I was sorta tempted to try Imio root recently, but given that the rooting powder works most of the time… figured it was kinda silly to switch.
FWIW most of the rooting hormones have the same active ingredient, IBA.
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Exactly it’s all about the percentage used
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8 is superior to clonex, foop , dip n grow , and others i have tried . The big bottle of powder will last me years and i take lots of cuts .
JMHO
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Hormex Rooting Powder #8 - Rooting Hormone for Moderately Difficult to Root Plants - Fast & Easy Way to Clone Plants from Cuttings - Stronger, Healthier Roots Using Cloning Powder - 0.8 IBA https://a.co/d/91kgxZO
At 17.49 with free shipping on Amazon, when my dip n grow gets low, I’ll definitely be grabbing the #8 for future use.
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I used a Bottle of Hormex number 8 that was from 1999 and it rooted everyone of those cuts.Hormex #8 doesn’t have a shelf life like Clonex and doesn’t need to be stuck in the Fridge to keep it longer.The lifespan of that powder is well worth the price i get it for cheaper than clonex.You dont have to use much at all just make sure the end of the cut is packed in a little powder to plug that end cut and dip the sides s little thats it.Ill never go back to clonex ever.
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Working in production nurseries they use the cheapest gels out there, the powders can cause issues because they don’t seal the stem to prevent a water bubble from blocking airflow up the stem. They’re all basically the same hormone and the actual uptake by the plant is so minimal that concentration shouldn’t really be a concern.
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first attempt with foop dual pack gel and spray went well. not sure why people thought there was mold in the gel, was pure brown liquid in mine.
I found one for you sweetie! Good luck.
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Is there anything special about the Hormex #8 Rooting Powder? Other than the .8% IBA?
The Hormex is $51 on amazon.ca for 21g (Hah!).
PlantProd’s Stim-Root #3 also has .8% IBA, but it cost $59 for 500g on amazon.ca.
I don’t need 500g, but I wouldn’t pay $51 for 21g. I see one online retailer shows a 25g bottle of Stim-Root #3 but it’s out of stock.
I have some Stim-Root #2, but it’s over five years beyond the BB date.
I like the gel hormones. I use clonex, and it works well for me.
Sometime ago tested RootiT… Cheaper and worked well also.
Sometimes when I have too many cuttings, I leave the excess of them in a cup of water with some drops of H2O2, and sometimes they root on their own.
Anyone have a reference for how much fertilizer to add for clones, like when people say “add some bloom nutes, 1/4 strength” or whatever. What elemental ppm of P, and K, etc. are good numbers.
Here’s 1g/Gallon of my Plant-Prod 6-11-31, for eg:
| N (NO3-) | 15.85 |
|---|---|
| N (NH4+) | 0 |
| P | 12.681 |
| K | 67.98 |
| Mg | 8.454 |
| Ca | 0 |
| S | 11.095 |
| Fe | 0.793 |
| Mn | 0.159 |
| Zn | 0.053 |
| B | 0.071 |
| Cu | 0.011 |
| Si | 0 |
| Mo | 0.024 |
| Na | 0 |
| Cl | 0 |
I can’t not add nitrogen, obviously, with a pre-blend like this. I just want something in there, because (a) it’s difficult to pH “plain” water (I don’t think most people who adjust pH of plain, low ec water or RO type water, actually check the pH again later. It’s hard to buffer/maintain without some ec/ions whatever in the solution). And (b), I’m reading something that’s suggesting that hormones (in rooting hormones) work better is there is some mineral (or fertilizer?) content.
I might actually go less than 1g/Gallon.
I use honey and willow water because I’m a hippy.
I dip the cut ends in honey for antibacterial / antifungal, then into tub w/ aeration stone and willow water.
Willow has the same hormone (indolebutyric acid) that’s used in Hormex #8 & other products.
Works for me & willow branches are free!
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I’m gonna try that in the spring. I had some weeping Willow cuttings in a 5 gal bucket with rainwater and in a few days there were roots everywhere. I watered some plants with it, but didn’t need to take clones at that time.
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I tried that willow water bit myself, then I realized a few things. First, that I was using a cherry willow, not a real willow, so there was no IBA in it anyway… but also that IBA isn’t really water-soluble. The rooting compounds that are sold are typically made from potassium salts or dissolved in (m)ethanol. Free or not, I don’t think willow water is worth the time.
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I use athena cuts.
why not just go for #16?
Might be a waste of time, but it makes me feel good 
I just prefer using whole plants vs. extracted compounds.
It’s simpler to isolate a chemical and study it in a lab, where plants have 100s or 1000s of compounds that work together and interact in ways that we haven’t mapped out yet.
There are studies on other plants that show willow has benefits for rooting.
Maybe it’s salicylic acid, not IBA. Or another compound, or a mixture (most likely).
I’ll definitely experiment with different options if I ever grow a plant that’s tough to clone, but so far haven’t needed to (in my limited experience).