The transition doesn't go well because the water roots don't really work in soil, so the cutting basically has to re root after you pot it up. Just root in soil.

Perlite that's kept constantly moist is ideal because it transitions well to either soil or hydroton.

Denise in Omaha

I start roots in water and transfer to flooded perlite (water in bottom 1/3) and then then into transparent containers. so I see the roots: they don't decline to be replaced by other roots, they continue to grow and they grow well. my mix contains about 30-40% perlite too, since I grow most plants in passive hydro:

some roots in mix + water-roots in water develop over time.

by starting first in water AND tenting I can retain more leaves on the cutting - I think it helps it to get established faster. it also gives ma a little more time to set up, as I usually start a lot of cuttings. so I cut, put them in water and 1-2-3 weeks later set them up in perlite.

I root in individual cell trays, using the same mix I grow my container plants in (511 mix). No fuss, no root disturbance when potting up, no change from "rooting" to "growing" except for the surrounding environment (light/humidity levels). Piece of cake.

I bet you don't grow in cramped apartment in the city, where to obtain ingredients for 511 you need to rent a car (yep, many people in NYC don't own cars!) and drive out an hour to some nursery :)...and you have garage and/or basement to store stuff. us big-city dwellers don't have such luxuries :).

I am ultra lucky to get a small balcony ;) for summer pampering of my houseplants (some only that won't survive otherwise: see pics in my ideabooks, if you can see them).

and I only buy small bags at HD (lucky to have that nearby!..otherwise driving or subway hauling is unavoidable).

well, this thread made me go look at my cuttings and many were overdue and I finally xferred them into perlite and potted one out of it..

and it happens I had a whole bunch of Parsley Aralia cuttings: they take some time to root (all aralias in general) - 2/3's rooted in about 2 weeks? not sure

another third of stems has white bumps, but no roots yet.

So, Karen wait some more on yours.

I always add a bit of 3% peroxide to water to keep it sweet and also some seaweed from a capsule (supplement) - may be 1/3 of capsule into 1 cup container? I read that it acts as root-stimulant. but it actually also keeps water sweet. I used it when I was travelling and did not have peroxide: easier to travel with pills then peroxide :))).

Wow what's your secret to getting hoyas to root like that? I haven't been able to get most of them to grow that many roots in water. They look great to me!

Popmama,

I don't know why the 3 Hoyas rooted so fast, really surprised me, I'd expected the more usual 2-3 wks to water root Hoyas. Maybe 'cause I use small containers & just an inch or so of water, just enough to keep the lowest node under water.

Pretty great, who doesn't love instant gratification. Nice Karen!