Will someone tell me how to take a cutting? I would like to give some one some cuttings. and I dont want to kill them. Thanks for your help. Binky
How to get a cutting
I recommend taking about a 3-4 leaf node cutting, cut approx 1/2 -1" below node. Hoyas are not too sensitive but I still recommend sterilizing your cutting utensil with some alcohol (90%) before slicing and dicing.
I don't recommend using the long leafless new stems or leaf only as cuttings as these may not come true.
I always make sure the the fist two leaves on the end are mature. I don't leave any bald stem on. I want the roots to develope first before the growth of new stem or leaves. It works like a charm, once the tricks are learned. I wrap them newspaper if I plan to mail this time of year. Instructions in previouis post. Norma
Carol can you belive only 2 year this coming October and I've learned so much. The guys at the Huntington have been giving me lesson, not really, I just watch what they do.
Would you believe I am training new people at my meeting to the The world of Hoya? I even sold some last night. The group loves them. I'm getting ready to give them each one carnosa to start themselves.
Thanks you guys, Now do i put this cutting in water or in the dirt? Mary
Yep, Norma... "You've come a long way, Baby"....
I am finding that when striking new cuttings and I find myself with a stretch of vine with nodes without leaves...these are viable if of a certain age. New growth will not sprout (usually the most smooth, thin and flexible growth) and old crusty growth will take ages, even WITH leaves. But with Intermediate growth I barely bury one node (leaving the second node exposed)in the soil and have had 100% success.
This makes me especially happy when it is a cutting from a rare or difficult plant to get...
Carol
Thanks you guys, I did it. hopping it comes out OK, going back east the end of Aug and wonted to take some of my cuttings to my DD's Just makes me nervous not know for sure how to do it. LOL Maybe one of these day's i will be able to know 1/8 of what you guys know.:)))
Binky - ALL of us started out not knowing diddly about anything...believe me! I have been doing this for 2.5 years and, in order to get out of doing dishes and cleaning the house, took up alot of study!!! Now look at me...!!!
Keep up the good work. With your heat and dryness, I would fit a clear plastic baggie over the rooting pots...lifting it daily to remove excess moisture. The baggie will keep the humidity up which they love. Christina in Sweden uses large clear plastic water pitchers as mini greenhouses...very clever idea!!!
I'm only with the Hoyamania for about 2 Years now and only really active in it for a bit over a year and still can't see the light at the end of the learning tunnel LOL.
My rooting method is to place the cuttings into a ziploc plastic bag spray a bit of water in, inflate it and close it. I'll re-inflate every day or two and usually roots show within a week or two at which point I'll plant it into it's pot and put a plastic bag over it for another week.
Your method sounds great, Milan...where do the roots appear?, at the node? along the stem? If the latter, how do you plant it?
And, do you always use the oasis blocks to root or does it depend on the type of hoya cutting you are rooting?....say for example, if you were rooting a H. bella, do you do the same as if you were rooting a cutting from a H. multiflora?....
Boy did I start something or what??:)))) Seems there is a lot of us that are unsure of what we are doing when it comes to taking cuttings. I am finding it is different with different plants! And all tho sometimes I fell dumb asking. Some one always aws. And makes me not fell so dumb. That is another reson I like "DG"
Sandy...used to use Oasis cubes, and loved them. However, just like last years' haircut...I hate them now. I find that as the plant matures, the oasis cube dries out and usually kills the plant.
Actually - there are many ways to skin a cat and root a hoya!
For the fragile stemmed hoyas like H. bella, H. lacunosa, H. sp. Silver Flecked...I wrap the stems (always more than one...they are so skimpy) with some NZ Spagnum moss and stuff it into a tiny pot...the smallest I can find. Then I put the pots in a tray with SuperThrive added to water...and they root. When rooted, I plop the whole thing in a pot.
For the REALLY fragile ones, like H. lineares, H. kanyakumariana, the Dischidias...I lay the cutting on the top of the soil, with at least 2 nodes touching the soil and put hairpins over the nodes to keep them in contact with the soil (usually peat or coir with perlite added). 100% success but I have to keep the soil damp...no drying out.
For the stems with knobbies and bumps...those are aerial rootlets and can become roots. You really don't need nodes in the ground for those...but it can help.
For the smooth stemmed ones...two node cuttings with the bottom node barely stuffed into the soil. Sometimes I leave the roots on.
OH, yesterday I was repotting some little guys of H. sp. Tanna and found that one cutting had 2 (yes TWO) stems of new growth coming up from 1 inch under the soil...where I had buried the node.
Amazing what a plant can do when it wants to live!!!!
Hope this helps...I don't want to sound like a know it all...but I have tried just about everything but singing Opera to my cuttings and these are the systems that work for me....
Sandy, I mostly use the oasis propagation cubes on cuttings I'll be mailing later on but also use(d) them for rooting many of my hoyas and other Asclepiadaceae I grow.
Carol, I use the brown Oasis propagation cubes which are much more porous than the green ones. The fine pores on the green oasis may clog up and then may smother the roots.
