ClosetTomatos
New Member
Howdy, folks;
This began as an experiment to satisfy my own curiosity, but I began to think this could be of interest to others, too.
White Willow is known to carry an extremely prolific, naturally occurring root hormone. It also has the compound from which aspirin is derived, which is an immune system response chemical that can protect and reverse problems within plants. This isn't a new finding and has been referenced here, but for the sake of the background, you know.
Anyway, I have been wanting to pit willow tea against a known and effective rooting agent: clonex. Here's what I have:
*1/4 cup of young White Willow branches, cut to 1-1½ inches and steeped in near-boiling water and allowed to sit overnight. Water pH is 6.0
For the cloning medium is Root Riot plugs. I love this stuff. Shown also are the two rooting agents.
I am using an unknown, but fairly vigorous plant from which to take two clones.
With the first plant, I soaked the peat plug in the willow tea, also allowing my plant's stem to sit in it for awhile. The second was swabbed around in the clonex per normal use.
And, now they sit happily in their dome. Because I'm a big fan of organics, I'm actually "rooting" for the willow tea to either match or outdo the clonex. Time and future updates will tell!
This began as an experiment to satisfy my own curiosity, but I began to think this could be of interest to others, too.
White Willow is known to carry an extremely prolific, naturally occurring root hormone. It also has the compound from which aspirin is derived, which is an immune system response chemical that can protect and reverse problems within plants. This isn't a new finding and has been referenced here, but for the sake of the background, you know.
Anyway, I have been wanting to pit willow tea against a known and effective rooting agent: clonex. Here's what I have:
*1/4 cup of young White Willow branches, cut to 1-1½ inches and steeped in near-boiling water and allowed to sit overnight. Water pH is 6.0
For the cloning medium is Root Riot plugs. I love this stuff. Shown also are the two rooting agents.
I am using an unknown, but fairly vigorous plant from which to take two clones.
With the first plant, I soaked the peat plug in the willow tea, also allowing my plant's stem to sit in it for awhile. The second was swabbed around in the clonex per normal use.
And, now they sit happily in their dome. Because I'm a big fan of organics, I'm actually "rooting" for the willow tea to either match or outdo the clonex. Time and future updates will tell!
