My favorite fragrant rosemary plant needs a good trim. I have several kinds of rosemary, but this particular plant grows upright and gets about 3 feet tall. It smells wonderful and I use it for cooking. Since I think you can never have too much rosemary, I’m going to dehydrate some of it and use the rest to increase my bounty – I’m making rosemary cuttings.
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Rooting hormone helps you grow a new plant from the cuttings of an old plant (in my case, rosemary). This is known as propagation. You can buy rooting hormone from the store or, with the items already in your cupboard, you can make your own! Apple cider vinegar, Aspirin, and even your own spit can aid your plant’s growing process.
I’m concerned about the chemicals found in commercial rooting hormones and how it might affect my family’s health, so I’ve done some research and found 7 ways to make natural homemade rooting hormone. Read on to learn more!
Why I Use Rooting Hormone
I have never been able to achieve a 100% cutting survival rate. Some plants always die – it’s just a fact of life I guess. I do know that when I take the time to use rooting hormone, I have a better success rate with the new starts. Usually in the 75% range. I’ll take that!
Rooting hormone acts as a catalyst for root growth and protects the cuttings from fungus and diseases that may have been introduced during the cutting process.
A Word About Rooting Medium
Rooting medium is the mixture that you will use to grow your new plants. It is NOT garden soil, but much lighter. In fact, it is most likely not soil at all.
You can purchase pre-made rooting medium at any garden center (they’ll call it seed starting mix) or you can use a combination of pre-moistened potting soil, perlite, vermiculite, sand, coconut coir, or sphagnum moss.
The key is to choose something that will retain water and not be too dense for the newly sprouting roots.
Seven Ideas for Rooting Hormone
Increase the Success of Your Cuttings with One of These Natural Rooting Hormones
Regardless of the method you choose, there is one important thing to remember. It’s not sanitary to stick cuttings directly into the original container of rooting hormone. The moisture on the cutting will degrade the remaining hormone in the container.
Pour a small amount of the medium into a jar or paper cup and use that for dipping. It will keep your original rooting hormone fresh and ready to use for next time.
#1 Spit on them! Use your own saliva, which is said to be a natural root enhancer. I’m not sure how it works exactly because mouths are notoriously dirty, but go ahead and give it a try. There isn’t any advance preparation needed.
Some die-hards suggested that you just give the cuttings a lick, however, that’s not practical if you have hundreds of cuttings to make or if that plant is poisonous. I say – get your son to spit in a cup and use that. He’ll love a reason to do it and you will get your cuttings rooted.
#2 Use Apple Cider Vinegar – ACV has over 30 trace elements that are beneficial to plant growth. Go lightly though because vinegar is also a good weed killer. All you need to do is mix 3 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar into 1 gallon of water and dip your cuttings in it then transfer them to the rooting medium.
Related: Here’s our step-by step guide to making ACV at home, without any of the nasty additives: Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar.
#3 Open the kitchen cabinet and grab the jar of cinnamon – Cinnamon kills fungus and bacteria and will help to keep those cuttings free of disease while rooting.
You could double the fun and dip the cuttings in saliva or willow tea and then cinnamon as they go hand in hand. Cinnamon will minimize off damping off in your seed flats as well.
#4 Honey is also naturally anti-bacterial and will benefit your new cuttings. To make a honey rooting hormone, take a few simple steps:
a.) Boil 2 cups of water
b.) Add 1 Tablespoon of honey
c.) Let the mixture cool and place it in a covered container (like a canning jar). Store your honey rooting hormone away from the light. It will last about 2 weeks.
To use: dip the cuttings in the solution then pot them up as usual.
#5 Aspirin crushed into powder and dissolved in water is also said to be an effective rooting hormone. While this might not be technically “natural” is is something you probably have around the house that could be used in a pinch.
Just add one tablet of crushed regular strength aspirin (325 mg) to warm water (1 gal.) and let the cuttings soak for several hours before potting them in the pre-made rooting medium.
#6 Make willow tea, aka willow water. Willow trees are rich in auxin hormone, which helps spur new roots faster.
Willows are the most potent in the spring when the trees begin to leaf out, but you can make this mixture any time. If you’re making willow tea in the spring, use only the stems from new growth.
