"Franz Heymann" wrote in message
...

[snip]

I have just received the latest issue of "Gardening Which". It
contains a fairly detailed report of a reasonably extensive test of
various rooting agents. My general impression is that they are not
really worth bothering with.

They tested all the hormone-based agents they could lay their
hands on, as well as a vitamin C preparation. Strangely, they appear
not to have tried salicylic acid. There are those who say that this
chemical, in the form of Aspirin or extract of willow bark, are useful
for promoting rooting. Does any urgler have some quantitative, or
semi-quantitative experience of using this?

My latest thoughts run along the lines that rooting cuttings is
essentially a race between the speed with which the root forming
process takes place, and the demise of the cuting by fungal attack.
My thoughts are strengthened by considering that the sterile
micropropagation process is able to induce growth from tiny pieces of
plant material, known to be impossible to root by other means, without
the use of rooting hormones.

This year, I will root some cuttings using only Benlate as a
fungicide, without using hormones.

Franz