I live in humid and hot FL so sometimes I can root them outside sheltered from direct sun and our severe thunderstorms we occasionally have in the summer between May and late Oct...but I have also had success rooting them in an enclosed aquarium in my warm FL room next to a bright window (no direct sun)...I make my own chunky potting mix made up of equal parts of potting soil, perlite or very corse silica sand (not fine play sand) and small pieces of orchid or fir bark...I moisten the potting mix so its very damp not sopping wet and I add my cuttings..I've had equal success using and not using rooting hormone so when I run out I didn't purchase any more,lol...I spray them with VF-11 a couple of times a day or when the leaves are starting to look dry.

Here's my set up...This idea came from several members here on GW...Denise, Mike, GG, Cindy (and I'm sure I'm forgetting many others) many members that are very experienced in growing hoyas...I've also seen an article with photos posted from an E-magazine that was very helpful...

Good luck with your new cuttings...

Another picture...

BRILLIANT - That little greenhouse is perfect. It will set in my sewing room near a window, Thanks so much for the visual.

Chang Chang,

If your getting blooms from Carnosa, then you already ahead! I like the choices you have made! I just got Rigida myself and it's put out 4 new leaves! They are really pretty! And the blooms SRQ had posted were so cute! They were almost outlined.

Nancy, You are a great instructor! I appreciate all the help you gave me on rooting! My cuttings are pulling right through! I'm hoping to see growth soon:)
I have only had 1 Caudata leaf yellow and drop, and 1 Signillatis leaf drop. I believe the Caudata was because the lights were left on too long.

I too appreciated your help with pictures!

-Teisa

This post was edited by teisa on Thu, Aug 22, 13 at 19:19

It seems you have it all figured out really well already, and puglvr1 gave you all the advice you'll need - so all that is left for me to say is: Nice choice on the cuttings! You've got good taste in hoyas. Especially rigida and bordenii are wonderfull! And please post pictures when you've finished potting them up, I'd love to see the result. :)

Thank you all for your encouragement and kind words. I will consider posting my progress, If anyone enjoys my post just half as much as I enjoy other member's posts, the effort would be worth it.

Thanks...I've always been a "show me" how to do instead of "tell me" how to do it,lol...I LOVE pictures, I do am a visual learner,lol...

Teisa, I'm SO happy to hear that...Great job!!

Looking forward to pictures Chang...

Chang Chang, I see that you are in Oregon! What area do you live in?

I am in the Columbia Gorge, and would love to be in touch with you by email and/or Internet to share Hoya information. Maybe we can share cuttings too at some point :)

Are you on Facebook? There are several great Hoya groups there.

:)

Diane - How exciting I live in SE Portland near 148th. Send me an email through my profile and we'll swap potting soil recipies. Can't wait to hear from you.

I also just placed a cutting order. This guy (http://rare-hoyas.com/CONDITIONS.htm) says to "never put new cuttings in a closed plastic bag - especially when a heating pad is used to raise the temperature - for this is inviting rot."

A little greenhouse like above is not "a bag", but the idea is the same, so I wonder if I should or shouldn't use something like that.

I guess it boils down to one question: what % humidity do hoya cuttings prefer while rooting?

Hmm. For fall cutting purchases, I like to use humidity and heat because sometimes they root slower than in spring/summer and you need them to get nice and established before winter sets in...

IMO, what TG says is not wrong, but it's really more of a subtle line in the sand, whereas he's trying to give broad advice because he's speaking to people who don't have enough experience to know when "too much is too much."**

You can set up a good bagged setup. You can set up a good aquarium setup. There is nothing inherently wrong about either of these methods.

Here are some setups I've had success with in the fall.

Once, I just potted up the plants and put them in a closed clear tupperware bin (like Pug's) and set it next to a western door. That's it. They loved it. It was warm and humid, but not so crazy that algae was growing on the soil or anything. The opaque plastic protected them from getting too much light. It was hot in there, but they were fine because they did get to dry out from time to time - it took about 2 weeks or so.

Last year, I potted my cuttings in hydroton, in regular pots, and set the pots in a flat of water and refilled it whenever the water ran dry. And put a heat mat underneath. Underneath artificial light. They loved that.

Right now, I have my cuttings rooting together as a group, in a bell jar, upside-down. It is filled with hydroton and I refill the water when it runs low. It's receiving indirect light from an east window. I have a bag over the top of it. I did have a problem with one cutting resting on the wet glass and its leaves rotting. That happens with some Hoyas while others can rest on wet glass no problem. It's something to watch, anyway.

I just got another group of cuttings and I'm using the sphangum moss method, wrapping their roots in bundles of damp moss, and dropping them in a bag. The bag is in very indirect eastern light. I haven't used this method since I was a noobie, but I think Patrick or Doug uses it (I forget which) and they're the bosses, so I'm going to do it again. Sphagnum moss is nice because it has natural antibacterial/antifungal properties. You just don't want to leave too much of it packed around the roots once you pot them up, because it degrades faster than the rest of your potting mix.

Do what works best for you, with the materials you have available. Choose a setup where the plants are humid, but not crazy dripping. Warm, but not climbing with algae. Lit, but not cooking from direct sunlight. Use Pug's photo as a model of the atmosphere you generally want tot create but don't feel restricted by it.

**And don't forget that the "too much is too much" point arrives a lot faster for someone on a Florida patio than it does for someone who is working indoors, in the Northeast. Sometimes a minimalist approach is better for someone in the south and a more intensive approach is better for someone in the cold north. You just have to kind of feel it out for yourself.

This post was edited by greedyghost on Thu, Sep 26, 13 at 13:47

While I lost some cuttings this year...due to rot,I have some cuttings doing well on a heat mat under a ufo led light.When starting,I had them under a large bell jar with the bottom cut off (I work with glass),so the jar can be placed over the cuttings,while leaving the top of the jar open.It was hot and humid in there... too hot and humid!! Had a H. lanbii rot and had a few yellow leaves starting on others!Bad idea ..way too hot for the cuttings with the heat mat and jar.I now have the jar off,heat pad on and have a humidifer a few feet away giving them a humid breeze.They are rooting nicely now.I spray them from the top when the soil gets dry.Im using the small containers Joni uses.

Ah, thanks. Yeah, that's a perfect example of an overdo, VM. I've done exactly the same thing.

I think this is just one of those things that you have to get a sense for, through trial and error.

I really love those mini square pots for rooting, too! When she first transitioned, I had my doubts, but now I see her genius. There are actually a fair number of wispy small leafed cuttings that stay in those pots for a long time and were terribly overpotted before, when I was only using 4"-ers.

Thanks to everyone for responding. The consensus is pretty overwhelmingly toward increasing humidity by bagging or somehow enclosing the cuttings, so I did.