Check out our DIY Willow Water, a Natural Rooting Hormone for the full directions on the process.
#7 Fresh aloe vera gel. If you have aloe plants growing in your yard, you can use the freshly squeezed aloe vera gel to make your own homemade natural rooting hormone.
One of aloe vera’s active ingredients is an anti-inflammatory component and rooting stimulant, salicylic acid. The same key component is the reason the natural rooting hormones #5 and #6 work.
Just extract the fresh gel from a mature plant’s leaves and mix it with a bit of water in a blender. Soak the cuttings in the mixture and add them to the growing medium. Spray the growing medium and plants with the remaining mix of aloe vera gel and water.
My rosemary cuttings are on the shelf and looking good! Use these 7 simple do it yourself natural rooting hormone tricks to boost the success of your cutting this year.
What is your favorite way to root cuttings? Have you used any of these techniques?
Frequently Asked Questions
What plants do bugs hate?
Well, we’ve talked about keeping fungus and bacteria away, now let’s talk about bugs. Get the following plants to keep critters at bay and maintain a healthy plantation:
- Marigolds
- Chrysanthemums
- Mint
- Basil
- Citronella grass
- Lavender
- Chives
- Petunias
- Bay leaves
- Garlic
- Rosemary
What bugs do marigolds keep away?
Marigolds are some of the most appreciated pest repellants out there, with their scent being able to keep away mosquitoes, cabbage worms, plant lice, nematodes, and much more. On top of that, they also attract beneficial insects, such as ladybugs that have an affinity for killing aphids.
What insects does mint attract?
Having mint in your garden is beneficial not only because it attracts beneficial insects but also because it repels the unwanted ones. Mint attracts bees, hoverflies, tachinid flies, and beneficial wasps. In turn, hoverflies and tachinid flies eat aphids and nasty bugs, thus providing further protection. Also, the smell of mint repels cabbage moths, houseflies, squash bugs, aphids, fleas, mosquitoes, ants, and fleas.
Does lavender repel cockroaches?
Yes, lavender repels cockroaches, and not only that but also a slew of other unwanted insects and pests. Moths, fleas, flies, and mosquitoes all shy away from lavender’s smell.
Does cinnamon kill mold in soil?
Cinnamon contains a natural and very effective fungicide that will kill any remaining Fungus. Be sure to allow the top soil to properly dry out before watering again. Once the fungus has cleared up, there is no need to continue applying the ground cinnamon to the soil.
Final Thoughts
We hope that the information you have found in this article was useful. If you think that there’s something we forgot to mention, please leave us a comment below and let us now. Also, feel free to share this article with others so that they too can take advantage of natural rooting hormone.
Great post, I never thought of rooting rosemary. I like the alternatives to using a commercial rooting hormone. Thanks for sharing your post on the HomeAcre Hop, hope to see you again tomorrow! – Nancy The Home Acre Hop
Thanks for these useful tips. Living in Africa with limited means of obtaining such materials, this will really help me and others
You and me both what part are you
Actually Rosemary contains a natural rooting hormone , place a few dozen rosemary cuttings in a small glass vial (2.5 CM or smaller in some pure water for a few minutes ) Rosemary can be rooted in pure water, but this produces very fine and weak roots. It is better to root Rosemary in course builders sand (do not use masonry sand as this is too fine to provide drainage and will cause cuttings to rot !
Will any of these work for something like lucky bamboo since it will not be transferred to soil?
I found that just sticking lucky bamboo in some soil rooted them well, I have taken several cuttings of of my big lucky bamboo plant ( which is over 3 ft tall! He’s a monster! I call him Godzilla lol.) and just stuck them in soil in a container and they rooted wonderfully!! I would root them that way and when they have rooted remove them for the soil, rinse off the excess soil, and put them in a planter with rocks and water.
I believe it’s all wrong, have nothing to do with natural hormone replacement. It’s just some antifungal advices. Reading is also wrong.
Thanks for wasting my time
Best regards
I love these ideas, thanks for sharing! I’ve recently started four cuttings with cinnamon. So far I’ve got two with roots, I’m holding out hope for the others though!
is it true really?
Pahle Kyoon nahi batayaa ?
yes take a loam soil and then cutting grow and then cover polythene root have come within one week
This was a great post thank you! I am definitely going to experiment with all these and see which one works best! So excited!
