In a message dated 4/8/03 11:43:52 PM, writes:

I was wondering if anyone bothered with the different strengths of rooting
hormone.

There is a great deal of debate among professionals as to the value of
rooting hormones. First, the amount used is quite small. The instruction is
usually to dip the cutting in the powder and knock off (on the inside edge of
the container) the excess. The cutting is then placed in the prepunched hole
so as to disturb the powder as little as possible. Professional nurserymen
use a liquid preparation. Agricultural colleges do research on the species
of plants of interest to growers in their state and publish results. A lot of
information is available on some species such as Poinsettia or Chrysanthemums.
However, this is usually too much for the average home grower. It would
be possible to look up the research, probably on the Internet, for a specific
species and then follow that research. The hormones needed would probably
have to be purchased in larger quantities from wholesale nursery supply
houses.
Finally, there are some who believe that the hormones are only a help in
preventing fungus while the plant roots itself.

Billy on the Florida Space Coast

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