In this article we are going to talk about natural rooting agents and how we can benefit from their use without having to spend just money on using expensive chemicals. A completely ecological natural rooting agent is very easy to make, and here we are going to teach you everything about them.
If you want to learn how to make natural rooting using different products that you will easily find at home, take notes, put the instructions into practice and you will see how your plants improve and have a healthy appearance.
Natural rooting agent: what it is and what it is for
If you have ever planted cuttings or have looked for some information about it, you will know that, when planting cuttings , it is always recommended to do it with several of them because many tend to fail to root. Rooters are products that are used mainly for these cases. By coating the cut base of the cutting with the rooting agent, growth and root production are stimulated in the plant.
Any establishment that sells phytosanitary products offers several of these rooting agents, but if you want to save money or simply not use artificial products in your organic garden, making a homemade rooting agent is your best option.
How To Make Natural Rooting For Plants – Top 5
There are many ways to make your own root stimulator , but most experts agree that five common products are the most affordable and effective. All of them are applied by leaving the cutting immersed in the product for a few minutes.
Natural rooting with lentils
Lentils release a high amount of stimulating hormones for the roots, which is why they are widely used as a rooting agent. To make a lentil-based rooting agent, you must make the lentils germinate. This is easily achieved by submerging one part of the lentils in four parts of water for a few hours, then removing the water and storing it separately for re-immersion the next day. In about two or three days most of them should have germinated, at which point they must be crushed together with their water. Once the resulting paste is filtered, you already have your natural rooting agent. This rooting agent lasts up to 15 days in the refrigerator.
Cinnamon rooting
Cinnamon is also one of the most used products. To make root stimulator with cinnamon, simply dip about 25 grams of cinnamon in a liter of water, and let it sit for about an hour. Then simply filter it, and you have your rooting product, which will also last a few days if you keep it refrigerated.
Rooting made with willow
In this case you should add willow branches cut into small pieces to a liter of freshly boiled water. Let the mixture sit for a full day, and again filter and you are done. You can also not boil the water, but then you must extend the resting time of the branches to a week. As a curiosity, this mixture uses salicylic acid as its base, yes, like aspirin. Therefore, an aspirin dissolved in water is also an option, although it requires that the cutting is submerged in it for an hour.
Rooting based on wheat or soybeans
Lentils are not the only ones that release a large amount of hormones when germinating. Many cereals, such as soybeans and wheat, are also very useful for making homemade rooting . They should be made to germinate at home with the same process of adding and removing water as with lentils, and then grind it all into a paste and filter it.
Natural rooting of coffee beans
Boil a handful of coffee beans in half a liter of water, as if you were trying to prepare a common infusion. Then strain the liquid and, once cold, you can store it in the refrigerator if you want to keep it for a few days. This system also leaves us coffee grounds, which are very useful to keep slugs and snails away from our substrate.
As a final detail, there is a sixth rooting agent that, although less effective than those listed above, is even easier to obtain: human saliva. If you don’t have anything else available when planting a cutting, put a little saliva on the cutting before you plant it. Of course, beware of toxic plants or not suitable for consumption and apply your saliva indirectly, never sucking on the plant.
Natural rooting agent: advantages and disadvantages
Finally, we explain what are the advantages and disadvantages of using natural rooting agents in your plants:
Advantages of natural rooting agent
The advantages of using a natural rooting agent are many. On the one hand, it is a much cheaper system, since all the products described are found in many homes and are low-priced, much cheaper than industrial rooting agents. In addition, as they are completely natural products, they are suitable for use in organic gardens , and you will ensure maximum use of your cuttings without resorting to artificial chemicals. Finally, the remains of the production of these products can also be used for our substrate or compost, since they are totally organic.
Disadvantages of natural rooting
The use of natural rooting agents, however, also has two main disadvantages compared to the use of industrially made ones. The first is that the effect of a home rooter is never as fast as that of an industrial one. The second is that they are more perishable products, which will not last many days in the refrigerator before spoiling.