Lauren Himmelreich
Wow – I have never heard of this before! Too cool! We are going to sell our home here in the valley so that we can move up to our future homestead and build our new home there. One thing I want to take with me is some of my rosemary. I hear it is great to put around your vegetable garden because the deer HATE rosemary! Anyway, I think I will try spittiing on mine then sprinkling on the cinnamon. Mmmmmm, rosemary and cinnamon, with just of hint of last night’s garlic. 🙂
Good idea will keep away some of the ticks which deer carry that can cause Lyme disease, I have had it for years and left near crippled,
if you still have Lyme’s, use colloidal silver, it’ll kill the pathogen…
Some things to keep in mind when rooting Rosemary .
#1 Root in spring from current years growth .
#2 For best results use cuttings 3 to 5 inches long .
#3 Strip off leaves on bottom 2 inches of stem
#4 Root in damp builders sand packed tightly around stem
#5 Needs strong light and cover container with plastic film.
#6 Keep out of direct sun since too much heat will cook cutting.
#7 During rooting or afterwards keep exposed leaves dry (only water from bottom to prevent rotting )
Thanks for the great post! I just read about making willow tea in a gardening book and wanted to try it. I haven’t had much luck with rooting things in the past. I think aspirin and willow actually have the same chemical in them- I know that an old Native American/colonial remedy to relieve pain was to drink willow tea.
Have a great weekend!
Katie @ Katie’s Farm
http://katiesfarm.blogspot.com/
Yes, Katie is right–aspirin is made from the bark of the Willow (salicylic acid)!
Actually it is NOT. Aspirin is SYNTHESIZED. The chemical in willow is a PRECURSOR to the chemical aspirin.
So what if it is synthesized? The compounds used to make it are also natural and the process is the same one that the tree uses
Pussy Willow right, not a willow tree?
Nope. The willow TREE produces salicylic acid. That’s what helps the roots stay healthy. Use new shoots, bark only.
We made aspirin from willow branches in chemistry lab.
I didn’t use anything on my rosemary, put it in a clear glass vase and it rooted in about a week. Now I just need to plant in a pot and hope I can keep it thru winter.
very interesting! God bless u 4 shairing it!
I HIGHLY do not reccomend this for Succulent plants, if you place watery substances over the cut area, no matter what, it will ROT! This just happened to me, so now half of my leaves are dead. Take caution.
your leaves are dead because there are no roots to support them. Cut back the biggest leaves when making cuttings.
You must keep the cuttings at about 68°-72°F if you go above.. esp 75° & up they will rot. Just plain spring water & treat bottom exposed cut portion with your natural root hormone.. using a fish air pump with airstone bubbling under stem through media(fired clay pebbles or the moss mix) even better.. finally for best results ph needs to be 5.5 to 6.5 (acidic) tiny bit of phosphorus & seaweed ext. is acidic or perhaps a few drops of vinegar… I used to be terrible at cloning plant cuttings then I buried my head in books. Then online .. now you’re years ahead of where I was cause you’ve red this far.. now go outside n get some cuttings instead of buying them every year.. spend it on a bigger garden area & feed yourself, family & neighbors.. it was our founding fathers wishes in original constitution doc. that everyone grow a garden to be ready when the times are tough teach others what you know & love on another God bless you brothers n sisters we must stand together & keep freedom alive
God bless you too, Ernie. Thank you for the awesome input!
Thank you, Ernie, for your hard-won knowledge! I have always done poorly with cuttings, but it hasn’t deterred me! I will put your advice to good use. I, too, believe we should all have sustenance gardens, and I detest the idea of having to BUY seeds, clones, plants, and even produce. With your tips, I am confident I will have much greater success. Thank you, thank you!!
None of these worked for propagating my trees. But i combined numbers 3 and 4 and that work perfect. Thanks for this artical, trying to find one like this FOREVER.
Glad that worked for you Sam!
Thank you Sam. You combined 3 or 4 methods together or one after another? If you did one after another, then can you help to tell us the sequence of these methods please?
Don’t worry about aspirin not being natural because it is the same as willow tea. Aspirin is merely refined willow bark!
One of the most important active SYNTHETIC ingredients of hormone rooting powder is Indole-3-butyric acid, fortunately this plant hormone is also naturally present in weeping willows.
