Hormone Rooting Powder

aardvaak

When you watch gardening programs on tv nowadays you never see them using Hormone Rooting Powder. instead plant straight in the earth

Why is this?

I remember back in the days of Percy Thower and the later they always used it.

I_have_spoken

Dumbing down TV?

Elsewhere

I've seen Monty Don use it for hardwood cuttings of shrubs on the BBC.

Davesnave

Many plants don't need it. I've never been a fan of it myself, as it seems a bit stupid to cover the root growth point with a powder, much of which is probably just a 'carrier' of the active ingredient.

Which? did tests years ago and found some types of commercial HRP pretty useless.

Anyway, it seems that salicylic acid is a lot cheaper, either free from steeped willow stems, or a few pence in the form of soluble asprin.

Then there's honey....

Personally, getting the cutting into prepared ground at the correct time and in a good place seems much more relevant.

Then again, if you have a heated sand bed and controlled humidity, you can often break the rules and root stuff whenever the mood takes you.....

sgun

Agree, honey and salicylic acid both work better than HRP in my experience.