The gorgeous and fragrant flowers of the Hoya Carnosa ‘Jade’ are what finally sold me. My mother-in-law must have offered cuttings of her hoya to me half a dozen times and I repeatedly turned her down until these blooms showed off! I grabbed some cuttings and couldn’t wait to learn how to propagate hoyas!
Taking Cuttings of Hoyas
You’ll want to grab cuttings of your hoya from soft wood. So, the newer the growth the better. Select a 2″ to 3″ section of vine that contains one or two leaves. How many should you take? Well, that’s up to you. Personally, I’d prefer to take 4 or 5 for a head start on a full plant.
What Medium to Use to Propagate Hoyas
This is my first time to propagate hoyas, so I tried two methods. Both involve perlite and water.
Method One: Propagation Box – Using a plastic takeout container and lid I made a propagation box. I filled it half full with perlite and added enough water to be even with the perlite level. We want humidity to form in the box, but let’s keep the leaves dry. I then laid my cuttings on top. Covered with saran wrap, and snugged on the lid.
I would check it about once/week to be sure all was going well. I started on March 1 and had roots about 3 weeks in. Here’s what they looked like.
Method Two: Perlite and Water – Just like taking a cutting and sticking in water, only with perlite added. Some folks believe the addition of perlite create stronger root systems, since they have to push against the perlite during growth. This will make for and easier transition from perlite/water to soil.
This method presented shorter, thicker, and a larger number of roots. I filled a container with perlite and added about half as much water, then pushed the hoya cuttings in. After 3 weeks this is what I was presented with.
Stay tuned for an update! Now that we are in Spring, I highly expect the root growth to speed up and hope to have these cuttings in soil in the next few months. Oh, and for your viewing pleasure, here is the mother plant. We guesstimate it to be over 50 years old, it’s been in my husband’s family for quite some time.
Two Month Update: Moving Hoya Cuttings into Soil
Just shy of a full two months of root growth, these little hoya carnosa propagation cuttings are ready for soil! I make a mixture of worm castings, perlite, cactus mix, and orchid bark for all of my plantings. Traditionally, hoya do not like to be wet so 50% of the mixture will be orchid bark. This allows for better drainage and avoids “wet feet”.
I really prefer to repurpose pots/planters and decided to save plastic drinking cups to use. Utilizing a drill bit I created drainage holes in the bottom, and then potted up these beauties!
If you recall, I had two different propagation stations set up for these cuttings and wanted to show that the cuttings fully submerged into my perlite/water mixture were undoubtedly stronger. These roots had more substance and were thicker. Below is a comparative photo, left is fully submerged root growth and right is top of perlite root growth.
For more plant content check out Pandemic Plants in 2020: I Became A Plant Mama.