A willow tea can be made using either the bark of a willow, or preferably, as it doesn’t harm future growth the tree, spring yellow branch shoots. There are a number of ways to make the tea. This one seems to work well. Simply cut the shoots in 3/4 inch lengths into warm water. Leave for a day or two, then dip your cuttings in the tea and plant. Placing the mixtue, covered in the fridge seems to keep it usable for a few days.
There’s nothing wrong with something being synthetic; usually synthetic is better as it’s a refined, more effective version of whatever’s in nature. And as you say, IBA is found willows naturally so there’s really no difference.
So, I am at a summer camp that has some spectacular plants. All I have access to is cinnamon SUGAR. My concern is whether the sugar will have ill effects. Thoughts?
Hi Andy, it’s certainly worth a try. The sugar doesn’t have the antibacterial properties of honey, though. You can also just make cuttings and try to get them to root in water – no rooting hormone needed.
If you mix the cinn-sugar in water the sugar will disolve and the cinn will separate.
Can i Aspirin-75 for make root hormon?
I don’t know much about cuttings or plants, but I usually just put the cuttings in a paper cup filled with water! I take my cuttings from the plant, then trim off the excess leaves. I then “scrunch up” the leaves and throw it in the water with the plants.
I have no idea if this is right but my “logic” behind it is that the plant itself would contain the nutrients that the cuttings need?????
It works really good for me, though!!!
HA! I do the same thing! When I clean up the yard, I rake everything into a “hole” and cover it with dirt to be used later. Seems like the natural thing to do! LOL
I have mini compost files all over my yard too, Cindy!
I love that.
I have a grafted cactus that has 4 cacti in the pot. It was over-watered. I have removed to one that was rotting and spit & seasoned with cinnamon on it. I have now repotted the batch with fresh soil, perlite, & stone. I forgot the peat moss. Do I need to repot again? I thought the first watering might be cinnamon spit water. Should I also add honey as one more antibacterial agent?
Hi MJ, It sounds to me like you have it covered with the cinnamon. I wouldn’t repot, just keep an eye on it.
When you root cacti you should let the cuttings dry for a few days before planting them.
Hi Audrey, here’s a handy publication from Desert Gardening Guides. They know pretty much everything about cactus! https://www.dbg.org/sites/dbg.dd/files/rooting_a_cactus_cutting.pdf
So Interesting, i must give a try now……
I stuck my rosemary in a pot of dirt and compost and used about 8 small trimmings, 7 out of the group rooted, now I have a huge bush, just trimmed it. I made sure they were Most at all times.
Thank you Preparedness Mama 🙂
l love these type of ideas
Hi, I am a complete gardening novice so this is probably a daft question but here it is….
After covering the base in cinnamon what do I do then? I usually keep cuttings in vase of water until decent roots appear.
Hi Miriam, The cinnamon method is used if you are rooting cuttings in soil.
Great post! Has anyone tried the saliva method (also the easiest method)? Please post results if successful!
Thank you so much for your post. I have carnations that I want to cut and plant . Will certainly try the spit and cinnamon which my toddler will certainly enjoy
Ha! Sounds fun Charlene…
willow works fantastic!
I like this ideas but i wanna know about which species have natural plant growth hormone
My mother taught me that if its a type of tree/bush, with thick branches, to cut branch at an angle and tap end with a hammer. This breaks the membranes for easier rooting, then its put into a green glass bottle. This trick has never failed in the 18 years I’ve gardened.
Great tip TIffany!
Yes…your mother was a clever women..I did so with my cuttings in several years now..
Now I have a use for those green bottles I’ve been holding to ?
Hi Tiffany,
The green glass bottle will have to be filled with water? or is a growing medium used? like Perlite?
Many thanks
Great post! Has anyone tried the saliva method (also the easiest method)? Please post results if successful!
Rosemary usually grows long branches,so I just take a branch put it under the soil before cutting and roots grow whilst its still on the big plant,then i cut off at the end and i got another tree growing
I am only just getting into gardening. it’s a bit early for me to take cuttings but since i move in a week, I don’t have much choice therefore i thought I should try to help my cuttings along. I wondered about bee pollen? I have some and I might give it a try – whats the worst that can happen (they will die which is no biggie)? However I can find no reference to this at all. May be it is too rich for cuttings . . Anyone have any thoughts?
