Hello,

There are tons of threads here on rooting/propagating hoya cuttings. Have you done a search? You'll find tons of info.

Anyway, here's part of a post of mine from one of those threads, and it's how I like to propagate hoya cuttings:

I root the cuttings in the soil medium I use, and they usually stay in that same pot with the same soil until they need to be upsized.

I first make a fresh slanted cut. I completely moisten the soil before putting at least one node in the medium. I then put the whole pot inside a ziplock baggie that has a bunch of holes poked in it for aeration, spray the cutting and inside of the bag with water mixed with VF-11, and close the bag. I then put them on a plastic tray and place the tray on a heating mat. I've done this with and without a heating mat, and I've had success either way...but I find that the heating mat helps a lot when rooting in the Fall or Winter.

Then I just leave the cuttings in bright indirect light. I mist inside the baggie every couple of days. I take them out of the baggies and off the heating mat when I feel resistance with a slight tug.

Good luck,

Gabi

Nae,

The Hoyas you mention will root easily this time of year by just putting them in a pot of standard potting mix. Gabi's method works well, too. I recently came across an old article in the CSSA Journal from 1995, "A Symposium of Vegetative Propagation" - an article about propogation that was a conglomoration of suggestions by members. One of the snippets was titled "Rooting Hoyas & Dischidas". It interested me so much that I had to give it a try with a couple of tough ones I'd been trying to propagate, and it seems to work like a charm... So here's a thumbnail of the writer's suggested method.

Put cuttings in a pot of pure pumice or perlite. (Either should be rinsed of the dust...) Leaves should not touch the medium, so remove lower leaves to avoid rotting. Put the pot inside a gallon-size ziplock bag and seal. (It's ok if there's some water in the bottom of the bag.) Place it in the shade. Within 1-6 months (depending on the time of year), the pot should be filled with roots, which can be determined by shaking the pot while still in the bag. It's best not to open the bag, but little harm is done if it's opened only a few times. When roots are plentiful, open the bag, place your hand over the pot with fingers spread to support the cutting and pour out the excess pumice/perlite. While continuing to hold the cutting in place, gently fill up the pot with your regular potting mix.

As I said, this method has worked for me with hard-to-root Hoyas.

Denise in Omaha

Gabi and denise,

Thank you so much for this information. I will put to good use the bag of prlite I have at home.

Denise, that most have been a very interesting article, because I only read the thumbnail you put here for me to read and I wanted to keep on reading. This is one of the reasons why I like this forum so much, because everyone tries to help out.

Thans so much, nae

P.s. denise are youu familiar with H. Linearis?

My dad and grandpa wet the cut-end/s of the hoya, treat with a rooting hormone, bend the hoya cutting into a "loop," remove the leaves on one half of the loop, and then bury this lower half of the loop in the potting medium - which is made of bark, perlite, and a bit of peat-moss for moisture.

Josh

Hey Josh - Since your grandpa is one of the "go-to guys" in the Hoya world, I certainly would trust his method. But I must ask...what's the point of the loop??

Nae - I'm familiar with linearis, though I don't grow it myself (yet), as I'm waiting to find one locally. I know I can buy it online, but it's such a delicate one that I have a feeling it doesn't ship well. When grown well, it's sure a pretty one, though.

Denise in Omaha

I grew Linearis for a while a few yrs. ago; only had a couple of sprigs, it seemed to like LOTS of moisture as I recall.

Hi, Denise!
Alright, I asked about the 'loop'...
Apparently, it's done to make potting easier - in other words, it puts more rooting surface in contact with the potting medium, and is also a stable shape, less likely to be knocked or pulled from the container.
Other than that, no significant benefits.

Josh

Hi Josh,

But I can't help wondering, will it root from both ends? I've got some cuttings from my sister's Hoyas (which came from me), maybe I'll try that.

Hum ... I find this curious, 'cause I know for instance, if one pots a Sans. leaf upside down, it won't ever root --or so it's said anyway. Guess I'll have to try it.

Many Hoyas especially the climbing epiphytic vines will root all along the stem if there is sufficient moisture or humidity. Many other species root only at the nodes. If you take a look at most Hoya stems you can see tiny bumps along the stem, these bumps are where the roots emerge.

A photo of the original stem that was part of a Hoya clemensiorum cutting. Notice the roots that emerged because of high humidity while in the rooting chamber. These roots have obviously dried up and stopped growing but in nature they serve as an anchor to hold the vine tightly to a surface.

I had planted a Hoya cutting upside down last fall and it did produce new growth from a node below the soil line but there was no top growth. I have since cut the top off and rooted it right side up but yes it is possible to root a Hoya upside down. Some growers will take a long cutting and coil it around and pin it down on top of the potting mix to root. This gives a strong plant with a large root system quickly.

Mike

Mike,

You are right some of my hoyas have the bumps on the stem. I am going to try josh's loop and the other one with the perlite and the baggie..since I have cutting from all of my hoya plants, I will be able to try them all.

Thanks for all your help.
Nae

I don't think Josh meant to bury both ends, did you Josh?? In my mind, I imagined the loop on the "down" end of the cutting - in other words, putting a LOT of the cut end under the soil. I've accidentally tried to root them upside down (not being able to tell which end is "up") and not had any success. Glad it worked for you, Mike...

Denise in Omaha

I wonder if Josh's method is not unlike air layering? Or other kinds of layering where the cutting could be left attached to parent plant but pinned to the soil until it roots?
I just root in a large jar or aquarium 1/4-1/2 full of perlite. Stick the cuttings in then put about half an inch of water in the bottom, the roots begin to grow as they search for water.

I have tried the loop method with curtisii, and it seemed to work well. I think the more trailing vines tend to respond well to this method of rooting.

Here is a link to my method of rooting Hoyas. It seems to work well for me, but given that I live in the UK it might not work in your conditions. I recevied six cuttings on the 31st March, five of them I rooted this way and I got roots from four of them that I potted up yesterday and the other two I can see roots coming, so it works for me.

Here is a link that might be useful: My method of rooting Hoyas

I am curious about this "Loop". Would it harm the plant if you had roots at both ends of a cutting and planted both ends in soil...hence a "loop". Wouldn't the cutting just sprout from nodes on the loop??? What does everyone think?

While not a 'rabid' hoya grower like many on this forum, I do have 5 of them (and not looking for any more -- they take away room from my orchids), only one of them was already rooted when I got it. In all 4 cases, I simply used the method Mike mentioned:

Some growers will take a long cutting and coil it around and pin it down on top of the potting mix to root. This gives a strong plant with a large root system quickly.

All rooted effortlessly utilizing this method. No bagging or anything except keeping the soil lightly moist ... when I remembered to that is.

I have a different take on "why" the loop method. On a hoya like curtsii and some others you are more likely to get a fuller plant as the new growth will come up from numerous nodes.

I root my hoyas in potting medium...sometimes with rooting hormone but most of the time w/o. I put them in a shady area...no bags. I had one die recently that could have benefited by bagging it...or not. The cutting was too young and had not hardened off.

Hi Laura,

What pls. do you mean by "potting medium". That could literally be any number of things: potting soil, peat, long sphag bark, etc. Could you pls. clarify or be more specific?

I use Fafard 3B...it has peat pine bark and perlite. Of late I've been adding additional perlite.

Thanks, I just had no idea what materials you meant.

I see a comment of yours above, you my find this note helpful. I don't often use Rooting Hormone (RH), but when I do, it's mostly for the anti-fungal in it (most have it) rather than the actual RH. If that's why you use it, Cinnamon is a comparable anti-fungal, which I learned from the Orchid growers -- it's much cheaper too.