Root Stimulants, Rooting Gels and Rooting Hormone: Which to Use

Rooting gel and root stimulant sound like the same thing, but they do different jobs. A rooting gel carries a rooting hormone and goes on the cut stem of a cutting to help it grow roots; a root stimulant is fed to a plant that already has roots, to build them up. This guide explains both, compares the root products we sell by dose and timing, and says why we sell gel, not rooting powder.

Rooting gels and hormones for cuttings

The Clonex page calls the gel a rooting hormone for softwood and semi-hardwood cuttings. It lists 4-indol-3-ylbutyric acid to promote root formation, vitamins to protect the new root tissue, and mineral nutrients.

Dip each cutting into Clonex 10-20 mm up from the base straight after taking it, then put it in the starter plug. Our propagators and cuttings guide has the full method.
Clonex Mist is a foliar spray for cuttings. Its page says it complements the gel.
FloraMax - Cloner is described on its page as a concentrated cloning solution of rooting hormones, nutrients and trace elements. Use it at the rate on the label.
Using microbes too? The Great White page says to apply a layer of its powder after the rooting hormone, then tap off the excess.

Root stimulants for plants with roots

A root stimulant goes in the watering can or tank. The pages list seaweed extracts, humic and fulvic acids, amino acids and plant hormones. Strengths vary: the doses below run from 0.1 to 10 ml per litre, so compare bottles by how much feed they treat, not by size.

Root stimulants we sell, as their product pages describe them - makers' claims, not a promise. "Chart" doses and timings are from our feed chart guides.
Product	What its page says	Dose	When
Canna Rhizotonic	Seaweed-based; hydro, coco or soil	4, 2, then 0.5 ml per litre (Canna chart)	To flowering week 7
Biobizz Root Juice	100% vegetable-based, all-organic; soil-based systems (the chart covers Coco·Mix too)	4, then 2 ml per litre (Biobizz chart)	To flowering week 2
Plant Magic Root Stimulant	Seaweed, humate, hormones; any medium	2.5 ml per litre	To flowering week 2
House & Garden Roots Excelurator	Also guards against root disease in recirculating systems	0.3 ml per litre	Early growth
Atami Rootbastic	NPK 4-14-4; any growing system	0.1, 0.2, then 0.3 ml per litre	First 3 weeks of veg
Vitalink Rootstim	Seaweed extracts and hormones; hydro, coco, soil	1 ml per litre in veg, 0.5 in bloom	To flowering week 7
Dutchpro Take Root	Hormones and micronutrients; all media	Up to 1 ml per litre	Young plants
Hesi Root Complex	Soil and hydro; also a pre-soak	5 ml per litre	–
Intense Foundation	Stimulates micro-organisms in the medium	2-5 ml per litre	Early on; less through flowering
Hydrotops Root Stimulator	All media and hydroponic systems	2-10 ml per litre	Veg to the flush
CX Regen A Root	All types of growing system	1 ml per litre	Throughout the plant's life
Mills Start R	Fulvic, humic and L-amino acids	See the label	Seedlings to early flowering
Intense Pro Series - Roots Ultra	Seeds, cuttings and young plants	See the label	Propagation through veg
BAC Root Stimulator	Promotes micro-organisms in the medium; no other enzyme products with it	See the label	–

Enzyme additives such as Cannazym share the category on our site but do a different job: its page says the enzymes break down dead root matter.

When to use a root stimulant

Seedlings and rooted cuttings. Plant Magic's feed chart gives cuttings and seedlings a week 0 of Root Stimulant only; the Root Juice page says it is very effective on rooted cuttings.
Potting on and after stress. The Rhizotonic page says it can be used whenever the plant is stressed, such as when re-potting.

Microbial products: fungi and bacteria

Microbial products add living organisms to the root zone rather than feed, and the Great White and Plant Magic Oldtimer Granules pages say to get the product into direct contact with the roots. Never use them with peroxide-based products, which the Oldtimer Granules page says kill or severely inhibit micro-life: Liquid Oxygen and Silver Bullet Roots both contain hydrogen peroxide. The Cannazym page says enzyme products should not be used with liquid oxygen either. Our mycorrhizae and beneficial microbes guide compares the microbial products we sell.

Which should you choose?

Cuttings without roots: Clonex on the cut. The root stimulant comes afterwards, in the water.
Start with the one from the maker of your base feed. It is already in their feed chart: Rhizotonic with Canna, Root Juice with Biobizz, Root Stimulant with Plant Magic, Take Root with Dutchpro (see our Dutchpro feed chart), Voodoo Juice (a microbial product) with Advanced Nutrients (see our Advanced Nutrients feed chart).
No root product in your range? The Rootbastic and Regen A Root pages both say they are used with any nutrient brand.
One root stimulant at a time. They overlap, so as a rule of thumb stacking two adds cost and makes it harder to see what is working.
Adding microbes? Go by your medium (our mycorrhizae guide says which suit soil, coco or hydro); a microbial product can run alongside a stimulant, as Biobizz's chart uses Microbes with Root Juice.

How long to keep using it

Go by the last column of the table: most are used from the start, then stopped or cut back by early flowering. The Regen A Root and Hydrotops pages say to keep going through flowering.

Quick answers

Is rooting gel the same as root stimulant?

No. Rooting gel carries a hormone and goes on the cut end of a cutting to start roots. A root stimulant is diluted into the water of a plant that already has roots.

What is the best root stimulator?

There is no single best one. We would always recommend a root stimulant in the early stages, and the place to start is the one in your feed maker's chart.

Can I use a root stimulant in flowering?

Some. Canna's chart runs Rhizotonic to flowering week 7 at a lower dose and the Rootstim page halves the dose in bloom; the Regen A Root page says it can be used throughout the plant's life. The Biobizz, Plant Magic and Dutchpro charts stop theirs after flowering week 2.

Rooting powder or rooting gel?

We sell a gel, Clonex, and no rooting powder, for the two reasons the Clonex page gives: the gel stays in contact with the cut once the cutting is in the propagation medium, and it seals the cut more effectively than a powder, which reduces the risk of infection. The rooting hormone in Clonex is 4-indol-3-ylbutyric acid (IBA). Taking the cutting, step by step, is in our propagators and cuttings guide.

How do you use Clonex rooting gel?

Straight after taking the cutting, dip it in Clonex 10-20 mm up from the base, then put it in the plug and into a propagator.

More Growers' Guides

Not sure what you need? Call the shop on 0117 971 3000 or pop in to the Bristol store and we'll help you pick.