I think that's a fantastic looking plant! PG's idea of gently wedging a rock against the base would probably be all it needs to be upright. I probably wouldn't take many cuttings from that now since hopefully it will make some flower buds soon. Since it's not yet, I wonder if it's in a room where you have bright lights on after sunset? "...prefer to be root bound." No plant prefers that. What is happening is root rot in pots of stuff that has no air pockets in it, and takes forever to dry out. As long as one has a chunky, porous, airy mix, and doesn't constantly pour water in there (or allow it to sit in a drip saucer,) the pot size is irrelevant. It can take some doing to figure out what kind of soil goes well with the kind of plant person you are. It sounds like you love to water them often? "Do I need rooting hormone?" I agree with J, no hormone needed. In the case of wanting a more full pot like this, I would stick any cuttings in the pot with the mama plant, aimed in the other direction slightly. Just use a knife to make a slit & slip the end that was attached to the mama plant in there, doesn't seem to matter how far, as long as at least most of the lowest section is under the surface. "Perhaps last time I used too much water." Probably. A *succulent* cutting with no roots can't absorb water, it can only rot. When taking the cuttings, let them sit in the air overnight for the cut part to heal/seal. This should prevent fungus/bacteria from being able to 'get in,' prevents further loss of moisture, and definitely notifies that piece of plant that it needs to grow some roots "in search of moisture, not because it is adjacently present." When placed within the roots of an already-growing plant, I have much better luck with propagating (outside of the realm of the glass of water you mentioned, which does work well for many non-succulent, leafy plants.) The mama plant prevents the soil from staying too moist around the cutting even while watering as usual. This is the only way I've had luck with Begonia cuttings in particular. I can't NOT hover over a pot with nothing but cuttings either. That usually results in loving them to death as you described. I successfully forget about those tucked under mama plants and haven't had any TC cuttings fail this way, in pots with other TC's and completely different plants that 'need' something leaning out at the bottom in my strange plan to make every pot a mini tropical jungle. Knowing whether cuttings require drying (callousing) and which should go immediately in water/moist soil is the 1st step to success, glad you asked. The one pot of TC cuttings I tried without any existing-roots plants in the pot was this one. Having seen pics of people doing them this way, and knowing how I hover over a pot of cuttings, I chose to lay them mostly flat on the surface. This worked well & is a blooming plant around here somewhere. I lost track of which was...

I think it depends on how you define "coastal". I'm in the South Bay and I'm pretty sure we've had more than the normal number of heat waves this year--I believe there have been 5 periods that included a day of 95+. Actually the first heat wave was in April. HOWEVER, the days in between have been below average, I think. Of course the heat waves often affect areas that are just a few miles from the Bay, such as San Jose, and spare cities in the inner Bay. However I seem to remember that even San Francisco was hit pretty hard by the April heat. A quick count for San Jose: June-Aug.24th (ignores 90+ days in April and May) 60s and 70s: 60% 80s: 25% 90s: 15% Last year was bad for heat waves as well. Places like Oakland and San Francisco--and for that matter the Central Valley and Southern California--may not experience our heatwaves. But sometimes they do. California weather is complicated.

Holy Moly is right!!! Where have you been my friend! You mean to tell me you no longer have to threaten yours?lol You have been missed, at least by me anyway!!! I can't believe that you of all people have managed to keep a gardenia alive for more than one year..Yahooooo and congratulations. Now, can you tell how happy I am that you are back? Now that you are, I shall have to come around more often and check out your pictures of the gardenias that you didn't threaten...By the way, after throwing that other one in the woods, do you think the this one you have has been haunted by some demon plant! That could be it too... So happy your back Mersiepoo! Here are a couple of pictures especially for you I took today of mine growing all winter! Many hugs! I also saved one from Lowes yesterday, that I only paid, are you ready 5 DOLLARS for. I will post you a picture tomorrow my friend! A couple of bonus pictures for you I took within the last couple of weeks. Enjoy Clivia Hoya Brunfelsia! See you soon.. Mike:-)

I have had one for about 1 year , and I learned the hard way about keeping the soil wet enough , ( bud blast ). The idea of multi-plants in one pot sounds really good. It never occurred to me to trim it back , partly because mine seems to have a different growth habit than the rest of my Hoyas , ( not trailing out of a hanging pot ,like pubicalyx or compacta ) and not clumping and stubborn to shape , like the kerrii or australis keysii ). Mine has 2 branches that go straight up , then they curve over near the top. I don't know what the plant would do , if it wasn't tied to a bamboo stake . I would love to see a photograph of a large mature plant , as well as a photograph of multiflora in the wild. Florajilly