Homemade Rooting Hormone - 7 Recipes to Make Your Own (2024)

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Homemade rooting hormone is ideal for propagating plants and shrubs – here are 7 recipes to make your own!

There are plenty of different ways to make homemade rooting hormone. These are used to help significantly improve the growth of roots when you’re cloning a plant or growing from root cuttings, a stem cutting or leaves, such as begonias or primroses.

While I typically use willow water for my organic rooting hormone, sometimes these other options prove to be easier for a lot of gardeners. If you’re interested in growing healthier and stronger roots, then check out these different ways to make homemade DIY rooting hormone today!

Homemade Rooting Hormone – Different Ways to Make Your Own

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We’ve got seven different recipes for making rooting hormone for plants listed below. So make one (or more) of these recipes and give it a try. Want to buy it instead? We’ve even got a recommendation for what we feel is the best root hormone available on the market and you can buy it online.

How can I make natural rooting hormone at home?

You can use the below ingredients to make do it yourself rooting hormone at home and increase your chances of success when propagating plant cuttings. I have listed a handful of ways to maximize your root growth from cuttings with simple supplies most of you have at home.

Honey Rooting Hormone

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To make honey rooting hormone you’ll need to place 1 tablespoon of honey into 2 cups of boiling water. Allow this mixture to cool and store inside an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. You’ll need to store this honey rooting hormone away from light when storing it for later use.

Apple Cider Vinegar Rooting Hormone

You’ll want to be careful when using apple cider vinegar for homemade rooting hormone; too much will kill the plant. Mix 3 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar into one gallon of water.

You’ll need to keep this stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Then, when you are ready to use, dip your plants into the apple cider vinegar rooting hormone and transfer them to a rooting medium.

Using Aspirin

While this option isn’t as natural as the other options, using aspirin as a rooting hormone is doable for people who may not have access to use the other more natural mixtures right now.

You’ll add one regular strength 325 mg aspirin to 1 gallon of warm water. You’ll need to let your cuttings soak in this liquid rooting hormone for several hours before planting.

Aloe Vera Rooting Hormone

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Take some of the natural gel from your aloe vera plant and place it in the blender with some water. You’ll only need a little aloe vera gel and a little water mixed together.

Then take root rooting hormone and allow the cuttings to soak in this blended-up mixture for several hours before transferring to your potting soil.

Using Saliva

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This is one of the options that may not be as fantastic as some of my other recommendations, but using saliva on plants works. I’ve heard of people licking their cuttings to help enhance root growth, but that could take hours!

Instead, simply spit on the bottom of the cuttings and place in your root medium to use this saliva homemade rooting hormone option.

Willow Water Rooting Hormone

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This is by far my favorite homemade rooting hormone option; willow water or willow tea as some may call it. It’s a little trickier to make homemade willow water, but you can follow my DIY willow water rooting hormone recipe here. If you’ve got access to willow trees, try it!

Using Cinnamon

Cinnamon as a rooting hormone works best along with some other method, so this is used in conjunction with one of the homemade natural rooting hormone options listed. This spice will help naturally fight off fungus and bacteria on your cuttings so that the roots can grow healthy. You can mix a little cinnamon with your willow water or apple cider vinegar to maximize root growth.

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You can purchase commercial rooting hormones from a local nursery or an online garden shop. This brand of rooting hormone is excellent (we think it’s the best rooting hormone available commercially). We used this years ago when we grew an entire laurel hedge from cuttings. Want to see how we did it? For under $10 at the time, we grew an entire fast growing hedge.

You can also buy various types of rooting hormone powder, like these brands.However using natural remedies to boost root growth from cuttings is an ideal option for keeping the plants healthy and minimizing the pesticides or non-natural poisons that can be included in some store-bought rooting hormone options.

Use any of these homemade rooting hormone recipes to grow plants from cuttings this year.

I hope that this list of different ways to make organic rooting hormone has encouraged you to think of new ways to boost root growth with your cuttings.

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Homemade Rooting Hormone - 7 Recipes to Make Your Own (2024)

FAQs

Does apple cider vinegar work as a rooting hormone? ›

A small amount of apple cider vinegar is all you need to create this organic rooting hormone, and too much may prevent rooting. (Vinegar for garden use actually includes using apple cider vinegar to kill weeds.) A teaspoon of vinegar in 5 to 6 cups (1.2-1.4 L.) of water is enough.

What can be used in place of rooting hormone? ›

Rooting Hormone Alternatives - Effective DIY Substitutes
  • Discover the Benefits of Using Cinnamon Powder.
  • Extracting Aloe Vera Gel for Root Treatment.
  • Make Use of Honey's Natural Rooting Properties.
  • Leverage the Power of Willow Water in Your Garden.
  • Unlock Plant Growth With Apple Cider Vinegar.
  • Conclusion.
Dec 19, 2023

What is the best natural rooting hormone? ›

Cinnamon works great as a rooting agent and works just as well as your typical hormone rooting powder. With the help of a little cinnamon powder, you can give your plants a quick start!

What helps cuttings root faster? ›

Success factors for rooting your cuttings

They'll root faster with plenty of sunlight, but avoid setting them in direct sun. Temperature is also important, the warmer the better to speed things up. For cuttings that are more valuable or difficult, adding a little aquarium pump to oxygenate the water will help a lot.

Does cinnamon work as a rooting hormone? ›

Similarly, cinnamon also does not contain any rooting hormones. Cinnamon has some antimicrobial properties so it might help prevent bacterial growth that could harm your cutting. But it will not help your cuttings to create roots.

Is Aloe Vera good for rooting hormone? ›

Did you know that Aloe Vera can be used as a natural rooting hormone for your plants? 🌱💚 Aloe Vera contains enzymes that stimulate root growth, making it a great alternative to commercial rooting hormones.

Can I use hydrogen peroxide as rooting hormone? ›

Yes, hydrogen peroxide is considered as a rooting hormone for cuttings. The paper states that exogenous application of hydrogen peroxide promotes adventitious rooting in mung bean and cucumber hypocotyl cuttings.

Can you mix honey and cinnamon for rooting hormone? ›

Preparing the Rooting Hormone:

In a container, add three tablespoons of aloe vera gel. Add one tablespoon of honey to the container. Finally, incorporate one teaspoon of cinnamon. Mix the solution thoroughly to ensure all three ingredients are dissolved properly.

What can be put on the end of plant cuttings to promote growth? ›

Several synthetic forms of auxin are sold as “rooting hormone.” Though some plants will root readily without treatment, application of rooting hormone to the base of the cutting will often improve your chance for success.

What is the ingredient of most rooting hormones? ›

The active ingredient is indolebutyric acid (IBA) which is a synthetic rooting chemical that is widely used because it promotes root development in a wide variety of plants without being toxic to the plant.

Is baking soda a rooting hormone? ›

Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and rooting hormone are two completely different substances that serve different purposes: Baking soda: Baking soda is a commonly used leavening agent in baking, but it can also have other uses.

Is honey a good rooting hormone? ›

Honey As A Root Hormone: How To Root Cuttings With Honey. Did you know that honey may contain enzymes for promoting root growth in plants? It's true. Many people have found success with using honey to root cuttings.

Is Aloe Vera a rooting hormone? ›

Did you know that Aloe Vera can be used as a natural rooting hormone for your plants? 🌱💚 Aloe Vera contains enzymes that stimulate root growth, making it a great alternative to commercial rooting hormones.

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