Growing Hoya From Seed

Growing Hoya From Seed

Hoya is a member of the large dogbane family and used to be part of the now defunct milkweed family.  The seeds are small and flat and have a silken parachute to aid with dispersal.  Once dispersal has occured the parachute serves no further purpose and will eventually rot away.  In the close confines of a pot, where several seeds may be sown in close proximity, the presence of the parachute is a route in for disease, so best to remove them before sowing.

Sowing

Sow in pots of sterile compost on the surface, just pressing them in.  Water well then seal the pot in a plastic bag to keep humidity levels high.  Germinate at 25 Deg C or so, cooler temps may delay or completely inhibit germination, which ideally should take around 2 - 8 weeks.
During this time watch out for any fungal infections, because once they take hold they will spoil all the seed.  I have taken to sprinkling fine sand around the seeds so as to give the seeds a change whilst suppressing any spores that may try to take hold.  Another method is, prior to sowing, soak the seeds in a dilute bleach solution at the rate of 5 ml to 500 ml of water for about 10 minutes to kill any spores.  Once the 10 minutes are up, rinse them in clean water to remove all traces of bleach.

Growing on

Once the seedlings emerge, change the air in the bag by opening for a few hours, then re-seal.  Once the true leaves develop the bag can come off and the seedling can be potted up once they have outgrown the seed pot.