Karen, I have never rooted in water but I had a multiflora leaf sprout and is now in full bloom. It is the second hoya leaf I have had sprout so I beleive it can be done if your patient and can wait, some probably are more likely than others and the mulitflora for me has been robust. Anyway congratulations and keep us posted on what it looks like when it blooms.

Leon

There are a lot of plants that will adapt to hydroponic growing that you wouldn't think would. I have always heard that Multiflora likes to be kept wet. I water mine every day. Recently when I noted that some of its leaves were starting to yellow and it was looking a bit less than its normal self, I pulled it out of the pot and sure enough, the root mass to dirt ratio was about 4:1. All the water was just running through the pot without the roots getting to uptake it. I split it into 4 large plants and repotted each in gallon containers. All 4 are now back up to speed and blooming again.

I found out a bit about what will grow in water in my yard after the back to back hurricanes that hit us in 2004 within 2 weeks of each other (Frances and Jeanne). My property was flooded in a few places and a lot of my ornamental plantings were growing in the equivalent of a bog for several months afterward. My Hedychiums (butterfly gingers) grew to huge proportions and bloomed like MAD. Cassia plants went crazy! So did the butterfly weed. Some of my bananas grew to over 15 ft tall. Cannas, which are water loving, were HUGE. Impatiens, which I never knew would grow in a bog, almost took over.

Since in nature many many species of Hoya are epiphytic, probably many can be grown with very little soil, kept wet. You might try experimenting with some of your others. Adding a bit of (very weak) fertilizer to the water could help too.

Sounds like you've got it mastered, Karen! Multiflora has been one of my trouble-Hoyas, too, but mostly because I'm a succulent freak and have always treated most of my Hoyas like somewhat tropical succulents. I water when slightly dry, thoroughly and repeatedly over about 20 minutes. I've tried to make it a point to water multiflora and lacunosa more regularly, but it IS hard to teach an old dog new tricks, so they sometimes pay the price...

I'll be interested to see how the new growth points do for you. I've got my fingers crossed for a great outcome!

Denise in Omaha