Professor,
Are there any organic rooting compounds or techniques that will help my cuttings?
Rooting for you,
Alex in Darlington
Hello Alex,
I hope you’re not Australian, harhar!
To answer your question, there are plenty of organic rooting compounds out there! Both Green Light and Earth Juice make good ones; I’ve used both, and found them to work well. There are also several you can make yourself at home, if you are so inclined. The easiest of these would be willow tea – If you can boil water, you can make willow tea.
You will need to collect the youngest branches to make it with and these will be yellow or green in appearance (the brown or grey branches do not contain enough of the rooting hormones to be effective). Once you’ve collected the branches, cut them into short one-inch pieces. Place the pieces in a container and pour in some boiling water. Let the branches steep overnight. The next day strain the tea out and store it in a jar with a tight fitting lid and keep it in a refrigerator. The tea should last for two months.
To use the tea, simply collect your cuttings and allow them to sit in the tea (just like flowers in a vase) for several hours or overnight. During this time they will soak up the beneficial rooting hormones. Then transfer them to the rooting medium and let them do their thing.
Enjoy,
Professor Lee