I have never heard that bee pollen would help cuttings root. Let me know how it works!
Nice idea thank , Can you help Me the procedures How to use these Natural rooting Hormone ?
Hi Ebisa, Take your cuttings and dip them into the rooting hormone. Prepare potting soil in a 4″ pot and stick the cuttings into it. Water well and cover with a plastic bag. Keep this on a windowsill, out of direct sunlight, until roots sprout.
Will these methods work on cuttings citrus, guava and other tropical fruit trees?
Hi Rao, I have every reason to believe they will, but I have not specifically tried them on citrus.
Many good ideas in these posts. But it is important, as an early post says, to not call all the chemicals in theese techniques “hormones” – many are anti fungal, which is good but not an auxin. I do not use strictly natural methods but with rooting gel (0.55% auxin), rooting foam, and a temperature of 75-80 degrees F I get 92-97% rooting in 20 days for green cuttings. Most of mine are dahlias, but it seems to work on almost any green or semi green plant if the cut is made properly. Auxin + temperature work wonders. The use of willow tea, if it contains auxin sounds very special but how do you know the dose? Dosing is very important in encouraging cell differentiation.
Are u a chemist? Garden novices would like the simplest ways of plant propagation instead of really wanting to know the chemical breakdown. Thanks anyway!
Wow. I can’t believe someone wouldn’t want to know the function of these things! Personally, as a gardening novice, I love to understand the function behind all these things.
Also, I would assume he is a biologist, if anything, and not a chemist.
Sounds like old wives’ tales.
HI Shelle I am wanting to my first cutting I have chosen a Oleander tree and am thinking of using the cinnamon method along with smashing the angled cut with a hammer. Then dipping in the cinnamon and putting it in the soil. Do you think this will work, or do I need to use a differnt method
You are on the right track Jason, but I don’t think I’d smash the stem. According to http://garden.org/nga/searchqa/answer/19970/ you only need to make a shallow wound on the stem by cutting away a thin piece of bark. Oleander cuttings will even root in water.
Whatever you do, do not lick an Oleander cutting. The stems are extremely poisonous!
If I’m understanding things correctly, as an option to “smashing” you can take a jacknife and split the bottom of a stem into say six equal portions, just go up a half inch or inch, and—- as far as dealing with woody stem types of flowers for keeping such as lilacs in my experience, which usually don’t keep well in a vase, either of these methods work great. I have done them both. Then lilacs do keep well.
Hi Shelle
It’s Jason again I was hoping you could tell me the best way to do a cutting of a pin oak. Where the best place to get the cutting from the original tree would be, and when would be the best time to get the cutting
Sorry Jason, I couldn’t find anything specific for taking cuttings of pin oak.
Oaks are very easy to start from an acorn…Just Google for instructions. My wife’s second grade class starts oaks each year.
Hi,
Any positive experience propagating birch trees?
Thank you in advance
It’s beautiful on theory, but the willow water method favors the trasmission of plant diseases (virus,
fungus and bacteria). I prefer to buy (ready for use) or make (using AIB in pure form) my own rooting
hormone, cleaner and safer.
The other methods with honey, aspirin, potato (a popular hoax for rooting roses) are all lies that seem truths because they are what people want to hear, but don’t resist any serious methodology to test their evidence.
They even can work with easy rooting plants, but not with the difficult ones (Roses, Camellia and Azalea).
I appreciate your ideas, thanks for stopping by.
I like these ideas. …just wondering if they’re going to be good for growing four leaf clover’s shamrock style. I’m thinking of using the clippings of dried 4 leafs and mixing them into the soil , but what do you think? Email me at aclay75@icloud.com
I can’t imagine how you would get roots from dried leaves unless you happened to also get some root clippings in the mix. Shamrocks are ridiculously prolific, self-propagating via seemingly delicate roots. I let a few stay alongside various potted plants and they cannot be eradicated. It’s a never ending struggle to keep them from invading and strangling everything else. The seemingly delicate roots seem to meld together into a super tough, strong wad.
