How to Propagate Hoyas

Hoyas can be propagated a number of ways, and each one has its strengths and weaknesses. Heat and humidity will speed up the growth rate, but it will require additional acclimation time when transitioning to household humidity. I do a mix of water rooting and sphagnum moss, but tend to prefer sphagnum in clear bins, since it's more of a "set it and forget it" method.

The photo on the left was taken in June 2022, while the one on the right was taken November 2023. Less than a year and a half but an enormous amount of growth thanks to regular chopping and propping.

Water

• Aim for at least 2-6 inches of stem to submerge in water.

• Change the water at least once per week.

• Allow secondary roots to form for best results.

• When transitioning water rooted cuttings to soil, you will need to keep the medium moist until the roots acclimate. Do not let the medium fully dry out for several months to ensure the cutting successfully takes to soil.

• The benefit of water rooting is the foliage doesn't require humidity acclimation after potting.

Sphagnum Moss

I root the majority of my hoya cuttings inside clear bins with sphagnum moss.

• Sphagnum allows you to root cuttings with shorter stems.

• Ensure the moss is squeezed of excess moisture so it's damp but not soaking. Too much moisture WILL cause your cuttings to rot.

• Place the bin on top of a heating mat to speed up results.

• Ensure adequate lighting (either natural or supplemental).

• DO NOT attempt to root Hoya Bella cuttings via this method - it is the only species that tends to rot this way (far more often than not).

• When transitioning cuttings from sphagnum moss bins to soil, you should take care to gradually decrease the humidity. New growth especially can abort if humidity drops too rapidly. Place newly potted plants back into a clear bin and gradually reduce the amount of coverage with the lid. Start with a crack, and increase to no lid at all over several weeks to ensure best results. Alternatively you can use a plastic dome or other method to maintain higher than household humidity.

Perlite

• Some folks choose to root their hoya cuttings in cups of perlite. This is not my preferred method.

• Keep the perlite damp but not completely soaking.

• Transition similar to water method.

• Another option is to mix your sphagnum and perlite. This helps to create a little more aeration and reduce risk of rotting with 100% sphagnum.