Starting this cute little H. Rubida cutting in perlite. Not a medium I choose too often but for some reason decided to throw one in it this time. This is one of six. The others are in a mixture of coco chips, coco peat and perlite with some fluval.
Straight sphagnum never fails me with Hoya cuttings. What medium do you typically use?
1 gilla I’m in Florida so high humidity is on my side. My porch is one big prop box and I can use anything. lol. Coco and perlite works really well for me to root and go straight into a larger pot in that same medium. I sometimes use leca and keep it there or go to a chunky mix after 😊. Pon is another one I use or sometimes fluval. Or a mix. It depends on the Hoya. Not a fan of moss tho. Once it clings to the roots, it’s hard to remove. In my experience, deep in the substrate it holds wetness around the roots and causes suffocation and degradation of the roots. ( what people refer to as root rot)
1 gilla So jelly, that is my kind of weather. I’m in VB so plenty humid but everyone has to come back inside around October or November. I’ve rooted in pon and perlite as well they just aren’t as extensive in root growth in a shorter period of time. I totally get how moss sticks. I tell myself it’s a therapeutic exercise lol. I haven’t experienced any long term issues with the roots, knock on wood. But I do enjoy how fast they go in moss for me. I’m from the pacific islands and my grandma would root Hoya straight into coconut husks 😆 Cheers to being able to grow tropicals outdoors year round 💚
1 gilla
I never done only perlite. Not my first choice either. Too much dust. But, I’ve bought rooted cuttings in perlite that thrived in it for months.
1 gilla Yes I hate the dust! I usually use number 3 size for less. I always rinse perlite though.
1 gilla
Perlite is my go-to! In other propagation mediums, I found that my cuttings suffered a little bit while rooting and they took longer to establish, whereas with perlite they start growing roots almost immediately and push out new growth within 2 weeks! I have a similar experience with moss that you have, root rot. For me, moss seems to hold moisture quite unevenly and compact easily. I really want to try pon or fluval! I’ve never tried them for any plant :)
1 gilla