boost your roots
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IF YOU ARE concerned about using artificial hormones or just aren ’ t sure which product to use , you can make your own organic root promoter by using willow tree branches and leaves .”
Boil one gallon of water . Add the cut branches and leaves to the boiling water and let them sit until the water has cooled to room temperature . Sieve out the pieces and the auxinrich water can be used immediately to water your cuttings . Unused amounts can be frozen and thawed for later use . ( If you cannot locate a willow tree to borrow a few branches from , you can make the same concoction with other rapid growers like poplars or silver maples .) If you do not want to make your own organic root stimulator , you can find some on the market that have been approved for organic gardening by the Organic Materials Review Institute ( OMRI ). Look for the OMRI stamp on labels of root stimulators to ensure that what you are buying is in fact organic .
Another long-standing and proven natural product for aiding in root development for cuttings is honey . Regular , straight-from-the-pantry honey is a natural antiseptic . While it does not act as a rooting hormone , it protects your cuttings so that they can develop their roots without the risk of succumbing to disease . There is some indication that the sugars in honey are also beneficial for root development .
Herbicides
What do herbicides have to do with root stimulators ? Surprisingly , a lot . Unknown to many gardeners , several types of herbicides are actually nothing more than plant auxins . Common weed killers containing the compound 2,4-D work by stimulating plant growth . In the case of plants treated with herbicides containing these compounds , they cause the affected plant to essentially grow themselves to death , much like a cancer . For root stimulation , these compounds are used in far weaker concentrations . This does not mean that you can use any weed killer in a diluted strength to put on your cuttings . Even at a highly weakened rate , they might inhibit other growth functions of your cuttings . The point of mentioning herbicides here is to let you know you should not be alarmed if you recognize something typically used as an herbicide among the active ingredients on a bottle of root promoter . Lethality is a matter of dosage ; even water is toxic if you consume enough of it .
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