Those are some beautiful cuttings, Josh. Where did they come from? I have to say whenever you do one of your potting projects it has a totally Zen feel, like you have commandeered Martha Stewart's staff to run around and do the grunt work behind the scenes. You get to sit in the shade, putting on the final touches and looking deep. (At least that's how it goes in my head.)

I think you could put together some elegant how to guides if you had a mind to.

In contrast, I up-potted some herbs last night and it looked like someone had set a feral child loose in my apartment.

Hello! Thank you ;-)

Believe me, there's plenty of "behind the scene" mess!
I do the prep work ahead of time. I've had this mix sitting around for many weeks now,
but hadn't anything to pot with it. I originally made it with JoJo (one of our Forum members)
who wanted to try a pumice-based mix.

The cuttings were taken from my mother plants.

Josh

Great looking cuttings. Their leaves are nice and shiny and it looks like the've been growing a while. You must have a green thumb. I've never tried your mix and I'm curious how often you have to water. I use potting soil (either african violet mix or cactus mix), orchid bark, and a little perlite in my mix.

Thanks!
In a small container, I might water 1-2 times a week.
I have other cuttings in this type of mix and they rooted fantastically.

Josh

Very nice cuttings!

Ima, Greenthumbs are in Josh's roots!

GG, had to laugh at the feral child comment! I'm the same way! I could repot on the patio, or on the enclosed porch with the lineoleum floor, but, no, I have to repot in the middle of the living room floor. Try to contain everything to tubs, but hydroton and perlite start flying!

I don't usually visit this forum, but a little bird told me there were some nice pictures to look at, so here I am...

Sweet, Josh! I grow a couple of common Hoya varieties, myself... nothing special, but they can handle the neglect I give them, what with everything else I have going on. ;-)

I'm sure they'll be rooted for you in no time... I think one of the most important factors is keeping the medium warm, but you know that. Bottom heat has been very helpful in the rooting I've done.

There's no such thing as a green thumb, I found out... it's all just applied knowledge. But if you make the effort, the rewards are many! Right, Josh? :-)

Happy Rooting!

Those are attractive looking cuttings! All of these vanuatuensis pics lately are making me want to acquire one though. I like the way your mix looks also. I stick with coco husk chunks or coco fiber because it is way easier for me to get and store. I tried Al's mix before and I don't have it quite right. It works for some of my plants anyway, though. I haven't tried a hoya in it yet.

Thanks for sharing your pics!

Hi Josh! I love the look of your potting mix. I wish I can find that red pumice here. What beautiful and healthy cuttings you took. I'm sure those will root quickly for you. Great job!

Hi Jojo...nice to see you here. Its been a while :o)

GG,

Please tell me that you are going to take up a career in journalism or at least in greeting cards. Your posts always make me smile!

Happy rooting is right and might I add a great job dear friend!

I always wonder how you make your plants look so clean and neat looking. They are all treated with the utmost care and I learn from you.

I hope they take off for you so you can struggle for a place in your house to put them as I do every fall..:-)

Hello Jodik, So good to see you stopped by and Nancy another dear friend.

Have a great day to all and thanks again Josh!

Mike

Wonderful pics. Your cuttings look great!

I also wish I could find more variety in potting material around here. It's a pain to have to mail order for things all the time. But it's great to see the items you use for potting up hoyas... I will keep my eyes open for those particular ingredients, for use in the future. The collective knowledge newbies like me learn from this forum is so invaluable. Thanks for sharing your rooting process Josh!

Thank you all, it's my pleasure to share my growing experience.

Kelly and GG, I'll be making some mix for my peppers today, and it's going to be feral, indeed! ;-)
It's the perlite that always proves to be a mess...

Jodi, thanks for peeking in ;-)
Yep, applied knowledge! For this mix, JoJo and I took what we knew about the ingredients
and mixed them so that their properties would complement one another in the container.
The only thing I don't have is bottom heat....then again, I've never used bottom heat
for rooting or seed-starting, so it'll probably be okay, if only a tad bit slower.

Nancy, I wish the red pumice were available for all of you locally.
As you know, it's one of my favorite materials, due to its color, size, and water-retentive properties.
Thanks for the warm wishes...I'll update as soon as I see signs of growth. Two months, maybe?

Quinn, although this mix isn't exactly one of Al's mixes, I definitely ran it by him first ;-)
Basically, if you know the properties of the ingredients, you can fiddle with the ratios to
achieve a mix that has the drainage and aeration characteristics that plants love.
Pug is one of the pioneers in Gritty Mixes for Hoyas, and is a great resource here!