So, the easiest way to get new shamrocks is to just plant a few. Soon you will have too many.
high all,
i am giving the saliva, honey, cinnamon mix method a try on a dainty palm branch which got broken.
let ya all know how it goes, when it grows. keep it in the Light! thanks Mama.
I’m going to give the vinegar (3)-honey(4) a go as recommended by Sam R… plus I’ll be spitting and maybe a touch of pure organic cinnamon. I have all these ingredients. In the kitchen. I’ll make one with aspirin too as I have now learned that it is made from willow bark. I’m doing this on my single Händel rose and maybe my hydrangea, though I should wait till spring with the hydrangea as it most likely won’t survive our frost Winter as a new plant.
I’ll let you know how it goes. Though nearing Fall I’m less hopeful for survival till Spring. But having just moved I can’t wait to,try these rooting hormones.
Thanks for the post.
I accidently came upon a big help in starting cuttings. I’ve done cuttings with tomatoes for years, and it usually takes several days for them to overcome the original wilt effect. So one day I went to the tomato patch with a jar of water. I took the cutting from the plant and immediately immersed it in water. That cutting never wilted, and rooted in plain water quite quickly. It would seem that the longer one leaves the cutting in the air before immersion, the more air enters the cutting, leaving a “vapor lock” type situation. Since then, I always immerse immediately, and it works like a charm.
The best readily available rooting agent I found was Thiamine or Vitamin B1. Commercially known as Benerva 1 tablet of 300mg in 750ml of water. For me it has worked satisfactorily.
Hi Bonsai,
Do you just crush the thiamine tablets, disolve in water and then put the cutting in to wait for rooting? Or do you use this to water it in soil? Thanks
When using perilite for grafting, it seems too light & airy. Should I mix it with soil
Use a combination of pre-moistened potting soil, perlite, vermiculite, sand, coconut coir, or sphagnum moss for rooting.
Indeed these 6 simple ways to make your own rooting hormone is a great blessing and a God send. I never knew there were ways other than buying rooting hormones from gardening stores that’ll become more expensive with time, if your a advid gardener and use often. Not to mention, with time, store brought rooting hormones become a lil funky or not the same quality as when you 1st buy it. To have the knowledge to make your own with everyday house products or good ol saliva, makes it easy n readily available when needed. Thank you for this wonderful post! Consider me yours from here on out!
Thank you
with the use of Asprin,i want to know the number of asprin per litre of water and how long should the cutting be kept in the mixture before potting.I want to try this method thank you.
Great ideas. I started spitting on my cuttings :))
I used before mixing honey with cinnamon, succeeded. Also, used cinnamon with honey to cover the grafting area as well as dried dates.
After using a “hormone” (yes, saliva works) I insert the cutting into the medium then cut the base of of a 2 litre plastic soft drink bottle and place it over the cutting. The cap must be left in place thereby closing the bottle. The base of the bottle must be buried into the medium. Water and place in a semi-shade or filtered sun area. This is a natural green house and has never failed me.
I’ve been hearing a lot about the dangers of rooting hormone lately so I’ll definitely be giving some of these a try.
very cool recipes. I’ve found that rooting hormone works well when rooting cuttings in a jar of plain water in a window sill. That’s my favorite way to do it because then you can see the roots forming and you can see when it’s ready to go out to the garden. Right now there’s some lantana and a few cuttings of a silver Artemisia in my kitchen window.
Great article! It’s always good to know of other alternatives to rooting hormone, I’m all about using what you have on hand.
Thanks all for the info..:)
You really need to do some research what “rooting hormone” is.
(Hint, it’s a real thing.) indole-3-butyric acid (IBA)
It’s not spit or honey or any of those other things you suggested.
Jason does sound like a biologist, as am I; I’m not sure why that would make someone feel his point is anything other than helpful like everyone else’s is. Questions can be asked, right.
Anyhow, he’s pointing out the fact that we want to turn leaf shoots into root shoots. In other words, we are trying to turn cells that were designed to make leaves into cells that make roots. It really is nothing less than amazing.
All of these ideas are brilliant and as far as I know they’ll be helpful in rooting cuttings. I also know that all or most will help because the will prevent fungus and or bacteria from destroying the cutting before it has had enough time to root. And honestly, that’s good enough for me, even though I know buying rooting hormone might be better or faster. I simply don’t want to deal with finding it and buying it when I have stuff at home, you know?
