How to Make Your Own Flower Cutting Rooting Hormone? 7 Methods to Improve Survival Rate

Recently, many gardening enthusiasts have reported problems with flower cuttings at home, such as few roots, no roots, or low survival rates, and asked if there are good solutions. After organizing, I'm sharing seven tips to improve the rooting effect and survival rate of flower cuttings - homemade rooting hormones. The raw materials for these seven types of rooting hormones are all common household items, making them simple and money-saving to prepare, and they can also help your plants grow vigorously with lush branches and sturdy roots and stems.

1. White Sugar Solution Rooting Hormone

White sugar used at home is an excellent raw material for making rooting hormone solution, and it is relatively simple to make and use. How to use: Melt white sugar and hot water at a ratio of 9:1, let it cool, then place the pre-cut cuttings into the solution and soak for 1 hour. Remove and rinse the cut surface with clean water, cut off part of the cut end with a knife, and they are ready for direct planting. Advantages: Fast rooting, abundant roots, and high survival rate. Even for difficult-to-root plants like azaleas and camellias, the survival rate can reach over 90%.

2. Vitamin B12 Solution Rooting Hormone

How to use: Dilute vitamin B12 rooting hormone with water at a 1:1 ratio, then place the cuttings into the solution for about 10 minutes before use. Advantages: It can accelerate rooting speed and promote the healing of cutting wounds.

3. Rice Vinegar Solution Rooting Hormone

Because rice vinegar contains acetic acid and other nutrients, it has a good promoting effect on plant rooting. How to use: Mix high-quality rice vinegar with cool boiled water at a 1:100 ratio to make a solution, then soak the soil-insertion portion of the cuttings in the solution for 10 hours. Remove and dry in the shade before planting. Advantages: It can greatly improve the survival rate of cuttings and make seedlings more robust; for vine plant cuttings, the better the rice vinegar quality, the better the rooting effect.

4. Sucrose Solution Rooting Hormone

How to use: Dissolve sucrose in boiling water to make a 5%-10% solution, let it cool, then place the cuttings in the solution and soak for 5 hours before planting. Note: For slow-rooting cuttings, the solution concentration can be moderately increased to better promote root growth.

5. Honey Rooting Hormone

How to use: For asexually propagated flowers, dip the cuttings slightly in honey before planting, which can effectively improve the survival rate and promote rooting.

The above are relatively common cutting rooting hormones that many people have likely used. Below are two less common rooting hormone preparation methods:

6. Willow Branch Extract Rooting Hormone

Because willow bark contains large amounts of growth hormones, it greatly helps with cutting rooting. How to use: Crush willow branches and place them in a container, pour in water and soak for 24 hours, remove the debris, keep the soaked water, then immerse the cuttings in the water for 4 hours. Remove and dry before use.

7. Aspirin Solution Rooting Hormone

Aspirin solution contains salicylic acid, which is also quite effective at promoting plant rooting. How to use: Dissolve 0.01 g of aspirin in 100 mg of water to make a 0.01% concentration aspirin solution rooting hormone. Place the cuttings in it and soak for 1 hour, remove and dry before use.

Additionally, before transplanting plants, soaking the root system in a 0.05% concentration aspirin solution can help shorten the transplant recovery period.

What to Do If Flower Cuttings Die Easily? How to Improve the Survival Rate of Flower Cuttings

Flower Bonsai Network introduction: Today, the Flower Bonsai Network editor shares an article about what to do if flower cuttings die easily and how to improve the survival rate of flower cuttings. Let's take a look.

Many flower enthusiasts like to propagate their own Schlumbergera (Christmas cactus), roses, and so on. But every time they take cuttings, a few branches always fail because they don't root, which is really painful to see.

Below, the editor shares several rooting hormone preparation and usage methods. You can try them to see if they improve the survival rate.

Rice Vinegar

In addition to containing 1-5% acetic acid with its pungent odor, rice vinegar actually also contains many nutrients needed for plant growth, which can promote plant rooting.

Method:

Mix rice vinegar with cool boiled water at a 1:100 ratio. This can be used to soak cuttings of vine plants such as grapes. The higher the quality of the rice vinegar, the better.

Soak the lower portion of the cuttings that will be inserted into the soil in the solution for 8-12 hours, then take out the cuttings, dry them in the shade, and they are ready for planting.

Aspirin Solution

Aspirin solution contains salicylic acid, and salicylic acid is a powerful tool for promoting plant rooting.

Method:

Before taking cuttings, soak the cuttings in a 0.01% aspirin solution (0.01 g aspirin dissolved in 100 ml water = 0.01% aspirin solution) to significantly improve the germination rate.

Alternatively, before transplanting flowers and trees, soaking them in a 0.05% aspirin solution can greatly shorten the transplant recovery period and improve the survival rate of transplanted flowers and trees.

Willow Branch Soak Solution

Willow branches and willow bark contain growth hormones that can greatly promote rooting of cuttings.

Method:

Crush willow branches with a hammer or mallet, then place them in a basin or other container, pour in water and soak for 1 day.

