Tammy this is a SLOW grower so don't be upset if it just sits there for a very long time. I grow my plant is a small pot with a chunky mix of bark/perlite and some potting soil and I keep it moist but it does dry out a bit and does not seem fussy. The vines will look bare for a long time as new leaves can be slow to form but it also likes to bloom pretty soon after getting established.
I grow my plant in a sunny South window that has a sheer curtain but this one can take fairly bright light.

Mike

Hi Mike,

When you say small pot, what size do you mean?

Tammy, my caudata is in a 4" pot, same potting mix as Mike. It is facing east under patio roof. It gets some morning sun for about an hour. It is indeed a very slow grower. I lost the top half of plant this past winter and was hoping that in the spring it would put out a new vine. It didn't do anything. I was going to unpot and check roots, but as I was getting ready to unpot, I noticed a new leaf starting at soil level. I left it alone and now it has one more small leaf. I keep waiting to see another. Just be very patient with this one.

I have my plant in a 4" pot but I don't think I would aim any higher for a long time. If you get a pretty good sized cutting you could start with a 4" pot but if it's small maybe opt for something a little smaller.

Mike

Question... I received a cutting - not a rooted plant.

Today when I transplanted the cutting, I noticed that where the cut happened, it's not at the 2-node site. Seems it was cut in between nodes. Will that make a difference on whether or not it will root? I did dip the end into RootTone. What do you think?

Thanks, TammyPie

No difference because this Hoya roots all along the stem wherever there is enough moisture.

Mike

LOL aw man. I wish I'd known that, because I cut part of mine off, like a dummy. Normally I leave the extra on, just in case, but it was sooooo long. Oh well, it rooted fine anyway. But oy vey. ._.'

Great! Now I put my H. Caudata into a ziplock baggie and put a hole in the side for air. Will that help her root?

An update on my H. Caudata,

It grew (rather quickly) a new leaf, after the leaf before it in the same spot died. And here I was told this hoya grows very slowly. I'm so jazzed!

TPie

Hi Tammypie,

Can you post a picture for us to see your new "kid"?

Have a great day and thanks for updating.

Mitzi

Tammy once you have grown this species for a few years you will see why I referred to it as a slow grower. Congrats on the new leaf.

Mike

H caudata doesn't grow in a lot of true soil in its habitat. This may be one of the drawbacks of why this species seem to be such a poor grower in captivity. as seeing this plant in the wild, it grows like a weed.
The actual amount of soil that it grows in is very small and the majority of the soil is mineralized, fine rainwashed-weathered media from limestone and calcium-phosphorus deposits. The organic base is small since it grows mostly along trees with little foliage and rocks exposed to full sun. Lichen and algaes tend to be the plants that is associated with caudata so the plants grow among a mass of short exposed plant life that this species must be accustomed to. High light, high heat and exposure to winds and the elements has made this species a tough guy and having very thin wirey stems allows this species to snake in between the small undergrowths of lichens and pop its leaves in between. The flowers also just hang out in between the undergrowths and provide an eye-catching sight for their pollinators, which I am to believe are the giant flies that congregate in the area.
Having an environment rich in phosphorus and high calcium high pH also probably contributes to why this species may be slow in captivity since everyone tends to grow this one in peat moss (an acid media).
Add higher amounts of calcium and phosphorus on a regular basis to get this species to behave and grow like it's wild counter parts.