My experience rooting hoya cumingiana, plus care tips!

I’m so happy to have received a beautiful little cutting of hoya cumingiana from one of my hoya-collecting friends. Learn about rooting hoya cumingiana cuttings, hoya cumingiana propagation, and how to care for this plant.

Hoya cumingiana propagation & care

I seriously have the nicest plant friends. I have gotten so many amazing cuttings from plant friends, and this one is no different. One of my oldest and best friends came to town a few weeks ago to visit, and her husband brought me a few hoya cuttings.

He is Mr. Hoya, importing lots of plants. So nice of him to bring cuttings. I hope to spread the wealth once mine turn into full plants 🙂 He brought me hoya cumingiana, hoya acuta variegata, hoya krohniana silver, and hoya obscura. I’m going to do guides for all of them to document their rooting progress and conditions.

And as I do with all new plants, I am going to research the hell out of their care guidelines so I don’t mess this up! So I will include some care info in the posts—though I bet it will probably be similar to other more common hoyas you know and love.

Where is this hoya from?

Hoya cumingiana is a succulent-like vine from the Philippines. Like other hoyas, it has star-shaped flowers that look and smell amazing—supposedly. Mine obviously hasn’t bloomed yet.

When it isn’t blooming, though, it still looks gorgeous. There is very little space between the leaves along the stem on a hoya cumingiana, which gives them a bushy, full look. My cutting reminds me a bit of callisia repens. Though the leaves on a mature plant look more like smaller hoya australis leaves to me.

Rooting hoya cumingiana

Since I received a fresh cutting of hoya cumingiana from my friend, I had to decide how I wanted to root it. It came wrapped in wet paper towels, and since it was a pretty small cutting, I decided to root it in sphagnum moss and perlite. (Read my full sphagnum moss and perlite propagation guide for more details.)

I also decided to lay the cutting flat onto the moss mixture to hopefully get roots sprouting from a few different points. I’ve done this with my hoya curtisii plant before, and it was very successful. That way, when you plant the cutting, you don’t plant it trailing.

Instead, you plant it kind of rounded in shallow soil to allow the cutting to take root in multiple places. I’d rather the plant take root in multiple places and not trailing just yet than root the end of a cutting and have a scraggly trailer!

Want more hoya? Check out my posts on Hoya Carnosa Propagation, 9 Hoya Varieties for Beginners, and Hoya Chelsea Care!

Why use moss instead of another propagation medium?

I like using moss and perlite to root hoya cuttings for a few reasons. First, I can easily monitor the root growth and see how it’s going. The moisture also tends to last longer than LECA, which needs refreshed every few days in my dry house. (But I do love LECA for other plants—see my full LECA propagation guide for more.)

Also, I just think that the moss and perlite medium gives produces really healthy roots that don’t suffer a ton of shock when transplanting them to soil. Oh—and it’s easy to root them flat on a bed of moss.

When I root cuttings flat like this, I like to use disposable Tupperware containers. Like the black bottom, clear top kind you sometimes get when you order Chinese food. The clear lid lets light through, but it also help keep humidity and temperature levels a bit higher in the box.

You could also use a DIY plant propagation box, which I love to do in the spring and summer when I’m rooting a ton of different cuttings. But right now it’s nearly January, and I don’t have much propagating right now. So I just did a small hoya batch in a Tupperware 🙂

a plastic box with moss and hoya cuttings rooting in it

condensation on a plastic plant propagation box — *HUMIDITY DOMEEEEE*

roots sprouting on a hoya cumingiana cutting propagation — *Roots sprouting after only a few days!*

When to plant a propagated cumingiana cutting

I like to wait until the roots on my hoya propagations are a few inches long to plant them in fresh soil. I also like to add a bit of rooting hormone before the transition to soil. I’m never really sure if that actually helps, but I’ve had only a few prop failures…so maybe? 🙂

When you do plant a hoya cumingiana, make sure to use fresh, chunky, well-draining soil. This is pretty par for the course for other hoya plants. I would recommend picking up a bag of high-quality houseplant soil labeled “indoor” or “houseplant” soil.

I’d also recommend throwing in a few handfuls of other soil amendments to help facilitation aeration and drainage. Maybe some more coarse perlite and potentially some orchid bark, too. Whatever you do, just make sure the soil isn’t too heavy! (Read more about houseplant soil 101 and soil amendments.)

hoya cuttings rooting in sphagnum moss and perlite

What now? Light & water needs

While propagating, it isn’t super important to have a lot of light. I have my tupperware in my Ikea glass cabinet makeshift greenhouse on the middle shelf. There’s a growlight on the top and bottom shelves, so it does get a bit of light.

Once it’s its own independent plant in soil, give it plenty of bright indirect light. Too much direct light will burn the leaves, but too little light will make the stems leggy and the leaves small. (Leggy = too much space between the leaves because the plant it stretching for light.)

For water, just remember that it doesn’t need a lot of it. Like most other hoyas. Let the top several inches of soil dry out between watering sessions. Also make sure that your pot has drainage holes, so that when you do water it, you can let all of the excess water drain out.

If you overwater, you’ll notice the leaves begin to yellow and fall off. The stems might also become mushy. I generally water my hoyas weekly in the spring and summer, every 2-ish weeks in the fall and winter.

Hoya cumingiana care: Temperature & humidity

Like other hoya plants, hoya cumingiana will tolerate a variety of household temperatures quite well. Shoot for in the 70s or 80s (Fahrenheit). This plant is not cold or frost hardy.

While hoya cumingiana can also do well in a variety of household humidity levels, it prefers higher humidity. They will grow in low humidity, but they’ll really grow in higher humidity. Add a humidifier to the room your cumingiana is in to help.

What’s up with my plant?

I’ll pop back in at some point and update this point (I know I always say that and only get around to it about 50% of the time, cut me a break). Once I get some good growth going, I hope to have more pics! Fingers crossed!