BP, does your plant require more frequent waterings now than it did a year ago? If not, I would suggest just changing the soil and leaving it in its 3" pot. Hoyas like to be potbound - that's when they are most apt to bloom.

I think your soil amendments are excellent and will make it very happy.

I also think the plastic pots seem to work best with hoyas. I have seen others get the idea that clay will provide more airflow to the roots, only to find themselves going crazy trying to keep up with the watering, and then repotting everything back into plastic.

Ann

Yes, they like to be pot bound but isn't it unlikely that such a young plant is going to bloom anytime soon anyway? Not impossible, but unlikely. I have successfully repotted plants of this size into a 6" hanging basket, which is a good pot in which to show off these vining carnosas. It will have to come out of the 3" pot eventually. It may take a year or so for it to get a bit potbound in a 6", but you can leave it in such a pot for many years. I have some plants that are over 10 years old still in that size and they bloom on a regular basis. Of course I must mention that I love everything about these plants, not just the flowers, so I like to get them to the point where they can stretch out and grow foliage-wise, not just keep a small plant pot-bound for as long as possibley to force it into blooming. Alot of hoya lovers grow them just for the flowers and in that case, maybe the best thing would be to keep this rooted cutting in as small a pot as possible. To me, the flowers are more attractive coming from a full, lush, leafy plant.

I don't mind clay pots, I have time everyday to fuss over all my plants, but plastic IS more practical, especially for hanging pots, and as long as you have a fast draining soil mix, you should be ok. Water only when the soil is dry, and be very very careful not to overwater.

Whatever you do, enjoy your plant!

I've always been a plant lover and keeper of quite a few, but never did mess with "cuttings" until 3 years ago when I started collecting hoyas. Since you can't find the the unusual ones hardly anywhere except by trading with friends or ordering them, you eventually have to learn to start these darned cuttings. Ha.
Most are easy to root and get going, but one of the biggest mistakes I made in the beginning was to get impatient to move them up into larger pots. They would be doing fine and growing great in their little starter pots & I would then decide to give them LOTS of room to grow & stick them right up into a 4.5 or larger pot. Mind you these were not root bound but just cuttings that had a good amount of roots now formed on the stems when I moved them up. I have now determined that move to be the single biggest mistake I made in learning how to raise up plants. I lost more cuttings that way than any other. The roots just simply could not handle all that moisture that stayed in the soil around them. Maybe if it had been an orchid mix or something lighter, but the amount of soil around the small root system just did not allow the roots to take in all the extra.
HOWEVER, if you tap out the small plants and they are loaded with nice healthy roots that FILL or goes all the way to the pots edges and bottom, then I would say it is then OK to go up a bit. The rule of thumb I have learned is to just give them about an inch more on all sides of the root system. If you are putting several cuttings into the new pot just leave an inch around each one. That way the roots can deal with taking in the water from their own little space.
To me anymore...it is not a matter of getting blooms or not, I just want the plant to thrive and grow. Even if it is small, if the roots have filled the pot, I plant it "up". If I tap it out and there is still growing room around the roots but it needs new soil, I just change it. I wash the pot out, and put it right back in the same one.
The trick is....not to pay too high a price for the lessons we learn. ;-)
Marcy
PS: I prefer plastic also as it is easier to get the plant out and they seem to do better in them here. The roots also stick to the sides of terra cotta so much. The only thing I put in clay anymore are cactus & succulents and a few sans.

Thanks for all the feedback :-)

My plant is kind of odd on the watering right now. The soil isn't draining well, and it holds water for longer than I'd like - I think it also has wetting agents in it. Right now I'm watering it about once every five to seven days. I prefer to water a well draining soil mix more frequently.

This baby is in no way potbound yet - only a few roots are visible at the bottom. It's been in the 3" pot for a year and a half, but it only really started to grow this spring. I'm not overly anxious to have it flower as soon as possible - eventually yes (of course!!!), but first I want the cutting to establish itself into a nice plant. It really does have some nice variegation!

So for now it sounds like I should leave it in its current pot, and just change the soil. Are the roots very fragile?

When it has become more potbound and I do pot it up, could I take the old stem and pin it to the surface of the soil so that the developing branches may root and have a slightly 'fuller' plant? I have just the one small cutting and it is going to look very lonely and sparse as it grows.

If I may ask, what would you guys consider as a fair trade for a Hoya cutting (aside from another Hoya)? This isn't a solicitation for a trade, as I am in Canada, so I probably can't trade with anyone here. But I just wanted to know what an acceptable offer is - I don't really have a feel for how 'valuable' cuttings are yet. I traded a baby Clivia for my cutting.

