Gardening with Rooting Hormone

Do you have a plant in your yard that you absolutely love? Does your neighbor, friend, or local businesses have landscaping you adore? It is possible for you to have these plants without digging them up or even buying them. You can use rooting hormone to clone any plant you desire.

What exactly is rooting hormone, you ask? Rooting hormone is a liquid or powder that you apply to cuttings from a plant to encourage new root growth. For beginners, I would recommend Schultz's rooting hormone. It comes in a powder and uses indole-3-butyric acid as the active ingredient (source).

Before you go chopping parts of your favorite plants off, you need to have just a couple of things. First, you will need a place to plant your new cuttings. A small pot or tray filled with potting soil or any medium you desire will be a good spot. You will need some scissors or a sharp knife. In addition, you will need a small container to pour the rooting hormone powder into.

At this point, you are ready to begin. Choose a plant that you want to clone. It needs to be a very healthy plant, and it needs to have recent growth. Woody stems make it almost impossible for a cutting to root. New, soft growth is much easier to work with. Cuttings should be between two and six inches long. I suggest on the longer side as I prefer to have a good amount in the growing medium to help support the cutting vertically. I recommend taking two to three times as many cuttings as you wish to clone with rooting hormone. Your first time will be a little trial and error, and you may loose a percentage of your cuttings.

Now that you have your cuttings ready, pour a small amount of the rooting hormone into a small container. You can use it straight from the jar, but contamination can possibly be an issue. If bacteria or fungi are present, it could possibly spread from contaminated rooting hormone. At this point, lightly moisten the clipped ends of the cuttings and dip into the rooting hormone as deep as you plant to bury them. The rooting hormone should cover the cutting completely, but not be caked on. Tap any excess off. Immediately plant the new cutting.

You should mist your new cuttings frequently. Make sure they never completely dry out. They should also receive plenty of filtered light. With proper care and maintenance, your new cuttings should have a beginners root system in three to five weeks. In time, you can become an expert at cloning with rooting hormone and have a whole yard full of expensive foliage for under ten dollars!