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Propagating Hoya Kerrii from leaf - is this enough stem?

7 years ago

Hey so I was given one of those single Hoya Kerrii leaves today. I've always avoided them as I understand that, without a bit of the stem, they won't ever grow and are basically just for decoration. Anyway I got it home, cleaned it up and had a look at where the roots start. They're fairly extensive but I know that it's about where the cutting was taken from in the first place. Could anybody give an opinion on if this one is viable or not?

Featured Answer

Inben Naidoo

4 years ago

First picture when bought February 2016, second pic flowering in February 2018, last pic taken today with vine now measuring 134cm. So don’t give up! If you are lucky and patient you may get a successful plant.

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Comments (9)

Laura F (z9FL)
7 years ago
It doesn't look like any stem at all to me :-(
Will B thanked Laura F (z9FL)
Will B
Original Author
7 years ago
Yeah that's what I was afraid of :/

I thought maybe the little ring bit might have been something but no biggie. It was free and it can still look cute on a shelf. The main thing was not to get my hopes up. I'll keep looking out for a larger plant!
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My experience w/ green H kerrii is that it's quite happy to grow all year long (I grow indoors only). Mine loves to grow long bare vines in Spring & then fill in afterwards. Reverse Kerrii is another story altogether -- in 2.5 yrs. I've had the cutting, it has grown TWO leaves, both deformed in shape. My variegated Kerri grows Hydro & seems to have slowed down for Winter (I only got it in Oct. 08, so am still new to its winter habits). All green H Kerrii is one of the most vigorous Hoyas I've had to date. Don't be surprised if it keeps growing all winter.
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This one snuff off down the list! I always make sure cuttings are good and moist, and for the most part, you want them to stay that way until they root and you see new growth. Not soggy, mind you, but constantly damp - don't let them dry until you have a good root system as dryness tends to kill the delicate new roots. Your variegated cuttings will produce variegated growth. Some variegates are unstable, but I find this one to be pretty stable, though an INCREDIBLY slow grower! I've had mine for 7 years and it's still very small... Denise in Omaha
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Thanks for all of your replies. My understanding was in line with what was explained here, that you needed at least a small piece of stem for it to grow into a big plant. I'm curious to learn more about this now. Does anyone know the horticultural explanation for this, or any keywords I can Google? My Google-fu is way off with this search and I keep turning up nothing.
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Farrah, Sorry this thread is 2 yrs. old & is no longer active; it's always best to start a new thread. 100 degrees is mighty hot, I could imagine that might be why, did you leave it out in the hot sun? Was the store air conditioned? If so, A/C store vs. 100 degrees is very extreme change, might account for it. Drooping plant vs dropping leaves are VERY different things. How about a picture? That will give us an idea of your plant's status. Are you in the USA? If so, we could probably refer you to reputable vendors, even if it might only be Kerrii cuttings, rather than full plants.
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Klnco
7 years ago
I posted this link on a similar thread from a few days ago. Not sure if it will work for Kerri, but it did work for Carnosa so..

It's a few comments down and posted by member "4C's Company, Inc". The comment refers to her mother's Carnosa that died and she salvaged one single leaf after all were lost. Her friend apparently advised her to snip 1/3 of the leaf (basicly the tip of the leaf) off. The wound sealed and later her leaf began to grow a stem from the petiole area.

Link: http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1960036/can-you-get-a-hoya-leaf-to-root
Patty Whiteside
4 years ago
The part in between the root ball the leaf isn't that part of the stem?
Karen S. (7b, NYC)
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
No, not if you mean the pic above. I believe it's part of the petiole connecting the leaf to the stem.

Sorry that link is no good, broken or doesn't go anywhere.

As a long time Hoya grower I will tell you it's one thing to root a Hoya leaf, it's altogether something else to get a new plant from it, happens extremely rarely, like maybe 10% of the time. I have personally stopped my own local supermarket from selling these individually potted leaves some yrs. ago (for $12 each) as they're a rip off since they'll never grow into an actual plant, sorry.
Denise
4 years ago
One of my kerriis got beat up by a hail storm this last spring, so I put a bunch of single leaves WITH a piece of stem in pots to produce new plants for next spring. I would keep the potted leaf because all it takes is a few cells of the stem to eventually start growing...

Denise in Omaha
Inben Naidoo
4 years ago
I bought a Hoya Kerri plant about 4 years ago - it was just a leaf in a pot (one of those Valentine's specials). The leaf remained the same for about 6 months. There was no sign of growth above the soil. I was eventually curious un-potted it and was surprised to see that it had a strong root system going. I then checked on the net and found info that you can only expect it to start showing signs of growth above soil level after about a year. I repotted it into a small clay pot and after about 6 months a small shoot appeared, which then grew steadily and at about 2 years it flowered for the first time. My plant is now about a metre long creeping up a wall, winding itself along a wire i had suspended to help it grow vertically. Maybe I was just lucky....I don't know. I did buy a second plant in its leaf cutting form about a year ago (this one was varieagted). It died after a few months!
Pepeuve Garcia
3 years ago

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