Thanks again for all the help!

BP

Bonnie, you can take cuttings from your cutting as it grows. I have all the variegated hoyas, not sure which one you have, and not sure if I can mail cuttings to Canada. I'm in the northeast US. You don't have to trade with me, I don't need anything right now. I'd be happy to send you some of whichever one you have/need.

Yikes Marcy - now I am afraid all my transplanted cuttings will be dead when I get up tomorrow morning!! To be honest, I only started dabbling in hoyas other than carnosa and pubicalyx in this past year, so my long term experience has been with the more common hoyas. I have countless pots, both that I have kept and gifts to mom or friends, of carnosas that I made by just popping cuttings into huge hanging baskets, some as big as 10 or 12 inches. I haven't lost one. Same with pubicalyx. I have always mixed my own soil and it is very loose and fast draining, maybe that has something to do with it. I am also careful to water sparingly. So who knows, back then I knew nothing and had no problems. Now I have learned all this stuff about the right and wrong things to do, and I swear I think I was better off ignorant! "Too much knowledge can be a dangerous thing"

ps-
I was picturing your plant as a bigger one than it probably is, maybe saying to put it by itself in a 6" pot is a bit too much, though I would put 2 or 3 plants that size in a 6" no problem- but then I like to live dangerously!

Don't worry ines 99, if it works for you, then you've done it right. There is an old saying I love, "If it ain't broke...don't fix it".
It may be your soil, or just your green thumb, but you have been lucky. Whatever you are doing...just keep it up. :-)
Marcy

no, i think its the soil i use and my stinginess with water and the fact that not a day goes by that I don't mist at least 5 times and note every new leaf or vine or whatever on each plant! I have plants die on me, I am a disaster with ficus trees, and asparagas or boston ferns, and I couldn't keep a Gardenia alive if my life depended on it...I think that is why I love hoyas so much, they are tough plants, but like I said, beyond carnosa and pubicalyx, I am still learning!

I am a compulsive mister as well. I also cannot keep a fern alive to save my life. I like hoyas because most of them can withstand a little of my abuse - although, I have lost my fair share of the more "sensitive" ones.

ines_99 - thanks for the offer to send me a cutting, but cuttings aren't allowed across the border without a phytosanitary certificate. That's very generous of you - I wish I could accept :-)

I was speaking today with the women who runs the plant section at a local market, and she said she can bring in at least two Hoyas (carnosa and another one she couldn't remember off the top of her head). She said a 4" pot would be $6 or $7 - that sounds pretty good! She's ordering them for me, so I may have a little varity after all.

Does misting benefit Hoyas? I assumed the waxy leaves would inhibit water absorption. I rarely mist any of my plants - even my ferns don't get misted, but I have good luck with them all. They do get regular showers. I keep my place humid and I don't have AC - that helps a lot! Gets hot though :-)

P.S. - nobody can keep a Gardenia alive! They're suicidal.

BP

BP, I think misting is helpful. Especially if you live a dryer area, or if the area where the plants live gets really warm. The plants do actually take in the moisture through the little aerial roots (those little brown nubbies on some of the plant stalks). Mealies and other pests find it more difficult to squat and munch when the plants are in a humid, or frequently misted environment. Hoyas also love lots of air flow. That said, if your plants, like your ferns, are doing fine without misting, you probably have enough humidity in the air that it's not necessary (unless you are compulsive like Ines and myself).

I hope your friend at the local market can score you some new plants!!!

Ann

BP, there has to be other hoya lovers in Canada that you can trade with or buy cuttings from...I have alot of hoyas that were very generously given to me from people I have met online - why just yesterday I recieved three cuttings from some nice lady in California (you know who you are!!)

Plant lovers are generous people, and as my collection grows and my plants get bigger, I want to do the same thing for others! On this forum alone there are probably others in Canada that would be willing to mail you cuttings for the price of the postage. But I thought that you could send cuttings to canada, as long as there is no soil with them...are you sure about the details of the certificate?

If you scroll down on this forum to the post called "Canadian Hoya enthusiasts" posted last Oct 2nd, you will find a lot of information there. There are some nurserys that sell hoyas in Canada. Flora Exotica is one. Paul Shirly will also sell to Canada.
Also, like Ines says...there are always people who will help you out for the price of postage to get started. Just ask around.
Marcy