What Does Gel Rooting Hormone Mean?
Gel rooting hormone is a commercially available form of plant rooting hormones sold at specialty garden shops and many hydroponics supply shops.
Of the three main forms of rooting hormones – powder and liquid forms being the other two – gel forms of rooting hormones, whether they are synthetic or naturally sourced, remain the most commonly used forms among hobby growers.
Gel rooting hormones are considered ready-to-go out of the package; they don't require mixing with water first and are specially formulated to be effective on a wide range of strains. While convenient, this means that when using gel-based rooting hormones, you won't be able to alter their concentration levels.
Maximum Yield Explains Gel Rooting Hormone
Rooting hormones help promote new root growth in young plants, and typically contain a class of plant hormones known as auxins. They are most commonly used during the cloning process on plant cuttings taken from a mother plant, but they can also be used in the seed propagation and germination stages.
Like liquid and powder rooting hormones, gel-based rooting hormones mainly contain a synthetic form of auxins, specifically indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), to initiate adventitious root production.
As with the other types of rooting hormone products, a small amount of gel should be placed in a separate container for dipping the cuttings in, so that you can avoid the possibility of contaminating an entire bottle of expensive rooting hormones with one sick plant.
Gels have rooting hormones completely cover the cut section of the new plant with the synthetic hormone, and keep it covered. This simple trait of the gel allows the plant tissue to absorb more of the synthetic hormone on contact. Due to their thicker consistency over liquids and powders, gel rooting hormones are also less likely to wash or rub off in cloning devices.
Although powders and concentrated liquids are more versatile than gels, and seem to go a longer ways, gel rooting hormones, often simplified to as just 'cloning gel' is still the go-to rooting hormone product for indoor growers.
In the absence of synthetic rooting hormones, some growers have had success using honey or willow extracts to successfully root cuttings. However, the results are much slower.
