Hormone rooting powder - sell by date??

 

I have been told on good authority that the talc powder based
preparations lose their effectiveness after about eight months, even
if kept in a closed container and refrigerated.

I've checked on my containers and none have any dates. Are they
supposed to ???

Where can I get some 'fresh' rooting powder from ???

 



I have been using the same giant tub of hormone rooting powder for
the five years. No wonder my cuttings haven't come to much these past
three.


Notcutts?

M.R.

 

Mike Roscoe wrote:

I know I'm not alone in thinking the freshness of your rooting powder
probably has little to do with your success rate. Few species
actually need it, and -- especially if you use too much -- it can
even _hinder_ rooting. I think light, temperature, moisture level,
and medium are usually more important. It's also easy -- or it is if
you happen to be as casual as I often am -- to put in your cuttings
in such a way or such a medium as to leave an air gap underneath or
around them: this is asking for failure.

--
Mike.

 



We shall see...

A kind urgler  sent me some Worcesterberry cuttings last year and they
went in to a bed I have to pass to get to the back door, and because of
its position, easy to shade. No rooting hormone used.

A neighbour cut off some forsythia and added it to the litter (leaf and
twig!) in the hedge down the loke, and I took a few cuttings from that
and just poked them in. No rooting hormone.

I've never found rooting hormone to affect how cuttings strike - neither
the speed of it nor the reliability.

All the cuttings - Worcesterberry and forsythia appear OK ATM.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

 

Mike,
you raise some good points here.
The main advantage of rooting powder is the fungicide, IMO
I was told there were a couple of reasons for failure beyond what you
have mentioned.  Too much powder forms a cap which affects air and
moisture reaching the root zone, which then affects the roots abbility
to break though the talc cap.  This is one of the reasons I have moved
over too gel.
I take you point about other factors being major players, humidity,
moisture etc, but  they are out of control for most amateurs (how many
of us can accurately control temperature - many domestic electric
propogators have fixed thermostats - my Scotts heats the soil to 24°C,
which explained my poor performance)