Hormex Rooting Powders - Why We Have 4 Strengths

When it comes to taking cuttings, using rooting powder will increase the chances of your cutting taking root and growing into a mature plant. Effective rooting powders simplify the propagation process and reduce the stress placed on the new cutting. However, the relationship between propagation success and the rooting powder used is not linear—you can’t add more rooting powder to increase your chance of success. If too much rooting powder is used or the rooting powder too strong for the plant, you’re setting yourself up for guaranteed failure.

Hormex Rooting Powder Strengths

Hormex has developed 4 different strengths of rooting powder, each designated by a number. Here’s a table of the powder strengths and what type of cutting each strength should be used on:

Not seeing your plant of choice in the plant examples column? Check out our comprehensive rooting powder plant list to learn what strength of rooting powder should be used for over 300 plant varieties.

What do the Numbers Mean?

The number indicates the strength of the powder. The higher the number, the more concentrated the powder is with IBA. IBA (the abbreviation of indole-3-butyric acid) is a type of auxin that controls growth processes in plants. Introducing this hormone encourages rapid root growth in plants, which is critical to establishing a cutting. The faster the plant can establish roots, the greater chance the propagation has of being successful.

Some plants need the maximum strength rooting powder. They’re incredibly difficult to propagate and will never propagate without the assistance of a high concentration rooting powder like #16. Easier to root plants would go into system shock and possibly die if you introduced them to the concentration levels of #16. Think of it this way. If you’re getting ready for your day, do you want to drink a cup of coffee or chug a 6 pack of Red Bull? Hopefully you chose the first answer! Both the cup of coffee and Red Bull have caffeine, which can help you wake up and prepare for your day. But Red Bull has a much higher concentration of caffeine than your average cup of coffee and drinking 6 cans would leave you too twitchy and excitable to accomplish anything. It's the same with Hormex’s Rooting Powders. Using too high of a concentrate can be detrimental to the plant.

The Benefits of Hormex

Because there are 4 different concentrations of rooting powder available, using Hormex Rooting Powder allows you to select the most effective strength for your plant cuttings. If you want the fastest, most effective, and cleanest rooting hormone on the market, Hormex has the specificity you and your plants crave. Plus, all Hormex Rooting Powders are free of dyes, preservatives, and alcohol, so if you’re looking to clone consumable plants, use Hormex!