Rooting Powder for Cuttings: Choose Your Strength

Rooting Powder #1

Tender softwood cuttings

0.10% IBA

For soft, easy-to-root cuttings such as pothos, African violet, coleus, basil and mint.

• Cutting type: Softwood and herbaceous cuttings from new, green growth that bends without snapping.
• Best time: Spring and early summer outdoors. Indoors or under grow lights, you can take cuttings any time of year.
• Tip: A great starting point for houseplants, herbs and first-time propagators.

Rooting Powder #3

Firmer, semi-softwood cuttings

0.30% IBA

For firmer stems such as rose, gardenia, lavender, rosemary and fig.

• Cutting type: Semi-softwood cuttings from stems that are starting to firm up but still bend.
• Best time: Late spring to midsummer outdoors, as new growth starts to firm up. Indoors or in a greenhouse, take cuttings whenever stems reach this stage.
• Tip: Our most versatile strength for home gardeners with a mix of flowering shrubs and garden plants.

Rooting Powder #8

Tougher, semi-hardwood cuttings

0.80% IBA

For woody shrubs and trees such as azalea, boxwood, citrus, olive and lilac.

• Cutting type: Semi-hardwood cuttings from this season’s growth that has partly matured, often with bark starting to brown at the base.
• Best time: Mid to late summer into early fall outdoors. Indoors or in a greenhouse, take cuttings whenever stems reach this stage.
• Tip: Take cuttings in the cool of the morning. Lightly scraping the bark at the base helps the powder make good contact.

Rooting Powder #16

Difficult-to-root hardwood cuttings

1.60% IBA

For hard-to-root plants such as juniper, holly, yew and eastern red cedar. Check your plant in the plant list first.

• Cutting type: Hardwood cuttings from fully mature, woody stems, usually taken while the plant is dormant.
• Best time: Late fall through winter, while the plant is dormant. Mature woody stems can also be rooted indoors at other times of year.
• Tip: Not for soft or green stems, since the higher concentration can burn tender tissue. Hardwood cuttings root slowly, so allow several weeks or more.