The TRUTH About DIY Rooting Hormones - Testing 6 Homemade Rooting Agents

The internet is full of DIY rooting hormone content - claiming these lists of household items can be used as a rooting agent to increase propagation success rates and speed of rooting. I put these items to the test, and bring you the video proof of what works and what doesn't.
I test and document trials with 6 different DIY rooting agents, including honey, cinnamon, aloe vera, aspirin, saliva and apple cider vinegar. Some work, some don't.
I used tomato cuttings in all these trials, and used basic water propagation with untreated tap water as a control. If you're looking to improve your propagation success and speed, I'd invite you to check out our entire propagation races playlist, found here:
• Propagation Races
0:00 Intro
0:47 Honey as a Rooting Hormone
1:41 Aloe Vera as a Rooting Hormone
2:34 Aspirin as a Rooting Hormone
3:27 Cinnamon as a Rooting Hormone
3:52 Apple Cider Vinegar as a Rooting Hormone
4:18 Saliva as a Rooting Hormone
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#propagate #cuttings #rootinghormone #garden #diy #roots

[@DQMYN4T0R]

no sponsored content - no one jumping into the screen yelling whats up yt - no loud intro music - no begging for likes and subscribes - no blablabla - control group testings - ... INSTANT SUBSCRIBE 💚👍👍👍👍👍

[@JimmyBHarvests]

🫶🏻🫶🏻

[@itpradeep]

Same. Subscribed.

[@josephinethornton3823]

Quite curious if rapid release aspirin might have had a drastically different result. I noticed the packaging of your aspirin was enteric coated, which could add a lot of different variables into the success or failure of the experiment. "Materials that are used in enteric coating include shellac, cellulose acetate phthalate (CAP), cellulose acetate butyrate, lipids (mixture of myristic acid, hydrogenated castor oil, castor oil, cholesterol, and sodium taurocholate), hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose succinate, and methacrylic acid co-polymers (Eudragit)." That's quite a lot of variables. Given that salicylic acid tablets are already prone to having fillers in them, adding in various mechanisms for it to pass through stomach acid and release in the upper intestine instead could change it's chemical composition drastically.

[@karmakittenz69]

Straight and to the point. No douchey bro intro and no rambling on about liking and subscribing. Just information. Also, more than a little surprised at the cinnamon......

[@JimmyBHarvests]

That’s the goal! Glad to hear you have appreciated it! Thanks for sharing that feedback

[@isaiahisaiah2288]

@@JimmyBHarvests I know that combining techniques sometimes hurts rather than improves things, however dipping the cuttings into Raw Honey than coating them w/Cinnamon... Does that improve the overall rooting...?

[@BossOfAllTrades]

​@@isaiahisaiah2288cinnamon actually contains the hormones found in rooting hormone products mixing it with honey will probably help as they say the honey has antibacterial and fungal agents that contribute to succesful rooting.

[@Linzeea1]

I use Cinnamon successfully, it has anti fungal properties therfore stimulate stem/ root health.

[@hollycosta7394]

Stumbled on this video while getting ready to use hormone rooting. Grabbed Cinnamon out of the cupboard and after a week notes the roots grew at lest 2 times as fast as the hormone!! Thx

[@JimmyBHarvests]

Wow thats awesome. Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@Nifty-Stuff]

THANK YOU SO MUCH for doing this actual test! So tired of claims of rooting, with zero evidence to back it up. BRILLIANT!

[@JimmyBHarvests]

Thanks bro- that was the motivation for me to do it!

[@emadkamel6916]

Totally agree 💯

[@oldkingcrow777]

Oh they have "evidence" but it's always some tree roots glued I nto it lol

[@BossOfAllTrades]

​@@oldkingcrow777😅

[@joeyharris67]

Aspirin works well in the experiment I did. As well or better than honey and cinnamon. The key is use on non coated aspirin. This guy used a coated aspirin. Coated aspirin will not work. Crush 2 uncoated aspirin tablets and dip the cutting into the powder. Works every time its done with uncoated asprin.

[@oferelhashahar7066]

Do not forget each type of plant needs diffrent amount or none of rooting hormones.So what can work on Tomato may not work on lavender plant or other plants. Also when using parts of plants as a rooting hormone like the aloe the level of hormones might be diffrent if it is a a leaf from top or down the plant and the light levels it was growing in . I can guess in synthetic hormones it should be same level always. But your experiment is still great and I will try myself on other plants. tnks

[@carolday3381]

