# Anyone used honey to root plant cuttings?



## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

If so, please post your knowledge. I read about dipping the ends of the cuttings in pure honey---I'm assuming the benefit is to prevent stem rot.


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## Okapi (Oct 12, 2007)

I had never heard of this so I went googling:
Honey helps plant cuttings get stared - Beesource Beekeeping Forums
What Is a Rooting Hormone?
honey as a root starter on clones - THCfarmer
AusBonsai | View topic - using honey as rooting hormone on exotic species?

It seems that everyone is asking the same question and all they are getting is "I had a friend who said they tried it" type answers.

The arguments stating that it contains simple sugars that the cutting can easily use to fuel root growth make sense. Plus honey does have antibacterial and antifungal properties. Unfortunately every plant that I have started from cuttings does well with just humidity and light so testing this idea would be hard to do in my opinion.


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

For terrarium plants, I wouldn't bother. For cuttings outside the terrarium, I might try. Although, something sticky and sweet suffocating a stem node dosen't exactly sound great....

Use broken willow branches soaked in water. Soak cuttings in with it and that is supposed to be the best "natural" way.


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## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

Frogtofall said:


> For terrarium plants, I wouldn't bother. For cuttings outside the terrarium, I might try. Although, something sticky and sweet suffocating a stem node dosen't exactly sound great....
> 
> Use broken willow branches soaked in water. Soak cuttings in with it and that is supposed to be the best "natural" way.


Thanks---I did read that--I just thought honey would be easier. I've also had some begonia cuttings start to rot and had to recut them, so I guess using a sterile rooting media would be the best bet. I just got some Root Riot plugs to root more in.
I bet fig tree branches would work the same way since they will root from a cut branch as well. I have easy access to those.


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## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

Found this bit about rooting plants:



> In the fifth century B.C., the Greek physician, Hippocrates, wrote that chewing bark of a willow tree could relieve pain and fever. (No wonder squirrels don’t get headaches.) In 1829, the effective ingredient, salicin, was successfully isolated from willow bark. Toward the end of the 19th century, The Bayer Company in Germany trademarked a stable form of acetylsalicylic acid, calling it “aspirin,” the “a” from acetyl, “spir” from Spiraea (the salicin they used came from meadowsweet, Spiraea ulmaria, subsequently renamed Filpendula ulmaria), and “in,” a common ending in drug nomenclature.
> 
> In the 20th century, over one trillion aspirin, the first medicine created by techniques of modern chemistry, were consumed globally to regulate blood vessel elasticity, reduce fevers and aches, prevent cardiovascular ailments, affect blood clotting, or ease inflammation.
> 
> ...


Making Willow Water / Salicylic Acid and SAR


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