Thank you, Mike, so glad you could make it! How are your Hoyas doing, buddy?
I might have to put in a new window to get all the plants to fit this coming Fall ;-)
I'm not sure why these cuttings look so shiny...they were actually cut the other day,
left on the compost pile, and then picked up when I decided what to do with them.
Tough cuttings ;-)

Thanks, Lightning! Eventhough finding ingredients is a little easier out here,
I still buy and hoard my supplies when I find the right stuff at the right price.
Then I complain that I didn't buy more when I run out...

Josh

/Kelly Well, of course the living room floor must be the focal point of the action. What are we, savages, that we must pot without the aid of music or tv in the background?

/Josh, it is truly kind of you to suggest that it is PERLITE that is the perpetrator of this chaos, not us. :D

Notice that both Josh and Pug always have pristine perfectly groomed plants. Notice that they both hang out in the succulent forum. Coincidence?! I THINK NOT!

/banannas You are so sweet. I don't know that I'm aiming for a career in wordsmithing, but it is my rather embarrassing dream to publish a novel. Either that or be a princess.

Perlite...it's a love-hate thing ;-)

It's wonderful in a container...yet its dust and its stark-white "floatability" aggravate many users.
Which is one reason why I prefer Pumice when possible. Top-dressing with Pumice looks decent.
I always say ~ Perlite for production, Pumice for presentation ~ ;-)

Pug and I are both blessed to live where we do, in fairly mild, sunny climates! This helps a lot ;-)
We also use similar mixes and growing strategies, which plays a major role in healthy, resistant plants.

I do spend a lot of time amongst the succulents! Jades are the houseplants that drew me in.

Never give up your dream to publish. I, too, have a few stories I'd like to publish.
It'll eventually happen. How long is your novel, if I may ask? Most of my stories are short.

Josh

I just have this running theory that there is a culture of having well groomed, balanced plants in the succulent world. (But your countertheories also make sense. ^_^)

I don't so much think that Hoya growers are careless or lazy in the aesthetic department. Part of it is because Hoyas can be willful. Part of it is because they grow so slowly (relatively) and are hard to replace, so every leaf and vine is precious, even if you inherited bug and machete bites. And then some of them don't like to be rotated or moved... some of them sulk when you try to guide their vines... some of them are kerrii... All this forces grooming to take a bit of a backseat.

I have a couple of novels going atm, neither finished. The one closer to the finish line is around 375-400 pages. I never had much skill with the short story, something which shouldn't surprise anyone, given how long-winded I am in this forum. Also I find short stories such a tease. I get all wrapped up in the tale and then the characters are whisked away! On the other hand, I love Tapas. Seriously, though, it's wonderful that you write, too. Do your stories revolve around the same topics?

GG - you could become a princess and then write about that. Two birds, one stone!

Good luck on your writing, I would want to read it should you publish!

Great pics, Josh. .... as always, clear and informative. You do such a good job with your plants, and are always so helpful around the forums. Strong work, my friend.

Al

Thanks, Al, I really appreciate you dropping in! I know how busy you are lately!

Josh

Hi Josh,

Your pictures are wonderful. I may be asking a dumb question but as a newbie with one toe in the wading pool of hoya culture but....... I noticed when you trimmed the obovata that you left what looked like a node where several other off-shoots had previously been in the second picture down. When you potted the obovata did you leave that on and put it under the mix? and if so is there a particular reason why or just how it worked out?

I'm rooting for them to root!!!!

Hey, Banannas!

Not a dumb question at all!

In that second picture, you're seeing the remnant petioles of the leaves that I removed.
I left that "elbow," as it were, so that I could wedge it into the container and provide
a lot of contact with the potting mix - plus, it offers more area to grow roots.

Josh

Thanks for the followup Josh. Hope they take-off quickly for you.

Anne

Hi Josh!
Those cuttings look great! I can't believe they laid around a compost pile for a few days. lol! And I love the mix! ;-). Good to hear you found something to try it out on.

I'll be looking forward to updates on this! ;-)

I moved my Kerrii into this mix, and it seems to be loving it! No wilt, no sulking and looks great! I'll get pics soon. I've been busy and keep forgetting to charge the camera. ;-) Boy, needed 3 hands for that, kerrii is a wild child for sure! LOL!

I also put one other house plant in this mix. Not sure of the name at the moment. Purple velvet plant? maybe?.

I too got a good laugh out of the "feral child" comment! LOL!
I'm known to make a few messes indoors too, lol. :-) I figure if I drag it all in, the family can't say i'm being unsociable. lol. Plus the light is better and my much needed glasses are handy. ;-)

Josh,
Perlite is a love/hate..lol. I lean towards hate, so that's why i'm trying the pumice. ;-) Which i'm really please with so far.

Thanks for posting this Josh! I'll be watching this.
JoJo

Hello, JoJo!