Thank you for compiling all of this fantastic helpful information.
One more thing I thought of. Regarding sugar and aspirin – which definitely has enough salicylic acid to consider being a source as good as willow tea, I’ve treated acne with it – when I cut flowers for the house, I, of course, don’t have that little “flower care” packet a florist gives you. I crush an aspirin (antibacterial?) and add that and sugar to the water every few days. The flowers last twice as long that way.
The flowers can use that sugar as food. I really don’t know how it works beyond that, but it does. Mom shared it with me. Sorry about the horribly, unbelievably complex run-on sentence above.
oops. my main point is that the six ideas presented here won’t directly “tell” the plant’s leaf shoot to make roots like true rooting hormone will, but they’ll help buy the plant enough time to do it on its own just based on the fact that protected it and placed the part that we want to become a root into soil or water, while leaving the sunny end up.
I know it sounds crazy, but sometimes when I’m pruning or deadheading, I’ll pull a stem off by accident… I stick it in a glass of water and in my window… Sometimes they root, sometimes they don’t… You find out which plants are the hardiest this way… I’ve gotten some rose bushes, a lilac bush, some rose of Sharon’s… Sometimes, when I pull something on accident, I just stick it back in the dirt and it’ll root… I usually split hostas, but sometimes I’ll pull off a leaf… Sometimes when I stick it in the ground, it roots!!! God is awesome!
Thanks for the tips. I’m going to try them all. I’m moving away from my home town for the first time, so I’m hoping to take local bellbind with me in a pot to remind me of home.
With method #2 ( apple cider vinegar), can I prepare the solution ahead of time and use it as needed or do i have to make it fresh each time? If you can prepare it ahead of time, how long does it usually last?
can you use a rooting hormone on cut potatoes?
For the make rooting powder :
1) Buy a can of root hormones. This hormone is called indole butyric acid. This is a powder composition.
2) Buy a pack of baby powder from the pharmacy!
3) Mix baby powder and hormone in 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1% ratios in separate containers.
4) Dissolve the rooting hormone with ethanol. If you fail, use Koh.
5) Mix the mixture in baby powder to create a paste.
6) Powder the mortar after drying.
Now enjoy the root powder.
7) Use 0.2% and 0.4% for soft cuttings.
8) Use 0.6% and 0.8% for half-timber cuttings.
9) Use 1% concentration for rough cuttings.
You can sell this technology!
You can sell this technology!
You can sell this technology!
You can sell this technology!
I am fascinated by the process! Gained a ton of information!
Thank you all!
I did try this 2 years ago with saliva and cinnamon. It worked!
I rooted cactus shoots. They are still thriving.
If aloe is a root stimulant does an aloe leaf need a root stimulant if you were to try to get a leaf to root?
Why do people go to a site that have NATURAL remedies for that work, aloe vera really does work. As someone who wants to learn about doing something that does not use chemicals, Lord knows we have enough in in our environment now.Pile it on and try it out you might just learn more than you think.
Good post Thank you, I liked the first method
I sure hope this works! I dipped the cut leaves into honey water mixture, let dry a little and then into cinnamon and then one third down into cactus soil. I did the same with two broken aloe vera roots of which I cut off root rot damage apx three weeks ago. The leaves are still puffy. I had hoped they would have gone back to their flat V shape. Not happening so I went ahead and re-potted them. How long before I know its working?
Thank you for bringing up these useful gardening tips, which I had nearly forgotten. My father was a gifted natural gardener. He could grow and root ANYTHING. You have reminded me that his rooting method of choice was spit and cinnamon. Occasionally, he used aspirin in water for roses and other similar flowering plants. He was quite successful with grafting plants and trees, especially citrus. I believe aloe was used there. He would soak a strip of fabric or gauze bandage in the aloe to wrap the graft. He had a huge spread of aloe plants which mother also used for kidney issues. Recently I had problems with fungus on my Bougainvillea bush. Cinnamon in water painted onto the stems did the trick. I think it is time for me to try cinnamon and spit to propagate that Bougainvillea!
And thank you too for confirming that people have been using natural rooting hormones with great success for ages, Julia. We need more people like your Dad. Wishing you tons of success with your Bougainvillea!