PLANT GROWTH 101 - BLOG, TIPS & TRICKS

Growing new plants from cuttings is a great way to increase your stock in a relatively short time. Rooted cuttings are often sturdier than seedlings, and come to maturity faster, many of them bearing flowers and fruits much earlier than seedlings. 

Plants grown from cuttings are exact clones of the parent plant, so you know exactly what you’re growing, which is not the case with seed-grown plants. That’s why many gardeners prefer to grow new plants from cuttings even when they can be easily grown from seeds. Populating your garden with cuttings is very cost effective. A single plant can give you plenty of cuttings without jeopardizing its health and saves you a lot of money.

One of the many wonderful things about Spring, and there are many wonderful things about Spring, is the fact that it’s bug season.  Yes, bug season. Now, many people cringe at just the thought of bugs and they do so for many good reasons.  Unless you are an armchair entomologist who has an affinity for [...]

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Here at Hormex we never shy away from using as many all natural inputs in our gardens as possible.  From non toxic insecticide alternatives like table salt rings around plants for slugs and snails (use wisely), or utilizing less desirable techniques like fish heads and macerated fish guts tilled into the soil for added nitrogen. [...]

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As winter is leaving and the days begin to get just a little bit longer, the constant Gardner is already experiencing a heightened anticipation of the coming of spring.  And like preparing to go back to school, much of the excitement fizzles after the first two weeks of being thrust back into the actual hard [...]

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Auxins are a class of plant hormones (or plant growth stimulants) with some morphogen-like characteristics. Auxins have a cardinal role in coordination of many growth and behavioral processes in the plant's life cycle and are essential for plant body development. Auxins were the first of the major plant hormones to be discovered. They derive their name from the [...]

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AVOID USING “GEL” BASED ROOTING PRODUCTS. ROOTING GEL VS ROOTING POWDER. Rooting gels are known to create optimal conditions for root rot. Root rot is caused by high moisture and low oxygen. In addition, they contain preservatives and often times alcohol which are known to inhibit plant growth. Without these preservatives the bottle of gel would end [...]

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Misconceptions about plant root hormones As a company that specializes in plant root hormones, we receive many questions regarding plant root hormones. We therefore often need to clear up misconceptions. Sometimes people think plant root hormones or growth regulators are the same as animal and human hormones. This is not the case. While many carbon-based [...]

The post Plant Root Hormones – Achieving Hormonal Balance appeared first on Hormex for Plants.

If not for Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Minister to Mexico, introducing Euphorbia pulcherrima to the United States in 1825, our decked halls would look quite different. Perhaps there would be offerings such as Sedum pernium like “Dragon’s Blood” or red roses festooning stocking-draped mantels? And while there are now over 100 cultivated [...]

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If you’re anything like me then you’ll still have a number of plants in your garden that have been prepped for propagation over the summer but are still waiting to be pruned. If there are those looming factors of time and space holding you up (not having enough of both), then there is no reason [...]

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It’s been said that hydroponics is the Cadillac of gardening. If that is the case, then aeroponics is surely the Ferrari. Propagating clones aeroponicallly has proven to be one of the fastest methods for producing roots. However, true to the analogy, aeroponic systems is a high performance model not only in the speed in which [...]

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Remember to use a good potting soil.  But what constitutes a good potting soil?  Then the other questions arise. Coco or peat? What about cinders or expanded clay?  How do you choose the correct potting medium? Many of these factors are determined by the plant. Research the optimal soil conditions that a selected cultivar thrives [...]

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In our ongoing look at the health of plants and their surrounding medium, and for our ongoing fun in using dietary analogies, today we look at the detrimental effects of too much salt in the soil of potted plants.  Overly high salinity leads to the burning of roots and leaves and inhibits a plant’s ability [...]

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