Hoyas with the plastic bag system I mentioned above, mostly will grow roots all over the stem due to the high humidity in the bag. The crawling types like kanyakumariana or sipitangensis I'll lay, like Carol stated above, flat onto the soil with some small rocks holding the stems down. Climbing and upright type Hoya cuttings go with one end into the soil (difficult to decide with some cuttings LOL).
I found H. multiflora not to root well with the "fully enclosed" plastic bag method. It seems that multiflora cuttings are just doing great with the high humidity in the bag alone and do not want to grow roots in this moisture heaven. I found out that multiflora cuttings root better by only partially enclosing the bottom part with a plastic bag which is tied with a tie wrap around the stem. Also multiflora seems to be different to most other Hoyas in that it seems to grow the roots first out of the cut end and not sides or nodes.
I just wish that African Asclepiadaceae like Ceropegia would be as easy to root as Hoyas :)
Carol....i like your answers, you sound like you have a good sense of humour!....thanks for the info...that is helpful..unfortunately, i dont have access to Super Thrive here..i have never seen it in the stores.....Can you use Stim Root also combined with the spagnum moss when you root it into the pot or no?
Milan: I was wondering why those oasis cubes were red instead of green because i have usually seen the green ones, not the red ones and your root system looked very good on the cuttings......well you both know more than myself, that's for sure! I have had success rooting a lacunosa and carnosa in water and a bella once in water but the last time i tried the bella, it just plain rotted on me..it didnt work....I was wanting to try it again.... I guess obviously, with either method, they need to be in some high light and warm conditions too.....thanks for the tips guys, great info from you both.....
Sandy
Well I don't use anything to start the rooting. I just put them in moist perlite or pumice, and keep them under a mister. Some people merely put them into water. I can't do that I can't sing opera, can't carry a turn, can't swim, The African Asclepiadaceae are easy, I think it depends where you are living. Dry climate or high humidity. And there are little tricks with those as well. Don't feel dumb, I was the dumbest of the beginners, I want to know the why, of everything. I lost a lot of cuttings intil I found out how to take the cutting in the first place. I was given a lot of bad cuttings, but didn't know the difference, so of course they didn't root, and I thought it was me, well know I know what is going on. Norma
Well Perlite I do have!....I would think it takes a bit of practice to get the formula or way of starting cuttings to root properly...like Carol said, there are more ways than one i am sure......I will have to start trying, I just wanted my bella to grow a bit more before i started! lol....
Sandy
I saw an article in Australia that Vegiemite has the same properties as Superthrive...try a diluted mixture of that...VERY diluted.
I think you can use the spagnum and the pot together...wrap a bunch of stems lightly in the spagnum...put it in a pot of lose medium (lots of perlite, orchid bark etc.) and water frequently. The spagnum keeps the moisture near the roots but isn;t soggy.
You could run across the border to Bellingham and pick up some ST...
Sandy you also might want to check a hydroponic store. I was able to purchase Power Thrive in Regina
You may also check Ebay for ST, that's how I got my bottle. I found that Canadian Hydroponics retailers carrying ST had outrageous prices for it.
Milan
Thanks all for the recommendations....yes i am quite close to Bellingham and Ebay is an option too, never even thought of that....Milan, you are probably right being that it isnt common in stores here....I assume anyway, since I haven't seen it....thanks again...
Sandy
Mary, I put mine in crushed pumice, or perlite for a week keeping damp conditions, I use the mister three times a day. In this weather they may take only 4-5 days to strike down the roots. It works for me. I don't use any rooting hormones. Norma
Norma...Misting boxes are something not everyone has...can you suggest an alternative to them?
Carol I don't have a misting box. I don't use one, but I have two hands and a spray bottle.
Sandy, I also take off the bottom two leaves on the cut, then sink that node all the way down into the pumice. (perlite) I realize many of you don't have excess to pumice either. I use primitive methods. Norma
I just want to make my self clear, being that I volunteer at the Huntington they have automatic misters. I have recently brought 50 new cuts there, they leave them under the mister, until they are rooted, then move them off putting them in regular cactus mix, no additives.
At home I use the old fashioned way, a misting bottle. No additive until they have roots. I start them in the regular soil mix I'm using at that time. Put them in a flat on the bench in indirect light and water them like I do the rest of my plants, which are succulents. They have been rooting up in 7 days at most in moist soil. I was on a vacation of 1 week, and when I can home all had roots, and sold the next day at my meeting. To day I gave them a reg. watering like the rest of my plants and light fertilizer after I watered.
Now I hope that makes more sense. I am also a beginner of two years, I have previously cutted and potted up for the Huntingtoon with instructions, but never on my own.
'Red Buttons" was used for ISI distribution several years ago,
I potted it up. I now will be doing another one for ISI distribution next week which was donated by Seymour Linden. This one has large ruffled leaves. It was the one I first gave away, sent out 20 boxes with this plant in it. We were actually able to start it with 8" bald vine cuts, no leaves. Norma
Hi Norma,
Thanks for the tip regarding rooting....i have done it where I have removed the bottom 2 leaf nodes on a H. Bella and cutting but tried to root it in water, not perlite or anything else that you, Milan or Carol suggested...I had success the first time on it because I think the cuttings had a few root nodes on them but the second batch just sat in the water and rotted....these suggestions are good ones and will try some of them.....
