how do you propogate a Hindu Rope Plant??

My husband bought me a beautifu Hindu Rope plant last year, and unfortunatly It did not do well for me. So I bought another.... I think I might like to start a new one from it so incase something happens I'll still have another... I have tried to take cuttings, but the water gets cloudy very quickly and the leaves wilt away.. What to do?

Looks like water or damp sand. http://www.plantoftheweek.org/week164.shtml

I know that some people do this--but I have never tried to root a section of a succulent plant in water....they just are not made for that. Just my opinion here....from my experience...
Mostly, talking here about the Hoyas....and the Hindy Rope and such...

I would treat it the same way as any other succulent. Remove a section of top growth, then VERY carefully cut off a couple of the bottom "leaves" do not pull--it will break the stem it is attached to!) --let the cuts scab over for a day or two--and then put them in a coarse planting mix to root. keep the soil barely moist....keep out of direct sun.

It will take some time--be patient! By the way--you could also try rooting the "leaves" you cut off. Insert them about 1/2 way in the same soil mix....

Good luck! Gita

Thank you so much guys :) I'll give it all methods a try and see what works best.

Take a stem cutting as Gitagal said, but dip in rooting hormone before planting. I could never get one to propagate without it.

I would like to know if anyone can tell me 'how to sow the seeds' from the blooms. I got blooms last year and didnt do the seeds correctly. I just found another bloom. Would like to get the seeds this time and get them planted but dont know how. Help asap. Thanks.

I have heard Hoya seeds are not viable for very long and must be sown quickly. I don't have any experience with growing Hoya from seed but have heard other's say they secure the seed pod with tape or surround it with a piece of nylon stocking so that when the pod opens the seeds don't blow away. Hopefully someone who has experience will come along soon to offer advice.

My plant is an indoor plant. I just need to know how to plant the seeds to get them to prosper into a plant. do i just plant each flower (after it has fallen off)? what kind of soil... keep it moist... etc.

hoya flowers don't contain seeds. You need insects for pollination, which means you'll need at least two plants in bloom at the same time outdoors where insects can get to them. Even then, seed pods are not very common, I have hoyas outside and have only gotten pods about 3 times in alot of years. Hoyas are very easy to grow from cuttings.

Interesting... i did not know this. Good to know. Thank you for your info.

Alot of people assume there are seeds in the flowers, you are not alone! There was even a lady on ebay selling little bags of hoya flowers as seeds.

Ok... so now it brings me to the next question... at what point on the stem do you make the cutting and do you root it first in water or does it go directly into soil? My plant actually started as a cutting from someone else and it has been so many years since then that i dont remember how i did it.

okay. The best length for a cutting is about 4 to 6 nodes...nodes are where the leaves are growing from (just in case you call them something else) So pick out the vine you want to cut. It should not be very new, very tender growth, but you also don't want it to be old woody growth either. Try to find something in between.

Count the nodes from the tip of the vine down, cut just below the 5th or 6th node.

Strip the leaves from the bottom nodes, or even the bottom 2 nodes. I like to leave the cutting with at least two sets of leaves above the stripped nodes.

Use the smallest pot you have, 2 or 3 inch is good. If you are going to root a few cuttings together, then obviously use a bigger size. I like to root 3 cuttings together, so that I will get a fuller plant later, and in that case, usually use a 4" pot. Use a good soil mix with plenty of perlite and small pieces of orhcid bark mixed in - if you have that stuff. If not, just make sure its a good quality soil. I try not to use the kind with fertilizer mixed in. Fill the pot, moisten the soil, then poke a holes in the soil for each cutting with a pencil or a chopstick.

If you have rooting hormone, it helps to dip the bare node part of the stem in, tap off the excess, then stick it into the soil, making sure that the bare nodes are buried below soil level. If you can, try to stick the cutting in so that the first set of leaves sit right above the soil line.

Put it in a bright but not direct sun spot, mist a few times a day if you can, don't let it get totally dry - but be careful not to overwater too. You want the soil to dry out a little, but never completely.

You could root the cuttings in water, but to me that is an unecessary step, because eventually you have to put them in soil anyway, so why not just do it from the get go? Hoyas root fairly easily in soil.


Here's a pic of a hoya crassicaulis cutting I just potted up a few days ago. It's a very "viney" cutting, so there is a green plant stake in there to which the top part of the vine is clipped to. But I wanted you to see how I buried the cutting right up to the next node with a leaf on it. Reason for his is because there are alot of root hormones at the nodes, so not only do you have the nodes under the soil that will produce roots, but the one right above the soil is likely to as well. It isn't a must, you will get roots from the buried nodes even if you don't do it, but it helps I think, so I do it when I can.


Good Luck

This message was edited Jun 14, 2009 2:10 PM

oops forgot the picture!