Hormone rooting powders - advice

[daniel82]

I have a couple of larger cuttings that have shown no inclination to root down for some time, so it got me thinking about the possibility of hormone rooting compounds if I get no joy once this season starts.

My question is really what experiences have people had using them on cacti and which actually work?

[Benjy]

I don't use rooting powders myself, but am also interested too in other peoples results.
Personally I get roots going in pure cat litter only (mainly Copiapoa though)
^ What is it that you have been trying to root and how ?

[daniel82]

One is an nearly 5 inch wide oroya that was being thrown out by a relative of someone at work, that had barely any roots and what was left was riddled with mealies. Cleaned up fine but was only left with a stump, the other is a notocactus buiningii that lost its roots. Both of these have been sitting on cat litter for almost two years with not even a hint of doing anything and whilst not dead by any means they are definitely starting to shrivel up a bit.

[Benjy]

I had similar problems with an Eriosyce aurata, just couldn't get it going again.

[Phil_SK]

Are you dampening the cat litter? I know the advice is usually to root things in dry soil but cat litter is so well aerated that there's little danger in watering it and it will certainly encourage roots. Plants that have lost their roots but have a stump - - sometimes the end of the stump is dead as well and roots (behind it) can't form. These pics of a plant I was failing to root show what I mean.

In this case I could feel, especially as the body of the plant was quite shrivelled and squishy, that the bottom bit was really hard and was dead. Then it was a case of tearing the two halves apart along where I guessed alive met dead.
If anything of mine was still not behaving after 2 years I'd begin to think that maybe this was a problem for that plant. I can't know for your plant, obviously, but it's worth giving it a squeeze.

[esp]

A really interesting post Phil about the bottom being dead, and a great photo to illustrate the "trapped " roots.

[daniel82]

The stumps on mine look healthy enough but seeing those excellent pictures is making me think a bit differently, whilst the oroya is certainly clean the noto has some old growth down there. Perhaps a good clean and wash might spark it into life

I have dampened the medium before but to honest I had gotten lax about it and it has been dry for a while. Hmm things to think about here.

[DaveW]

I would agree with what Phil says. It is best to remove all dead tissue at the base of the plant and let it form a new clean callous, since it is often hard for roots to get through the old hard lignified material. Sometimes you can just peel it off. Also mist spraying the plants will help to stop then dehydrating so much and encourage rooting.

Cacti are hardy though and can sometimes stand around for a year or so before rooting.

[ralphrmartin]

My impression is that hormone rooting powders have little benefit - I've not noticed much difference in terms of rooting with and without. On the other hand, the powder is supposed to contain fungicide too, which may help prevent losses.

[Phil_SK]

If you read the ingredients of most rooting powders, few contain hormones and none contains a fungicide.