Photo courtesy of sarcozona at Flickr.com.
One effective way to propagate plants is through cuttings, which are much more likely to develop new roots quickly if the cut ends are dipped in root hormone powder. If you plant the dipped cuttings immediately, you’ll get fast, healthy root development in almost every case.
Although it’s chemically a weak acid, root hormone is produced naturally by plants, and it’s perfectly safe when used as directed (in other words, don’t try to eat it). Some brands also contain a helpful natural fungicide to inhibit rot and increase the likelihood of successful rooting.
If you’d prefer not to use a chemically-produced root hormone powder, there are rooting gels available that are made from organic soybeans; however, studies have shown that they aren’t nearly as effective as non-organic root hormone powders. And finally, you can create a weak root hormone solution by chopping up willow twigs and boiling them in water. Let the solution cool, then water the new cuttings copiously with the resulting willow tea.
One final tip: whatever method you use to encourage new root growth, be sure you take your cuttings from a part of the stem with leaves. This is especially important with flowers such as roses; the stems near the flowers themselves lack rooting cells to stimulate.
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