What's your favorite rooting hormone?

What's your all time favorite? If you like a combination, please post that and why you use the combo. Is it powder, liquid or gel? What's your success rate usually like? What kinds of things do you root?

I'll start!
I don't have one right now. I'm trying to find a gel with fungicide. Do you think Dip 'N Grow http://www.wormsway.com/detail.asp?sku=DNG301 sounds decent? It's liquid, fungicide and antibacterial. I really want something for dipping. I don't like having to water the hormone in to the cutting medium.

I used to use a Canadian brand named Wilson's and it was great! Except it's tiny and pricey.

I usually *try* rooting hardwood cuttings but have more success with soft wood cuttings.

If anyone uses Dip 'N Grow, do you still go ahead and use it to root consumable crops even though it says not to? I want to try rooting berry and fruit plants so it'll be a while before there's crops, do you think it'll be okay?

This message was edited Apr 5, 2008 5:14 AM

I have to say, if I had a favorite hormone for rooting, it's dip'n grow, hands down. I use if for rooting softwoods and hardwood deciduous tree cuttings by the thousands. 10 to 1 mix with water and your done. We get up to 95% on some rubrums, average 80-85%. We root Royal Purple smoketree nearly 100% and with Elms, we are probably averaging 55-60% depending on the variety.

We use "Woods" for a few varieties and have had decent sucess, but powder is a pain to work with and it's hard to find in large quantities like Dip'n Grow.

But Dip N' Grow isn't antifungal though. I like the way this product sounds... Only if it was antifungal.

I use plain old Rootone for all new wood/perennial cuttings, and never had a problem with fungus. I've found Dip N' Grow best for Woodies because you can vary the concentration to fit the situation/material. Again no fungus problems, yet. Color it beginner's luck...

CaptMicha, the rooting hormones I like best for cuttings, and transplanting are; Napthalene Acidic Acid aka NAA, and Indole Butric Acid, aka IBA. I add them to 1 liter H2O, hostajim

Hullo there just butting in. Have you ever tried honey as a rooting medium. I have used it for years. Honey has a natural antifungus and is a natural anti-bacterial. I found the hormone powder a real pain, not always that reliable either. Read a hint somewhere and decided it was
worth a try , easy to get as well. I have never used the powder since, I was quite happy with the strike rate. Wouldn't hurt to give it a try.
I used to keep it in a screw top pill bottle on my work bench. Nice and handy. Lucky striking. Lesley.

Awchid, that's interesting!!! I've never heard of using honey. do you use like a organic honey, that hasn't been pasturized? or does it retain it's qualities after the pasturization. Jim

I know that about honey but it doesn't contain rooting hormone. If it did, that could be the cheapest and best rooting hormone ever.

What woul dhappen if you mixed honey with Rootone to make sort of a viscous medium? Ooh, I feel an experiment coming on!

I have some rose bushes that need to be cut back. I usually only have success in the hot summer, but maybe they would root at this time of year? Anybody have an opinion on this? I hate to throw away those pieces if they might make more roses!

Suzy

Hi, When I started to use honey I just used the one in the pantry, then I thought I would be up market and used Manuka honey or you
may know it as Ti tree honey. Manuka honey is the one with an active ingredient in it that is used for healing. I have had it used on me
and it is very good. Getting back to the subject, perhaps itis the anti fungal that does the job and perhaps the honey helps to feed the cutting somehow. Wont hurt to grab a bit of honey melt it in the micro, mine is about 2ins deep , thats why I used a pill bottle I got hight without quantity and give it a try. Lesley.

Awchid, do you have to worry about ants, when using the honey? Jim

No I never had to worry about ants. I get them in my plant pots but never in my cutting trays, I guess they no whats good for them ,they
don't live long if they turn up around my plants at anytime. They cart aphids into my orange tree and mealy bugs into my orchids.
Where I am living now they are a real problem. Not to worry I have plenty of ant killer and am happy to dish it out at anytime. Lesley.

I have a related question. I just tried to root some stem cuttings, but didn't have any rooting hormone handy. Is there anything I can add to the pot after-the-fact that has rooting hormone in it, without un-planting the stem cuttings?

Happy,

I asked this question last year and got a nice long lecture about how stupid the question is, so I want to jump in here real quick so you are not subjected to that opinion. :))

Later in the thread though, somebody said that salycilic acid aka aspirin dissolved in water might have some hormonal rooting properties. Another idea was birth control pills, and more recently on another thread: honey.

Of those, the honey would probably draw ants if you just watered with melted honey-water, but I could see aspirin water as being a good experiment. And I imagine it would be benign and cause no harm if it didn't work. What were the cuttings?

Suzy

Suzy: Thanks for rescuing me (as you so often have done)! (The cuttings were from several clematis plants I yanked out by mistake! And without knowing what I was doing, I stuck them in some soil to root -- but now have learned I didn't trim them correctly so I already have an uphill battle. I should probably take the asprin myself rather than waste it on the cuttings! We already have enough ants in our house without using honey!!! Birth control pills??!! I'll leave that one alone.

Aw, You're too kind! Yeah, it was a pretty funny thread once my lecture was over. :)

Clematis are really hard for me. The Clem forum has all kinds of instructions for rooting in water in the hottest month of a year using an aquarium bubbler. Unless you already have some roots on those pups, you might want to toddle over there and see what they have to say.