I was hoping you'd drop in, too ;-)
Excellent, so we'll both have a few plants to compare in this mix!

Get that camera charged!

Josh

At WalMart they sell Red Lava rock. Is this the same as Pumice? When I purchased that in the past as an ingredient I had to smash it then screen it. It has been working fine but I am curious if it is Pumice, some other type of stone, or just manufactured porous concrete dyed red.

-David

Charging, Charging, Charging... LOL!

Hi Josh...
Thanks. ;-)

Hi David,
I'm not sure if Pumice and Lava rock are the same. Lava seems heavier to me.

I've seen red and black pumice recently at a nursery here, but I didn't look close to see if size was right. But I will next trip, I love the look of the colored like Josh has.

I'm using a grey pumice sold at Feed stores that carry horse supplies, called "Dry Stall" . It's the perfect size, easy to find, and just needs screened for dust, fines, and rinsed.

I'm curious to see what others say about Lava/Pumice. Good question!

JoJo

Hi Josh,
I didn't forget the pictures, just got busy and forgot to post them. lol..

So here you go... :)

I'm training her(hopefully, lol) up some bamboo arches. It's about 10" tall right now, and has the smaller stem which I stretched across to climb one of the other bamboo pieces.

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Here's the mix with pumice

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She has some rather odd leaves too.

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So far I love the mix and it's working well for 2 plants inside. I will make some up for a small citrus to try outside.

JoJo

HI Josh,

Do you know exactly which obovata this is? I haven't been able to find any other with the speckled leaves.

I love it!

Thanks,

Anne

Annie...there's some H. obovata 'Silver spot' on Ebay now, "buy it now"....I received two last week....absolutely gorgeous plants...more than one to each pot, and unusually large. They're offered by Cowboy Flowerman....CBFM...and he ships very quickly, inexpensively..and his plants are typically excellent. I'm unsure if he ships to California...many nurseries won't. Best wishes, Patrick

I got my 'silver spot' from CowboyFlowerman also and it does put out some odd looking leaves. Love all CBFM's plants. Sure hope he gets more varieties soon!

Susan

JoJo, thanks for posting those pics for comparison!
Your Hoya is taking off.

David, there are some differences between Scoria and Pumice.
Scoria - the red lava rock that I prefer - is more course and holds less moisture than Pumice.
Scoria is also more durable and sharp. As such, it makes for a good grit ingredient, while also
holding a small amount of moisture. White or light grey Pumice is much closer to Perlite in its
physical characteristics.

Hey, Anne! You know, I'm not sure which particular obovata this is.
Patrick and Susan, thanks for suggestions for Anne.

Josh

Hi Susan, Josh and Patrick,

Just ordered the obovata last night from Cowboy (who's name I love because that is the name of the dog I'm trying to adopt right now!) , after finding out that he does ship to CA.

Thanks for the Tip!

Hopefully the adjustment to our climate won't be too much of shock since we are entrenched in some serious "June Gloom" which is keep the air heavy and damp.

Nice, JoJo! Interesting leaves! :-)

Josh, living in an area with such frigid winters and generally inhospitable indoor conditions, I've found that having a small heat mat available to help keep the soil warm moves along the rooting process of many different types of plant materials for me.

In my area of the country, many commercial growers also use bottom warmth to help with rooting. I just have a few small flat sized mats, but they're adequate for the amount of rooting I do inside.

Outdoors, they're not necessary for the late spring and summer rooting I do... but indoors, they're definitely helpful. :-)

Hoyas aren't my area of expertise, but I do like the ease of growing them as pretty indoor plants. I recall that a Hoya I grew many years ago bloomed... and the blooms were very nicely scented!

HI Josh!
It is doing well. I found a new leaf forming yesterday. I can't wait for it to bloom!

I love the look of your mix so much better! Wanna trade? LOL!
Next time I'm out at the nursery, I'm going to take a look at the pumice they have.

Hi Jodi!
Good to see you!
I love the different leaves too! It wasn't like that when I bought it. So they were a surprise! I asked at the greenhouse it came from, and they said it must be very happy with me, because theirs only had a few flecks showing.

I lost 2 small cutting last summer due to mealy bugs, but this one just keeps going along.

Josh,
Any new growth yet? :-)

Thanks guys,
JoJo

Hello, Jodi and JoJo!

Yes, I do think there are some indications of new growth. I'll take a pic once I'm sure.
Right now, I have the cuttings on the back deck beneath a patio umbrella.

Jodi, I'll definitely be using a heating mat for seed-starting next winter.

Josh

Hi Josh!
New growth? that would be great!

My Kerrii is getting 2 new leaves!

I'll be watching for pictures. :-)

JoJocolor>

Josh, how do these cuttings look today? I am very interested!

Thank you and I love them