After soaking, remove the branches and keep only the water. The next day, place the cuttings in and soak for a full day (soaking longer is fine too, as willow water also contains components that inhibit bacterial growth, so it can serve as disinfection).

Then take out the cuttings, dry them in the shade, and proceed with normal planting.

Honey Water Solution

When asexually propagating flowers, dip the cuttings in honey and then plant them. This can improve the survival rate and promote rooting.

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 contains many trace elements needed for plant growth. Soaking in vitamin B12 solution has a promoting effect on rooting.

Method:

Dilute vitamin B12 injection with an equal amount of cool boiled water.

Then place the portion of the cuttings that will be inserted into the soil into the diluted solution and soak for 5 minutes. Remove, dry in the shade, and then plant normally.

Potassium Permanganate Solution

The main role of potassium permanganate solution in cuttings is actually disinfection, providing clean cuttings and clean soil to avoid contamination of the cuttings, thereby improving the rooting rate and success rate of cuttings.

Method:

First prepare a 0.1%-0.5% potassium permanganate solution, then place the portion of the cuttings to be inserted into the soil in the potassium permanganate solution and soak for 10-12 hours. Remove, dry in the shade, and then plant normally.

Sucrose Solution

Method:

Dissolve some sucrose in boiling water to make a 5%-10% sucrose solution. After it cools naturally, immerse the base of cuttings of easy-to-root flowers such as roses, figs, goji berries, and poinsettias in the sugar solution for 4-6 hours before planting.

For slow-rooting cuttings, the sugar solution concentration should be doubled (the higher the sugar solution concentration, the shorter the soaking time).

Measures to Improve the Survival Rate of Rooting Flower and Tree Cuttings

Some trees and flowers are relatively difficult to root from cuttings; even when the callus tissue of the cutting has already formed a lump, roots still fail to grow. Based on the specific conditions of the cuttings, the following corresponding methods can be adopted to achieve relatively good results:

1. Clean Water Treatment

The purpose of clean water treatment is to reduce or eliminate substances in the cuttings that hinder rooting. Tie the cuttings into small bundles, soak the lower ends in water, change the water once a day, and cultivate under shaded and moisture-retaining conditions for 7 to 10 days, then treat with rooting hormone before planting.

2. Cutting Period

Tree species or varieties differ in heredity, and the amounts of nutrients, rooting-inducing substances, and rooting-inhibiting substances in their bodies directly affect the difficulty and speed of cutting rooting. In different seasons, the content and interactions of various substances in the cuttings also affect the rooting quality of the cuttings. Therefore, when taking cuttings, it is necessary to carefully understand the rooting habits of the cutting variety and accurately grasp the suitable cutting period for different tree species or varieties. For example, white hibiscus, lilac, pine and cypress, and Chinese fir are mainly cut in spring; camellia, osmanthus, boxwood, bougainvillea, and cherry blossom have high survival rates when cut in summer; excellent varieties of rose, plum blossom, hibiscus mutabilis, eucalyptus, and olive have good results when cut in autumn; in northern regions, cutting in greenhouses or plastic tunnels in winter, using seedlings to propagate seedlings, makes rooting very easy.

3. Disinfection and Sterilization

Softwood cutting propagation relies on leaf photosynthesis to convert carbon dioxide in the air into carbohydrates and synthesize natural rooting hormones and other substances beneficial to rooting. This is the key factor for cutting rooting. As long as the cuttings are kept from rotting and deteriorating, maintaining normal physiological activity and exerting their own physiological functions, they will certainly root, survive, and form new individuals. At the same time, tree species and flowers that are difficult to root have very long rooting times, generally producing adventitious roots only after 20 days, and some varieties need 40 days or longer. In the long high-humidity environment, rot disease can easily occur, so great attention must be paid. Before and after cutting, strictly sterilize the cuttings and the surrounding environment, and spray chemicals regularly every week during the rooting process. Commonly used fungicides include chlorothalonil, carbendazim, or thiram.

4. Foliar Fertilization

Because difficult-to-root cuttings take a long time to root, the reduction and consumption of rooting substances need timely supplementation. Generally, 15 days after cutting, spray the leaves with substances beneficial to rooting, such as borax, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, indolebutyric acid, vitamin B1, kangluling, and nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and other fertilizers. The spraying concentration should be dilute, once every 5 days, mostly in the evening. However, further in-depth research is still needed on what substances are more beneficial for rooting in different cutting varieties. For example, olive cuttings need boron to participate in rooting, and spraying 0.5% superphosphate or 0.1% urea after cutting azaleas, gardenias, and others can promote root formation. In short, foliar fertilization is beneficial to rooting in all cutting varieties.

5. Using Seedlings to Propagate Seedlings

Using one- or two-year-old cutting seedling branches for cutting again, also called "re-cutting wood," significantly improves the rooting rate of cuttings. After repeated cutting over multiple cycles, the regenerated seedlings have juvenile characteristics and root easily. This is very effective for evergreen broadleaf trees, flowers, conifers, and other difficult-to-root varieties when using seedlings to propagate seedlings. Larger-scale factory-style seedling production can also be carried out in plastic tunnels or greenhouses, which is a good method for softwood cutting of difficult-to-root varieties.