Hoya cuttings :D (how do you root yours?)

12 years ago

I just got my first hoya cuttings in the mail yesterday! After a long day of weeding our garden (for the first time!), I went inside to find a package waiting for me! (There was much more popcorn when I opened it) I'm still totally thrilled :)

Five cuttings (labeled as):

Pubicalyx RHP, Rigida, Pottsi, Australis and Acuta

I ran to the store in search of hydrotone or turface and finally found what I needed at our local Mclendons.

(Rinsing the hydrotone and then adding in a small amount of orchid potting mix.) And there they are, all happy!

I have them in a southern window, with the shades barely open. I use an aquarium with 1/4in water and a seed-starting-heat mat under it (pots raised out of the water). I have it partially covered with plastic wrap, but I wonder if I should totally cover it..

Oh, here's another question: I didn't trim my cuttings even though they had quite a bit of stem under the node (some only came with one node) but I've read that hoya will root below the node. Should I be concerned if I don't have a node under the hydrotone?

~Keiko

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Comments (5)

greedygh0st
12 years ago
Hey Keiko. Congratulations on your cuttings! Do you have any further details on which rigida you've got there? The cuttings look great!! I don't have much time so I'm going to make this short. But I wanted to post quick in case you're still reading tonight.

Yes, you need a node to be at least at the surface level of the medium. It doesn't have to be completely buried but it needs to be in contact with the medium. If there's too much stem underneath the node you can trim it, or just sort of bend it in the pot, or even lay the portion that is above surface level horizontally along the soil, weighting it with stones. Anything to provide node contact.

Although un-useful to you, it isn't very unusual to receive a long segment underneath the node. It's because when the grower is harvesting the cuttings, they make their cut right above a node, b/c anything vine stub above it is going to die off anyway. So you get that segment, however long it is.

Good luck and happy rooting! :)

And to answer your question, I usually root mine right in the medium I plan to use long-term. But for valuable or delicate cuttings, I often root them semi-hydro style. When possible, I like to lay multiple nodes along the surface. Otherwise I'll cut the cutting up into smaller segments and root several starts. Really, I don't have a system I stick to every time. I just use my gut and do what feels right for that particular cutting. :) I like to experiment and test theories with every batch. Also, I tend to use a rooting aquarium or even a clear tupperware bin, to provide extra humidity, but I don't like the bag method because I screwed it up once (by putting the plants next to a bright window and baking them) and have bad associations with the innocent bags. This time of year though, I don't bother. Hoyas like to root right now. I have a few re-rooting at the moment and I just stuck them in the soil. They'd better root >:O

Whoa this didn't turn out short. But it was fast! So if I said anything crazy, just ignore it. Bye!
Ren_Flowers
Original Author
12 years ago
Yay thank you! I'm so glad you told me, I tend to over worry.. so i kept telling myself to just leave everything alone. I just repotted a few :)

You know, it's been driving me nuts that I don't know exactly which acuta, pottsi or rigida that I have! Haha. I've linked to where I found references, then I compare to my cuttings which you can see in the second photo, no need to double check- it's just there for anyone curious! :)

I believe I have:

Rigida IML 1424 (and another ref)
[Long leaf with three main veins. top cutting]
Hoya pottsii sp. Chaing Mai IML 0087?
[small vine, semi thin leaf, possible speckles, light veins which protrude slightly, no leaf puckering. bottom middle]
Acuta IML 0079
[Has speckles and very prominent veins, far right cutting]
Australis subsp tenuipes similar,but not it!
[has thin, almost flat leaves with fuzzy undersides. hard to see veins which do not protrude. top left cutting]

For those interested, I found some information regarding the differences in australis subsp. australis and subsp. tenuipes (Just under the first sketch)..
Which tells me I have neither! Clearly more research is needed :)
~Keiko
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rennfl
12 years ago
I root mostly in S/H, using either Hydroton or EcoBalls from the pet store.

You are lucky to find Hydroton locally, shipping on that stuff costs more than the product. It's insane. lol

Another tradename for the same type of stuff is Prime Agra, so you can always look for that too. The balls are not as evenly round, but it works.

After playing around with different ways to root, I've found S/H is the best for me. I don't use any type of humidity chamber, but my local humididty is usually pretty high. I do put them under lights though, although towards the outside edge, so it is not that strong.

When they are rooted, I either convert them to traditional potting, or leave them in S/H, depending on the plant. When they need potted up, I just gently remove them, leaving any balls that cling to the roots, and pot them up in whatever they are going into. Although, as I move towards a completely inorganic growing, they are usually just potted up it either Turface/Perlite mix or more Hydroton.

My son did a science project last fall, using lacunosa, in S/H, and using tap water, weak fertilizer for watering, weak fertilizer plus seaweed extract for watering and normal strength fertilizer for watering.

The plants using weak fertilizer plus seaweed extract all rooted, and rooted very fast.

Congrats and good luck, it'll be fun.

Renee
mdahms1979
12 years ago
I always root cuttings right into the potting media I intend to grow that particular plant in. I also use an old aquarium with a heat pad unless it's summer. The aquarium is covered and very humid, also very bright.

Mike
greedygh0st
12 years ago
Renee. Nice experiment! I can't wait till I have kids to run a fleet of Hoya experiments for me! jk ^_~

Hoya cuttings :D (how do you root yours?)

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greedygh0st

Ren_Flowers
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Hoya cuttings :D (how do you root yours?)

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greedygh0st

Ren_FlowersOriginal Author

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rennfl

mdahms1979

greedygh0st

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Ren_Flowers
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