Personally I'd take it that you are very experienced and pruned it in group 2. (Or whatever the group is where you prune in the spring. :)

Suzy

LOL -- I have no idea what group that baby was in! And it hadn't been pruned in years in any event. Certainly has been now! (I have a bunch of co-op clematis still waiting to get planted -- I'm determined to plant them by group -- regardless of color -- so that pruning will be easy! Untangling those vines is a pain!) I looked at the clematis instructions only enough to know I did everything wrong. Oh well, won't be the first time!

I've used pussywillow or willow tree stems in a glass of water to produce a natural rooting solution for other plants. There are several sites on the 'Net that offer "recipes" for a rooting brew. Here's a couple:
- http://www.ehow.com/how_172766_make-rooting-tonic.html
- http://www.weekendgardener.net/2007/05/make-your-own-rooting-hormone-with.htm

Good luck with your cuttings,
Sundownr

The aspirin as a rooting hormone actually rang a bell for me and brought back a funny memory from two winters ago when I put a few aspirins into the water my Christmas tree stood in, and it soon BLOOMED, - literally! It got covered with new lime-green pinecones, LOL! I didn't remember to look for roots when my husband finally took in out, - in March -!!!, but I wouldn't be surprized if I found some...

Aspirin is usually found in those packets that you get with bouquets of flowers. I thought they only preserved them.

I think it's the sugar that make the cuttings root with such success. I had some cuttings that I dunked in some rootone and they weren't doing anything for weeks. I finally watered them with some sugar water and there were roots a little while after that.

The willow and lilac and other recipe rooting hormones aren't really practical b/c not everyone has those plants, like I don't have pussywillow, and lilacs usually do better without any pruning at all and if you do, only right after they bloom. I'm pretty sure I tried the willow one before but it never got me anywhere.

I did use the aquarium with an aerator before but I think it only worked best on new growth wood. I didn't prune my clematis this spring when I should have and need to get it done! I'm going to try the honey, aspirin and aquarium method. I'm ordering some Dip N' Grow too.

Aspirin is very similar chemically to what willows produce that helps with rooting, that's why people say it can be used that way.

Capt, Sounds like a good plan, and please post a follow up on how each of them does!

What plant(s) is it you want to root?

Suzy

willow aka; salix. produce salicylic acid. the active ingredient in aspirin. Jim

Technically, aspirin is acetylsalicylic acid, that's why I said it was chemically similar, not the same. Minor detail to anyone but a chemist however!

everyone, I'll just stick to mixing my own formula, with the IBA, NAA. that way I know it's fresh and not sitting on a shelf, also I add the amount that works well for my use. and the costs are such, that I can use it on all my transplants, seedlings cuttings, for pennies. Jim

Jim: You've told be this before, so I'm being lazy to re-ask, but don't you have to tailor the mix of chemicals to what you are rooting? That is what inhibits me from getting the chemicals: it just seems like a pain to research each plant. For example, I just broke off by mistake on clematis vine. I want to root it, but I don't want to make a career out of it. Could I use the chemicals in the that case, without doing plant-specific research? Or should I just use a generic rooting gel or powder? (I've already taken the proverbial fork in the road for the clematis; that's just by way of example.)

Hap, I use the same ratio of rooting hormone on everything, which so far, has worked great. it's the growth hormone GA3 that I have to be careful with. a light misting works well, but if I get impatient, and try to hurry things along, is where I have trouble with it, excessive elongation. and with some of my Hostas, they didn't like it at all. they pulled through but I almost lost them. Jim

Thanks, HJ.

jim, thanks for your input.

if you can withstand two more questions, do you think your mix would work on flowering shrub cuttings too?

And where can someone who isn't a pro nurseryman buy such chemicals?

bonjon, I've used it on all cuttings, some are harder than others. a very good book on propagation is Making More Plants by Ken Druse. I reference it all the time. it's very specific on each genera,species of plant. I buy my plant hormones from www.super-grow.biz. because I can order small amounts, and the shipping is minimal. they also have a forum of members sharing info on use of. the mixing instructions are on the site. which is very helpful for the newcomer. the large companies, (Caisson, Phytotec, and are geared to the larger nurseries, wholesaler,) don't provide that. if you have any questions on ordering and mixing, use. feel free to ask me, once you mix your own rooting hormones and other compounds, you won't believe how easy and economical it is, you'll say, I wish I had done this years ago, I know I said that. Jim

Thanks Gentleman Jim!!! I'm going to try this.

back to the thoughts on this thread - it just occurred to me, last year Ray Schreiner (Schreiners Iris) told me I could use aspirin dissolved in water as a spray to treat for leaf spot. Leaf spot is a fungus. If that helps the antifungal discussion any. (He also said if I had to go "organic" I could slice open willow twigs and soak them a few days in water, then use the water.)

Jim, if I keep reading supergro's website will I get an ideas of the "recipes" for this dip somewhere? It looks like something new and great to learn. (but I've been up since 3am and I'm not sure I'm reading this website right!)

bonjon, well sleep on it and look at it at your leisure, there's no hurry. if you click on the product then scroll down and click on the item, there will be lots of information about it. if you order, the smallest quantity is the best to order. you use 1/32 of a teaspoon to 1 liter of the root tonic ( iba, naa ), so unless you have need for mass quantities order small. you can always order more. super-grow provides the spoon with the order. it's a 2 step proceedure to dissolve the iba, naa, acids. which is easy. let me know when you get it. and I'll explain it to you, Jim

bless you! I did sleep on it, and I'm going to order it today. Was trying to decide what size, that's good to know.

bonjon, good luck, I'm sure you'll be happy with the results. let me know when you when you receive it, if I can help, with the mixing, Jim