It looks like carnosa. Did it ever bloom for your friend? It's always easier to confirm ID with flowers.

Hoyas roots grow from the node (the point from which leaves grow) so that's the part you should stick into the water.

Some cuttings just don't want to root in water. Those I stick into small pot with 1:1 soil + perlite mix, then put the pot with the plant into some translucent plastic container, spray with water, and put the lid on, or cover with plastic bag. Once sealed it creates mini greenhouse with higher humidity. You need to open it up from time to time to let it breathe and spray again to keep the humidity high. I did it rarely, like, maybe every two weeks. After two months both stubborn cuttings that didn't want to root in water had great big roots (probably could take them out sooner, but wanted to be sure).

You can root single leaf as long as it's still attached to the node.

And yeah, the brown part is dead, it dried up.

You can also try putting the potted cutting on a heat mat--either a seedling heat mat, or even one of those stick on mats made for reptiles...the bottom heat will make the soil dry out faster, so check often and water as needed...I find that most cuttings seem slow to root this time of year--in the Spring or Summer they can't WAIT to put down roots, but by Fall they've slowed down and lost interest...probably due to shorter day length and dryer cooler conditions....anyhow, I try to start all my cuttings in the Spring and then buy potted plants in the Fall....and I agree with Maria, I think that's a classic carnosa....enjoy!

Carnosa is a slow grower. Since the leaves are still nice, the water idea is working. What I would do, is cut off the brown parts so it doesn't waste energy. Then, from your photo, it almost looks like small hairy roots forming. Is that correct? If so, then wait until they get about 1/2" long and then dip the roots in cinnamon, and move it to the loose potting mix. Then the roots should be enough to support itself in the mix.

Addition: You can cut the stem in two, but I would do it in stages. Wait until the roots are ok in soil, let it grow a bit, then start a new stem the same way you're doing now.

I would just stick it in the soil and water it. It should root pretty quickly. You will know when it is rooted if you give it a gentle tug and there is resistance. Although during winter you might have to use rooting hormone.

Thanks all! I know it's a bit late for rooting but I thought I'd give it a try since I like this plant. And I haven't seen the flower.

When you talk about it rooting from the node, should I just remove the leaf (with the small bit of stem attached) from the stick and put that in the water?

No, don't remove the leaf pls. Rather put the whole cutting in a bit of water, after cutting a little bit off the bottom of the stem, like 1/4 inch.

Pls allow time & patience, tho' I've usually had water roots in one week, don't know why you haven't.

Why is it a bit late for rooting? Pardon me, but says who?

She was probably referring to my post, where I said it was my experience that cuttings rooted more quickly and reliably in Spring and Summer, less so in Fall and Winter....don't know if this is because of shorter daylength, lower humidity, or what, but I don't generally order cuttings after September....this is simply how it works for me and I thought it might be helpful....by the way, I root in soil, not water---so maybe that makes a difference as well....

Yes, I was referring to Shelley's observation. I don't root plants that often but I think I've always done it in the summer when plants are more active.

Lily- I'm not sure, maybe those are roots growing. I've noticed the water is less clear right where the stem is but it didn't look like a root was forming to me. It's been at this stage for a couple of weeks now. I'll cut the brown parts and try to be patient.

Also, I'm still a bit confused about the plant rooting from a node. I understand I shouldn't remove the leaf from the stem, but is the suggestion that I should cut the stem all the way up to where the leaf is growing? I'll leave the main stem alone for now in case there are roots forming, but I'd like to better understand this for the future.

Thanks for all your help! I don't have much experience with hoyas, just a hoya compacta with 1 little stem that's struggling after a mealybug infestation earlier this spring so I'd really like to understand how to make these plants happier!

This is how i take cuttings

Ive had success water rooting carnosa in winter, it helps if the water is warm, i used a heating pad which is now keeping my multiflora warm

I'm not sure anyone is saying you can't root hoyas in the winter, only that it tends to take longer....

Sometimes I take a couple of cuttings and Stick then I n a glass of water, sometimes I take a couple of cuttings and I root them in sterile mix in a humid environment , and other times I just take my finger stick it into the pot where I took the cutting from and put the cuttings right into the same pot so that I end up with a fuller bushier plant. I would say at least 90% take

Thanks all, and thanks for the detailed pictures!

Still no progress with my cutting but it's still alive so I'll see what it does...

Nearly a month later and there's a small root hair! It took more than 2 months for anything to show up. Hopefully it will keep it up...

A frequent contributor to these forums reminds us that plants are on plant time, not people time, so yes, patience really is the key thing. Go root hairs!!!

Yes- and that's one of the reasons I love my plants. They slow everything down for me!

So the cutting didn't actually do anything for weeks, and then I went out of town for a week and came back to these roots. The picture is a bit blurry but you can see the roots at the top (the two leaves are still at the top, it just got cut off in the picture).

Should I cut the stem off below the roots and pot it, or pot it with the stem intact? It still has what looks like a root hair at the very bottom.

Sorry, but can't see the roots or the hairs. Perhaps put a blank piece of white paper under the plant & reshoot your pix?

Can't see to answer your Question.

That's really strange- it looked fine when I uploaded it but part of it is cut off above.

Here's another one, with the white background as requested:

You can see the roots towards the top.

This also got cut off, but if you click on the picture you can see the entire thing.

I would root the entire cutting. More roots should develope on the rest of the stem.

Thanks Lydia. I'll get the whole thing in a pot this weekend. Hopefully it survives the transition- it took it 4 months to root so I'd hate to lose it now!

So after potting it up in January, it took until this week for signs of growth on top. I noticed some white roots coming out of the bottom last week, and then this week there was a little nub that is now steadily growing. That's 9 months from cutting to growth! The second cutting still isn't doing anything on top, but I hope it's just a matter of time!

Here are some pictures:

You did good! Looks healthy :-D