What do you think is the best rooting hormone?

I have something I obught at HD, Take root I think is the name by Schultz.

But I don't think this has a fungicide it it.

I was wondering what brand you have the best results with? And where do you buy it from?

Thanks
Maureen

maureenpm00, I've posted several threads on makeing your own Rooting solution. the problem with buying the name brands is freshness they all use Indole Butric Acid .1%as the active ingredient and some but not many add Naptha Acetic Acid .05% in either Talc powder or gel or water. I have been making my own rooting solution for 2 years, I make up 1 liter at a time and keep it in the fridge and throw unused after 6 weeks and make up new solution. I also use to spray on roots when transplanting or planting bareroot. I have Hostas that had a few roots when I received them in the spring, and by fall they had a full solid root ball. if you can bake a cake you can make your own. there are just a few steps in making up the solution. if you have any questions let me know, the supplier is listed in DG, as super-grow.biz you can make up for pennies instead dollars. Jim

Jim: I have a follow-up question (related to a separate post I made to this forum). When you make a liquid rooting solution, can you just stick a cutting into a glass of it and root it without a soil or soil-less medium? I understand the results might not be as good, but is that at least possible, or is the rooting solution too strong? And if that is possible, then can the same formula be added to a gel formulation that does not have rooting compound in it, so as to create a rooting gel (the goal being to save money over what is commercially available)?

The best rooting hormone I find is Wilson's Roots with fungicide. I'm not sure if it's available in the US. www.wilson.nu-gro.com

happy, I don't know, I've always dipped it in the rooting solution and stuck it in a medium with bottom heat. I know someone that has a clone dome that she dilutes rooting liquid 9/1 where the liquid is contantly being sprayed on the cutting. as far as gels go I haven't used them. someone else will have to answer that one. good luck, Jim

Clonex rooting gel is wonderful -- has a fungicide, but the consistency makes it stick to the stem of whatever you are trying to root, & doesn't easily wash away the first time you water.

happy, the answer is no because too much hormone can inhibit plant growth (Agent Orange was a plant hormone derivative).
Maureen, I used Dip n Grow successfully for hydrangeas and herbs, and Rootone for a dwarf plumeria and other succulents. I like the powder of Rootone for succulents because those cuttings drip a lot of sap or latex, and the Rootone helps to cure the cuttings faster. The Dip n Grow was recommended by the guy at Nantucket Hydrangeas, where I bought most of my hyds, that's what he uses for commerical propagation. Both have fungicides in them. I bought the Schulz powder the last time I was at HD for when I run out of Rootone; I should check the ingredients but I bet it's similar and will work fine on my succulents. Never tried the gel form, bet it works just fine too.

Thank you all -- this is very helpful.

Thanks so much everyone,.

Maureen

I like Dip n' Grow best too now. At least until I try something I like better. =)

It's actually the only one I own right now--easy to use, I like the liquids better than the dry.

Thanks dmj1218.

Maureen

Jim,

"The problem with buying the name brands is freshness. They all use Indole Butyric Acid .1% as the active ingredient and some, but not many, add Naptha Acetic Acid .05% in either Talc powder or gel or water."

There is some variation to that. Hormex No. 1 contains just 0.1% Indole-3-Butyric Acid, but Hormex No. 3 contains 0.3% IBA, while Hormex No. 8 has 0.8% IBA.

Rootone contains 0.20% 1-Naphthaleneacetamide and 4.04% Thiram (tetramethyl Thiuramdisulfide, a fungicide).

So, apparently the root hormone in Hormex and the root hormone in Rootone are completely different.

"I have been making my own rooting solution for 2 years..."

Just out of curiosity, where do you buy your chemicals? And do you store the dry chemicals in the refrigerator, or do you consider the dry powders or crystals as relatively stable?

MM

MM, I totally agree about freshness of the homemade versus the I don't know how long it has sat on the shelf oxidizing in talcum powder, or in liquid water 99.5%. and I do experiment with different PPM's for what I'm doing transplanting, planting bare root, and of course sticking cuttings. I keep my dry, plant growth regulators in powder, crystal form in a cool dark place. and once I make up a solution, I keep it in the refer. I usually toss the solutions away after 6 weeks. I get most of my chemicals from super-grow.biz. because they deal in quantities for the hobbiest. and they help any customer with any questions that you have. when I first started with the growth enhancers I knew zip. now I know a little more and am learning more each season. I just stumbled on using my rooting solution as a transplant tonic because I would make up a liter at a time to root cuttings and it sat in the refer. well I got a catalog order of Hostas and thought, mmmm I wonder if I sprayed the bare roots with this what would happen. by the end of their first season they had a huge rootball, I dug some up to see how much the roots had grown and I couldn't believe it. it was thick with roots and root hairs. of course the root balls was in proportion to the size of the Hosta, ( mini, small, medium, large ) some of the quantities I ordered have lasted 2 years because you don't use that much in a 1 liter solution 2/32 of a teaspoon of IBA, 1/32 teas. of NAA to 1 liter. I don't know what that comes to but it's pennies instead of dollars. I'm using other growth factors in my garden but I won't get into that right now. If I missed a question I'll address it in another thread. Jim

MaineMan, there are two other suppliers that I have used for Tissue Culture supplies but they deal in larger quantities but if you're looking for a particular biochemical or reagent that super-grow doesn't have, they probably have it. PhytoTechnology Laboratories www.phytotechlab.com and Caisson laboratories wwwcaissonlabs.com when they sent me their catalogs I was amazed. I wish I could go back to school and take bio-chemistry and other horti-related subjects. maybe I will. I ordered 1,2,3 stage media for Hosta tissue culture. also I ordered PPM (plant preservative mixture ) as a fungicide and biocide, I'm going to start in January, I have Hosta in dormancy in my refer that I'm going to use for explants. Jim King

At a gardening symposium a while back one of the speakers, a well known nurseryman and hybridizer, told us to always keep any "opened" bottles of rooting hormone in the refrigerator. I thought that was interesting as the bottles themselves (and I have rootone, dip n grow and clonex on hand) do not mention doing this.