yay!

Hoyallujah! We have a root! What a relief.

Would love to know your system. I see your expanded shale and netpot. Where are you keeping the netpot? How much water, etc.? Is it in your Wardian case for higher humidity? I can't help myself asking so many questions!

popmama, not stupid questions at all! I keep the net pot in a small plastic deli container with about a half inch of water in the bottom, and have been keeping it on a heat mat. So far, all the cuttings I've tried in shale have rooted. Knock wood, it seems pretty fool proof. This one hasn't been in the Wardian case. It has pretty thick leaves, and doesn't seem to need the extra humidity. I do have a humidifier in my sun room, but the humidity isn't super high; it seems to stay around 45 to 50%.

Go Wilbur!! Very good!

Congrats! What a gorgeous little thing he is! I'd never considered rooting my cuttings in shale. I'll have to try that. I need to try in leca, as well. And acquire a Wardian case. Lol. Keep us updated!

~Brad AKA Moonwolf

Thank you, SLD! I do the same thing with the water reservoir. But the one thing I do not have is a heat mat! I've been contemplating it though. I guess I'll make the plunge on that soon.

How long did it take to root?

Moonwolf, thanks. I only have a little leca, and rooted one cutting in it. I think the shale works much the same way.

popmama, I use heating mats a lot for stressed plants that need a little extra tlc, cuttings, and seeds.

I got the Wilbur Graves cutting on Oct. 29th, and just noticed that little root poking through the bottom of the pot a couple of days ago.

SLD - is that expanded shale or just regular shale that's been crunched? If it's regular shale, I'm sitting on a fortune since my entire yard is nothing but shale! All I need to do is to pound it into submission and I'm golden!

It always amazes me how these plants can root, then reach down into the reservoirs and live in the water constantly, yet if we have them in "soil" and give them three drops too much water, they rot. Amazing.

Looking forward to seeing that plant grow up - please keep us posted in pictures.

Bill, it's expanded shale. My son had picked up a couple of big bins of it for hydroponics. He hasn't been using it lately, so I thought I would :-)

Now I remember you telling me. OK - I've got to go out in the yard, harvest some shale (it's all over) build a kiln, throw it in, cook the snot out of it, clean and cool it and I'm good to go! Simple really....

lol, easy peasy!

Great job! He’s handsome 😍

I'll be you are relieved for the price they were asking. IT's like a gamble and it paid off. Good for you Wendy))

lol, I was getting tired of holding my breath!

I have had good luck rooting Hoyas in shale, so, after much agonizing, I figured I'd bite the bullet and give it a try :-)

Are you sure that's not a Mathilde?

Yes, I have a small Mathilde, and this looks completely different.

Agree. It doesn't look at all like Mathilde to me.

Hm ok. I guess my Mathilde is just super splashy 😁

Aashish, your Mathilde is certainly super splashy! I wish I had one like that. I just have a tiny rooted cutting, not so splashy :-(

I'd say Mathilde's leaves are smaller than Wilbur Graves, and not as thick. When you see them in person, they look quite different. Also, Mathilde's leaves are somewhat rounder and Wilbur's leaves are more glossy.

I repotted my Wilbur out of the shale and into the mix I generally use...

Wendy - I really like the substrate there. What is it composed of? Of course the pot is one of a kind, designed only in the mind of Wendy's Creations Ltd and not found in stores anywhere! Nice job on the pot.

I ordered another bag of LECA along with a bunch of net pots from amazon. They should be here next week baring another horrendous snow storm. Seeing the substrate you're using, I'm thinking it would be better than the LECA. Damn Wendy, now you have me going down the rabbit hole chasing the perfect substrate! When will it ever end!

As soon as the warmer weather arrives I intend on increasing my collection of hoyas (I only have a few at the moment) and want to provide the best possible growing conditions for them. After thinking LECA wasn't for me, then trying it and finding they seem to root quicker, I'm thinking it is for me, now you go and show me the absolute perfect soil and I'm thinking "Oh No! More experimenting!".

Wishing you all the best with your plants. They look great.

Lookin' good!

Thanks Wendy for the information. BTW - I know how you feel about the weather. Unfortunately, the near future is still seeing super cold temps. Maybe around August, when all this snow has finally melted, we can start receiving shipments again, but then those warm days will only last for a week and we'll be immediately into late fall early winter again! Boy - this global warming is tough! ;-)