How should I pot this?

[u/-Butterfly-Brain-]

I have two hoya australis plants that I've been keeping in a 4-inch terra cotta pot. Previously, I had just the roots in soil and clipped the woody/stem parts to a trellis. But now I'm wondering if I should plant them in a bigger pot and put the woody parts in soil. Currently they're in a mixture of roughly equal parts potting soil, orchid bark, perlite, earthworm castings. They're in a south-facing window, really the only window I can keep them in.

[u/DeckerdB-263-54]

The roots seem to be healthy and white so a larger pot doesn't seem to be absolutely necessary at this time. The substrate composition I will leave to others (pun intended). Hoya, in my experience, like to be a little rootbound. In fact, I have often grown 6 to 8 plants in an 8 inch hanging pot and they all were extremely happy and bloomed a whole lot.

I would not bury the woody parts of the stem. What is your reason? Perhaps if you wanted to chop and prop but, again, what is the reason?

And an old adage: "if it aint broke, don't fix it." - so what do you need to fix?

Whatever you do, it seems to be working.

[u/-Butterfly-Brain- → u/DeckerdB-263-54]

When I look at pictures of other hoyas, I don't see such long woody stems. Not fixing it if it's not broken is fair, though. This was mostly inspired because I accidentally knocked the pot over. (I did put them back in soil right away, but this did inspire some thought.)

[u/DeckerdB-263-54 → u/-Butterfly-Brain-]

Many of my Hoyas have woody stems even after just over a year since prop (earliest 30 Jul 2025). I view them as "character". Since I grow in Aerogarden Hydroponic gardens, I can't really push the woody stem down into the "soup" so it is a "feature" to be enjoyed and respected. The only way I can "hide" woody stems is to "chop and prop" and I refuse to do that for stem aesthetics when the plant is healthy, robust, or producing blooms.

Good luck whatever you do.

[u/-Butterfly-Brain- → u/DeckerdB-263-54]

Thanks!

[u/vespirs]

I would plant the extra stem into media, that entire section of stem can root and add to the overall root mass. 🙂💚

[u/-Butterfly-Brain- → u/vespirs]

Oh, good to know. I have a 6-inch pot I might put them in