinders or sand to M the earthworms and slugs, the plants will still seed watering on a regular basis, plus in between watering if the weather has been very dry or windy. They will need periodic grooming, and shaping. Then, before frosts are expected, they must be reconditioned again to indoor living.
Despite my many years of misadventures in trying to summer a few plants outdoors, I still have to try it once in a while. Last year I rigged up a sturdy shelf sat among the multiple branches of a large tree, amply high enough to foil the rabbits and ground squirrels which abound here. On the shelf I set several very large, very choice succulents, which I knew would benefit from being in this near perfect location. The next morning shortly after dawn I was awakened by bird noises; thrashers were digging deep into the pots, exposing plant roots and completely upending the smaller plants, on a wild search for exotic insects they hoped to find.
Wrens, which can be pretty pesky about sampling soft fruits on our trees, were enjoying huge bites of the soft leaves, and woodpeckers were alternately pecking at the plants and screaming epithets at the other marauders. Needless to say, the remnants and shreds were hastily gathered up and taken indoors, where they should have stayed in the first place.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q. Please tell me why myhoya has never bloomed in theten years I have had it I waterit about once a week, andfeed it every six weeks.
A. And my hoya, the same variety you say you have, is three years old, has never been fed, and blooms beautifully!
First, hoyas definitely need sunlight in order to encourage the formation of buds. Second, most of them prefer to have the top soil go just slightly dry between waterings, but when water is given, it should be sufficient to thoroughly soak the entire soil and root ball. A rich, loamy soil should be used for potting, and if repotting is done every year or two, the soil should provide enough food for the plant without the need for additional plant foods or fertilizers. Try giving your plant as much sun as possible, and water very heavily between the periods of partial-drying; I’m sure you’ll have blossoms on it when its next bloom time comes around.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoya
