How to Make Your Own Rooting Hormones

Rooting hormone helps the cuttings grow stronger and create strong roots. Although many rooting powders or juices are available at gardening stores, you can also make your own with things you probably already have in your home. Honey or aloe helps prevent bacteria and fungi from growing on the shoots, while aspirin or willow branches provide growth hormone that helps the roots grow faster.

Table of Contents

Prepare rooting hormone with honey

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Bring 2 cups (480 ml) of water to a boil and reduce heat. Pour tap water into a pot and place on the stove over high heat. Wait for the water to heat up until it boils. Reduce heat to a simmer before moving on to the next step.

You can also use purified water or filtered water if you are afraid that tap water has foreign substances.

Stir 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of honey into the water and wait for the solution to cool. Use standard store-bought honey for rooting hormone. Ladle honey into a pot of simmering water and stir thoroughly with a long-handled spoon. As soon as the honey is completely dissolved in the water, turn off the heat and let the pot of water cool completely. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Honey has antibacterial, antimicrobial, and antifungal properties, in addition to helping to support healthy rooting.

Tip: Cover the lid while waiting for the solution to cool to prevent the solution from contaminating.

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Soak the cuttings in the honey solution for 2-3 hours before planting. After the rooting hormone has completely cooled, soak the cuttings in the pot so that the bottom 2.5 – 5 cm of the stem is submerged in the solution. Soak the branches for at least 2-3 hours before cutting them into the soil to allow the solution to infuse. ^{[2] X Research Source}

You can also dip the bottom ends of the cuttings in honey before planting them in the ground for an extra layer of protection against fungi and bacteria.

Using aloe as rooting hormone

Use a spoon to push the gel in the aloe leaf out. Use a clean, sharp knife to cut a healthy aloe leaf. Lay the aloe leaf on a cutting board with the pointed end facing you. Press the back of the spoon on the pointed end of the aloe leaf and press firmly towards the other end of the leaf. The gel in the leaves will be pushed to the cutting head placed on the cutting board. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Aloe vera gel helps protect the cuttings from bacterial and fungal infections in the soil.
You can also use store-bought aloe vera gel if it doesn’t contain other additive ingredients.

Crush the aloe vera gel in a cup until it becomes liquid. Scoop the gel in the aloe vera leaf into a small cup and stir with a spoon to dissolve the large pieces. Use the back of a spoon to crush the gel. When the aloe vera gel can flow like water, you can use it as a rooting hormone. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Add 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of water to the aloe vera gel if you can’t grind it to a liquid texture.

Dip the tips of the cuttings in aloe vera gel before planting. When you’re ready to plant, dip the cut end of the twig in aloe vera gel. Rotate the twig so that the gel coats it evenly around the branch before inserting it into the soil. The aloe vera gel that wraps around the lower end of the stem will help prevent bacteria or fungi from entering the branch. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

Making rooting hormone with aspirin

Crush 1 uncoated aspirin into a fine powder. Take a regular uncoated 325 mg aspirin tablet. Place 1 aspirin tablet in the mill and rotate the top of the mortar. Press firmly on the rotating end of the mortar to crush the pill inside. Continue grinding until the tablet becomes a fine powder. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

You can buy a pill mill at the drugstore.
Aspirin contains the active ingredient salicylic acid, which prevents bacteria and fungi from growing on the cuttings to help them take root.

Alternatively: If you don’t have a pill grinder, you can also use a ziplock plastic bag and use a heavy object to crush the pills.

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Mix crushed aspirin with 1 cup (240ml) of distilled water. Pour 1 cup (240 ml) of distilled water into a glass or jar and add the aspirin powder. Use a spatula to stir the powder in the water until completely dissolved. If there are some undissolved pieces left, let the solution stand for about an hour, then stir and test again.

You can also add an uncrushed aspirin to the water, but it will take longer to dissolve.
Tap water is fine, but aspirin can be difficult to dissolve.

Make a hormone solution from the willow tree

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Take 2 cups (300 g) of young twigs from the willow tree. Take the willow branches in the spring when the young branches sprout on the tree. Look for verdant branches and shoots smaller than a pencil diameter for rooting hormone. Use garden shears or a sharp knife to cut the willow branches at a 45-degree angle to prevent the tree from rotting. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

You can use any willow to make rooting hormone.
Do not use dead branches because there are absolutely no natural rooting hormones in them.

Alternately: You can also take mature willow bark. If using bark, you need to take 3 cups (400 g), because the bark contains less hormones.

Cut the willow branches into 2-3 cm pieces. Using a sharp knife or pruning shears, cut the willow branches into small pieces. Cut about 2-3 cm long to make it easier to soak later. ^{[9] X Research Source}

Willows contain salicylic acid and indpe butyric acid, which are natural growth hormones that help the branches take root quickly when planted in the ground.
Cut pieces of bark into equal pieces if you’re using bark instead of twigs.

Place the willow pieces in boiling water and soak for 24 hours. Bring 4 liters of water to a boil over high heat. Turn off the heat as soon as the water boils and pour in the willow pieces. Cover the pot and soak the willow branches in the pot for 24 hours. During this time, the hormones from the willow branches will seep out and mix with the water.

Adjust the recipe if you don’t want to do a lot of rooting hormone, but keep the ratio of 2 cups (300g) of willow branches and 4 liters of water.

Pour the solution from the pot into a glass jar with a lid. After the solution cools, carefully pour it into another container. Do not let the willow branch fall into the jar because the solution has absorbed all the nutrients of the willow branch. After filling the vial with the solution, you can close the lid and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.

You can throw away the willow branches or make compost after using it as a hormone solution.

Advice

You can also dip the cutting ends of the cuttings in cinnamon powder before planting to prevent fungus and pathogens from arising.
Try diluting 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of apple cider vinegar with 4 quarts of water to make a different hormone. Be careful, though, because too much vinegar will kill the cuttings. ^{[10] X Research Source}

Things you need

Prepare rooting hormone with honey

Honey
Pot
Kitchen
Mixing spoon

Using aloe as rooting hormone

Fresh aloe
Knife
Spoon
Chopping board
Glass

Making rooting hormone with aspirin

Uncoated Aspirin
Distilled water
Glass

Make a hormone solution from the willow tree

Willow branches or bark
Sharp knife or garden scissors
Pot
Kitchen
Glass jar with lid

Steps

Prepare rooting hormone with honey

Using aloe as rooting hormone

Making rooting hormone with aspirin

Make a hormone solution from the willow tree

Advice

Things you need

Prepare rooting hormone with honey

Using aloe as rooting hormone

Making rooting hormone with aspirin

Make a hormone solution from the willow tree

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