Some plants will root in water, but cuttings will develop a better root system when rooted in a soil-less potting mix. Sand or perlite can also be used, especially for cuttings that need good drainage and may rot if kept too wet.
It's best to grow tip cuttings in a soilless potting mix containing perlite (a volcanic mineral), vermiculite (a micaceous mineral), or sand for good drainage. You can whip up your own mix by combining equal volumes of peat moss and perlite in a 5-gallon bucket, adding water, and stirring.
A good rooting media contains equal parts of coarse, sharp sand and peat moss. Instead of sand, we can use perlite, and instead of peat moss, we can use vermiculite. However, I often will pot my cuttings with just coarse sand alone. By this method, the cuttings grow just fine.
1) Light - The more light you can provide, the faster a cutting will photosynthesize and the faster it will produce roots. We know that light intensity drops significantly with distance, so keep cuttings in front of windows. Bright light is over 3000 lux but the more you provide the faster they will root.⠀ ⠀ Or buy gr.
Cuttings can be rooted in water, sand, perlite, or vermiculite. Some plants are easy to root in water, but perlite or vermiculite generally gives more satisfactory results.
Soil is fine for softwood cuttings from Coleus and herbs. Propagating sand is the best medium for thirsty cuttings of hardwood and semi-hardwood. Perlite is the best medium for softwood and semi-hardwood cuttings from plants that might rot in a wetter environment.
Plant the Cutting in the Soil
Carefully plant the cutting in the hole you made in the potting mix, and gently tamp the soil around it. You can fit several cuttings into one container, but space them so the leaves do not touch one another.
Honey & Cinnamon Rooting Hormone
Dip the end of a cutting into honey water made with 2 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of honey. Then dip the same cutting into cinnamon powder. I have a gardener friend who swears by this treatment for challenging cuttings that often succumb to fungal problems.
PRO TIP If you have a Pothos in your collection, another tip to speed up root growth is to add a pothos cutting to the same water as the cutting you're waiting to root. Pothos release a natural rooting hormone into the water that helps trigger root growth in other cuttings sharing the same water.
Be sure to add fresh water as needed until the cuttings are fully rooted. Rooting will generally occur in 3-4 weeks but some plants will take longer. When the roots are 1-2 inches long or longer the cutting is ready to be potted up.
Once the root initials protrude from the cutting base, cuttings can be lightly fertilized with 100 ppm nitrogen from a complete fertilizer. Cuttings should never be fertilized when the media is dry. A low phosphorus and ammonium-nitrogen fertilizer should be used during propagation.
But there are a few key differences. Vermiculite is better for water retention, that also means in that moisture it retains key nutrients for your plants and cuttings to soak up. Perlite works better to help drainage, this means its also better for loosening heavy, compacted soil.
On the other hand, soil will have nutrients, which will speed up growth. As such, hardy cuttings can be rooted directly in soil to speed up the growth process and remove the need for transplanting. Cuttings in soil and soil amendments will need to be watered at least once a day to keep the cutting fresh and growing.
Choosing your mix
A mixture that is soilless is the best starting mix for propagating your cuttings. The mixture should be loose, well-draining and have plenty of oxygen movement for newly forming roots. You can start cuttings in perlite, vermiculite, sand, or a combination of peat moss.
Add 2 US tbsp (30 mL) of raw honey to 2 cups (470 mL) of freshly boiled water, then wait for it to cool. Soak your cuttings for 2-3 hours, then plant. Or, mash up the gel from an aloe vera leaf until it forms a runny consistency. Coat the ends of your cuttings in the gel, then plant.
Mechanical waves are the waves which require a medium for their propagation. They cannot travel through vacuum. E.g. sound waves through air. On the other hand, non-mechanical waves don't require a medium for their propagation.
Epsom salt promotes deep root growth for plants so during times of drought or little rainfall, Epsom salt plants will have deep roots to seek out moisture and nutrients. Plants with deep roots thrive when other plants with shallow roots shrivel up and die if water is not constantly provide to them.
For plant roots to grow faster, it requires nutrients, sufficient water, well-aerated soil, enough light, the right range of temperature and proper amendments.
In many cases, sugar application increased the number of new roots formed by week 6 but had no significant effects on the length of existing roots or shoot growth. By week 24, increases in both root and shoot growth were recorded.
Embarking on your quest to propagate plants, you might wonder, "What can I use instead of rooting hormone?" Cinnamon emerges as a stellar candidate due to its natural antifungal properties. These properties help safeguard your delicate cuttings against common fungal threats that often compromise root development.
Aloe Vera Rooting Hormone
If you have aloe plants growing in your yard, you can use the freshly squeezed aloe vera gel to make your own homemade natural rooting hormone. One of aloe vera's active ingredients is an anti-inflammatory component and rooting stimulant, salicylic acid.
Using apple cider vinegar as a rooting hormone is a safe and natural way to weaken the outer coating of seeds, making for faster germination.
Many plants will root from just a section of a plant. Some plants will root in water, but cuttings will develop a better root system when rooted in a soil-less potting mix. Sand or perlite can also be used, especially for cuttings that need good drainage and may rot if kept too wet.
In anywhere from 2-8 weeks, you should see happy, little roots sprouting out. You'll find some plants sprout fairly quickly, like mint, coleus, basil and oregano, while others like lavender and rosemary could take well over a month.
Cuttings are very delicate and vulnerable so pests, disease, the wrong growing conditions, too much water or too little water can all cause them to fail. Therefore it is vital that the plants you take your cuttings from are healthy, pest-free and growing strongly.