Sandy
Speaking of dumb beginners... First, I found DG in early June. Then I discovered Hoyas. Now I'm in trouble. I want them all. I have not much room to keep them-in my zone they HAVE to be house plants. I got my first cuttings of carnosa from old_rose last week. They're long stems with very sparse leaves. I threw them in water because I've been working on trying to get my trades sent out. Now I'm finally ready to do something with them. NOW, I'm starting to panic!! I don't want to lose my first ones! I just now went to check them-THEY HAVE ROOTS!!!!!! I don't know what kind of soil to use. I don't know what kind of pot to use. Can I cut them in more pieces now that they have rooted, and try rooting the new cuttings? Should I cover them with a plastic bottle after potting?? Someone, please help me!!!!
Shazbot3 - d o n o t p a n i c.
Since this is your first time and with a H. carnosa - just about the only thing wrong you can do is to light them on fire! Other than that-why don't you try this: pot up the cuttings as they have rooted. That will give you Experience #!. Then, when you see new growth happening there, you can cut them into more cuttings, if you want (remember, leave a node at the top to make more growth and a node to put in the soil for roots).
Use a smallish pot: say a 4" pot for all the cuttings to grow in at once (I assume there are 2 or 3).
Use a very lose soil, like an Orchid Mix with lots of little chunks of stuff like bark, perlite, pumice etc.
Put the rooted ends into the soil, pack loosely (pressing down on the new soil may cut the roots) and water. Keep misted for a while...2 or 3 times a day unless your humidity is high. Do not let the soil dry out...if it is dry 1" below the surface, water. You can use 1/2 strength fert. at this time.
Take two aspirin and go to bed. Sleep.
:O)
Thank you, Aloha. You've made me feel a lot better! But I think I'll take your advice; and pot those 3 cuttings up tomorrow. I guess I do get a little weird. It's like a new mother before she picks up her baby for the first time. Scared to death I'll do something to hurt it!
Alohahaya, you are Good, soooo Good!!!!! lol :)))))))
Binky, I agree! She's even right on with the medical advice!
Will cuttings strike just as well placing them under grow lights as they would in indirect light or greenhouse? Has anyone had any success with this?
Sandy
Sandy, my experience has been that they root as well under artificial light as they do with natural light but no real scientific proof of that from me. Most of my cuttings are actually rooted under fluorescent lighting and didn't have any problems with it in the past.
Milan
Great Milan, thanks for the answer.....i bought some Grolux lights for my set up and thought i would try a few bella cuttings to root them....I hope it works!....
Sandy
The Ceropegia Africana is easy to root. What planting medium are you using? The clue is where do they come from and where do they grow, native African soil, jungle, on top of a mountin, in an old river bed, or among the rocks, or in the the bush. I want to know what you are growing it in. I have the plant and grow it well, this year it flowered and I did get only one picture of the flower. But it's pretty clear, it will be put up on this forum as soon as I get the time to prepare it for posting. It's rather different. Flowers are starting at every node. So I will be able to take another crack at getting a picture for you. I just had a camera lesson. Norma
I don't have a mising box, but I do have a misting greenhouse, that is state of the art, and on automatic controls. I plug them into a flat of pumice and that works great.
What I do at home is put them in a jar, and put the lid on. Open lid once a day for fresh air. Or put them in a big baggies, there is also a store called Big Lots, that have on occasion miniature greenhouses.$20.00 U may also use a fish tank and put a piece of glass over the top, leave a sliver open for air. I just went out and got plastic containers with lids, it holds several dozen rose pots and is high enough to work. $6.00 I have a big glass punch bowl on the coffee table in the living room, I can also use that, I put plastic tightly over that to cause humidity.
I also have a heating pad, no more than 74F or you burn their little tootsies off. Now the rest of you can come up with 50 more ideas. Some start them under lights. I don't, some use glass beer bottles the dark ones, and start them like african violets. Norma
Shazbot. hey just ran across this thread glad they rooted for you. Don't worry they have been neglected and abused alot in my house over the years they can take it. Actually the plant that I took those cuttings from has been in water for 20years. The friend who gave me my first cutting said that is how they grew and had had hers in a pickle jar for 30+ years. After saying that I will say I think they are much happier in dirt then they are in water but I would be afraid it would die if I tried to change it after this long. The cuttings I have taken from it have all been potted up in soil.
Sandy
Sandy, the poor things are STILL in water, your Gold Dust plant is STILL in a pot on the front porch, and I STILL am behind in getting my trades out; but I haven't forgotten. I had planned to do it last Monday, I had planned to do it this past Monday. My life is utter chaos right now, but I'll get my everyone's stuff sent out- I promise. Please guys, bear with me and please don't label me a "humblebumble, jr."!!!!
Hey Shazbot not to worry I know how crazy things can get. The hoya will be fine in water I know that for sure. and my gardens will be here hopefully for a very long time and a Gold Dust Plant will be a nice addition anytime.
Milan why won't cutting come true, if the plant itself is a species and not a hybrid? Explain please? Norma