If you’ve ever wondered about how to propagate hoya kerrii, you are in the right place.
As well as the propagating methods, this article also includes important hoya kerrii care and maintenance tips to ensure that in a few months, you would be the proud parent of a thriving hoya kerrii nursery.
You might have seen cute hoya kerrii leaves sold in pots around Valentine’s Day and thought how adorable they look.
The single-leaf Hoya kerrii looking so elegant and plush in their respective pots seem like the perfect gift for a loved one on a special day.
Chances are, you must have also wondered how the leaves can thrive so well without stems.
Fact is, it is possible to grow or propagate a single hoya kerrii leaf in the right soil.
But as you would find out later in this article, propagating the complete plant takes more than just sticking a leaf in nutrient-rich potting soil.
How to Propagate Hoya Kerrii
Also known as the sweetheart plant or sweetheart hoya, hoya Kerrii is popular among gardeners because it is a very easy houseplant to cultivate.
It also gets bonus points on the likability scale for the adorable heart-shaped flowers and the sweet-smelling aromatic blooms.
Hoya Kerrville plants are semi-succulent plants with origins in the South Pacific and some parts of Asia.
They are naturally epiphytes getting most of their nourishment from the air while anchoring their roots on other plants rather than in soil.
The combination of epiphytic properties and succulent nature means they don’t need much in terms of care.
A very humid environment and adequate light are sufficient most of the time. This makes propagation and post-propagation care easy.
Hoya Kerrii can be propagated in several ways using vine or stem cuttings from a mature plant.
The three most common ways of propagation include water, soil, and via a propagation medium like sphagnum moss.
The vine or stem cuttings must come with at least a node on the stem and a leaf at the top of the cutting.
First, though, let’s briefly talk about the ideal hoya kerrii growth conditions.
These are important requisites when it comes to successfully nurturing the rooted hoya kerrii cutting into a healthy plant.
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Hoya Kerrii Growing Conditions
Soil – No matter the potting soil you decide to use, it must be well-draining and loose.
Most garden centers stock high-quality potting soil specifically made for succulents. You could purchase as much as you need there.
You can make your own potting soil using garden soil, perlite, sand, and bark. This is porous soil that is great for the plants since it doesn’t retain too much water.
Water – As partial succulents, they prefer a humid environment rather than moist or wet soil. So water only when the soil is completely dry.
But, you also don’t want to wait until the leaves start wrinkling before watering.
You might want to invest in a soil moisture monitor to help you get this right. Nailing this helps to prevent diseases like root rot.
Fertilization – If you have to use plant food to aid growth, use a balanced, water-soluble fertilizer once a month in the growing season.
And to avoid over-fertilization, dilute the product to about half or a quarter of its strength.
Sunlight – Like all succulents, they store excess water in their leaves so exposure to sunlight is necessary to keep things balanced.
They would be happy with at least 6 hours of exposure to bright, indirect light. Direct exposure to the sun is bad for them.
However, if you have the variegated species, a few hours of direct sunshine in the morning would be awesome.
Variegated hoya kerrii need more exposure to sunlight because they have less chlorophyll in their leaves.
Humidity – Hoya Kerrii love humid environments.
They would struggle if the air is too dry. If you have a problem with low humidity levels, using a humidifier is a simple, inexpensive, and effective solution.
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3 Methods of Propagating Hoya Kerrii
First, you need to get your hoya Kerrii cuttings. Use sterilized pair of shears or scissors to cut a vine.
Make sure the cut section has at least a node and at least a leaf. Two leaves and multiple nodes would be great though.
The nodes are the raised bumps that appear at frequent intervals along the vine.
Usually, aerial roots and leaves grow out of them. During propagation, new roots sprout from the nodes.
You can get as many cuttings as you wish or you can make multiple cuttings from a single vine.
As long as each citing has a node and leaf, you are good to go.
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Method 1: How to propagate hoya kerrii in Water
You’d need just a glass jar of water and your hoya Kerrii cutting.
Steps:
- Place the cutting inside the container, leaves facing upwards. You can put more than one cutting in the jar.
- Make sure the water level is above at least one node. Submerging multiple nodes is okay
- place the jar in a warm location. Also, ensure the jar is exposed to bright, indirect light.
- Check the water frequently. If it turns cloudy or murky, change it.
- In about a couple of weeks, tiny roots should sprout from the nodes. Keep in mind that rooting could take longer, so you’ll need to be patient.
- When the roots are about a couple of inches long, transplant the cutting to a pot filled with the potting mix described above.
- Water the soil and allow excess water to drain out of the drainage holes.
- Finally, stick to the hoya kerrii growing conditions described earlier. In a few months, you should have several healthy plants.
Method 2: How to propagate hoya kerrii in Potting Mix
For best results, use a terracotta pot.
Steps:
- Fill the terracotta pot with your potting mix
- Plant your cuttings in the soil making sure at least one node is buried. the leaves must be above the soil.
- Water the soil as usual and place the pot in a bright area away from direct sunlight. Water the again soil only when it is completely dry.
- Given enough time and care, you’d notice new growths on the cuttings. This indicates the cutting has rooted successfully in the soil.
- If you have more than one cutting per pot, transplant them so you have only a plant per pot.
Keep in mind that the time lag from the start to transplanting could take up to four weeks or even more because hoya Kerrii are slow growers.
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Method 3. How to propagate hoya kerrii in Propagating Medium
The medium of choice is sphagnum moss because it tends to hold moisture longer than other mediums.
Steps:
- Sterilize the sphagnum moss by soaking it in hot water for a few minutes to kill plant pathogens.
- Wrap the sphagnum moss around one or two of the nodes. You can hold the sphagnum moss in place with twine.
- Put the cutting in a transparent container in a warm but bright area.
- Sprinkle water on the growth medium anytime it gets dry. Be careful not to over-water it though to avoid rot.
- When new growths appear in a few weeks, transplant the cutting as described in method 1.
Tips
- Placing a plastic bag over the cuttings would help raise humidity levels if the air is very dry
- To prevent bacterial infection, you can dip the end of each cutting in cinnamon or honey.
- If possible add a teaspoonful of hydrogen peroxide a day before propagation in water. This raises oxygen levels in the water to aid growth.
- Always check the cuttings for signs of rot. Cut out any area that appears discolored: a sign of rot.
Wrapping up
Hoya Kerrii is a semi-succulent plant popular as a gift on Valentine’s Day thanks to the heart-shaped leaves that can be propagated as a single leaf plant in a pot.
This leaf, though, never grows into a full plant.
Propagating hoya kerrii into a full, thriving plant involves stem or vine cuttings that have a couple of leaves and nodes.
Rooting and propagation can be carried out in water, potting mix, or via a propagation medium like sphagnum moss.
