Cuttings are done differently depending on type of plant, so no one-size-fits-all tutorial is available. You can either look up correct propagation methods for the specific plant online or get something like the AHS's text on Plant Propagation or Ken Druse's Making More Plants. Most commercial rooting powders contain the same product - a long scientific term usually shortened to IBA. And they are used similarly, most often as a dipping powder but sometimes as a liquid. It's just the concentrations that change. And you can make your own rooting hormone out of willow water - very inexpensive and just as effective. FWIW, I would not use a rooting hormone on an established plant - that is not what it was designed for. There are some starter fertilizers that do have root stimulators incorporated but they are different form the rooting hormones.

Of course! Why wouldn't they be? If you're worried about it, however, next time just use pure honey instead of rooting hormone. To make rooting hormone soak the yellow-tipped shoots of a weeping willow tree in water. A tea made from the bark of a willow tree is also effective. When using the shoots or bark soak them for 24 hours prior to using. Rooting hormone is usually sold as indole butyric acid (IBA). It simply encourages the cuttings to form new roots.

>> IBA is strictly a synthetic chemical substance. It is NOT found in plant tissues. It actually has been discovered in several plant species. For example, see the work done by Jutta Ludwig-Müller titled "Indole-3-butyric acid in plant growth and development" back in November 2000 (Plant Growth Regulation Journal, Volume 32, Issue 2-3, pages 219-230). Basically, it was found that some plant species do produce IBA using IAA as the precursor. Not that it really matters though >grin>> IBA is generally easily available and very effective in inducing root formation at certain times of the year. Most commercially marketed rooting preparations are quite expensive and not very effective. IBA is good stuff and works well. You can find it very inexpensively at Wallyworld, K-mart, Home Depot and other places.. a 2oz bottle of Schultz Take-Root (0.1% IBA) powder can be had for around $6 and is good for several thousand cuttings. I've used it for years and it sure is easier than trying to make my own rooting mix.

I made several hardwood cuttings of Vitex agnus-castus (Chaste Tree) on November 8, 2007. They were then dipped in Green Light Rooting Hormone (purchased at Lowe's)and placed in styrafoam cups of 1/2 peat moss and 1/2 perlite mix, watered, and placed in a plastic zip-lock bag. First growth appeared November 21, 2007. Since then several cuttings have sprouted new leaves. As an experiment I cut several more today and repeated the process. I'll check them in a few weeks. I will try to cut a few more pieces some time in December and repeat the whole process. Needless to say there are no leaves on the plant at this time. The cutting are 3 to 4 inch pieces from a 12 inch branch. They are in the laundry room (no direct sun)on a shelf with a 60 watt bulb left on 24/7 temperature is a constant 70F +/- 5F