That’s a fun experiment! Speaking of cinnamon, its very disinfectant for orchids, i had an orchid suffering black rot many years ago and i read online to clean the rot off, scrape the root stalk and coat the thing in cinnamon. By the time i was done scraping the rot off there were no roots left, the carrot shaped stalk was whittled down it was miserable. I expected this thing to die. The leaves were even shrivelled from lack of water absorption as it had no working roots to drink. So i coated it, replanted in fresh new bark medium and took 2 months but the first air root appeared, (that i could see) the leaves kept alive somehow, and that plant lived another 10 years before it had an unfortunate experience with a cat. Cinnamon is very good for dealing with rot issues. I have also had an orchid get sunburn on a leaf, so i wet the spot and coat with cinnamon and it stops the corruption from spreading so you dont lose the leaf. I am impressed with it. It helped my first orchid regrow roots and survive a bad fungal infection (black rot)

[@olegkuzovenkov8335]

Спасибо большое за ваш опыт

[@rosalinaladislao3295]

Thank you I’m using cinnamon from now on. Glad I came across you on utube.

[@sharmainecooper2147]

Very helpful ❤

[@imnon1660]

Oh my god, I appreciate you so much for including the "does it work" at the start of each list item. Fantastic video, thank you!

[@JimmyBHarvests]

🙏🙏🤙

[@billstevens8553]

THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS!

[@earthlingi72]

What a great myth buster ! awesome work man ... love it !

[@jojok49]

Love the experimental approach. Thank you for sharing.

[@christianmccain9433]

This is an excellent video! Thank you for a clean comparison without too much fluff.

[@minecraftgenix9719]

this is exactly the video i was looking for, awesome video.

[@sundayoliver3147]

Thanks for doing the working of testing these, and for reminding us that what's on the internet is not always useful, we need to use discernment.

[@scotthorten586]

Excellent Content. Love the data-driven approach!!!

[@Scare_D_Cat]

Always learning from this channel - you ROCK! No nonsense, just straight up info. Thanks!

[@JimmyBHarvests]

Thanks as always for the support, Scaredy!!

[@gaffm6083]

Yes 👍 👍

[@Dave_en]

Assigning more surface area by making wedge shaped cut on the stem worked for me most of the time. Aloevera is a good fertilizer and we can use it to soak the cuttings initially. Some plants root easily without help of natural or synthetic hormones. For hard to root plants, rooting hormone from nursery is mandatory.

[@AudioVisionBoard]

Great video!

[@tiffanysammons8165]

Love it. No bs talk. You have a new fan

[@JimmyBHarvests]

🤗🙏🙏

[@muizacetheadorable5319]

you deserve infinite subscribers, thnx sooo much for all your help

[@JimmyBHarvests]

Thanks buddy really appreciate it!!

[@Samanthaprice232]

Been looking for a minute for this video thank youuuu

[@n.normal1565]

the scientific rigour in this has me extremely impressed. the last video I needed to watch on the topic! 🌱🙌

[@JimmyBHarvests]

Thrilled to hear it, thanks!! 🙏🙏🫶🏻

[@frostyk1371]

This should have more view. so helpful

[@Notbluefox]

Thanks for being straightforward

[@RegalExotics]

Thank you so much for this. Please do a summary at the end of these test👍

[@oclot7177]

Straightforward, much thanks! :)

[@joncharles88]

I came to this video not knowing what to expect but holy Toledo my guy, your scientific method use was great. Thanks for this great video!

[@JimmyBHarvests]

Super appreciated!

[@cfuman]

Many thanks from Greece!

[@jerseygirl07105]

Thank you. Your research Is very informative.

[@JimmyBHarvests]

🙏🙏🤙

[@brent3611]

VERY cool experiment and thanks for sharing!

[@JimmyBHarvests]

My pleasure bro, thanks for the kind words!

[@Tobias-eu5eg]

Love all your videos! Keep it going amigo!

[@JimmyBHarvests]

Thanks! 🙏😁

[@yellow3222]

This video as well put together good job . Facts tests and individual results .

[@hananefikri8456]

the best video on this subject, thanks

[@JimmyBHarvests]

🙏🙏❤️

[@coolbreeze8572]

I've done the Aloe vera but never tried any of others! This is great wr cant denied the scientific proof you have provided! Cheers

[@JimmyBHarvests]

Very cool. Did you have good results while using aloe Vera?

[@leighbee1764]

THIS is the video I wanted to find

[@randykorynoski8932]

Awesome video bro thanks for clearing that up helped me out big time. Saved me a lot a time. Excellent job.👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@CuriosityCaravan]

Wow thank you. Best video

[@EmmiRose]

Fantastic. Thank you so much for Testing and spreading truth!

[@JimmyBHarvests]

Appreciated!! Thats the goal! 🙏🫶🏻🫶🏻

[@greekozygirl599]

That was good! Thank you

[@DiviniTea369]

Awesome video!!🎉 thank you for your excellent experiment documentation

[@JimmyBHarvests]

🙏🙏🤙

[@nicolebass4352]

Thanks 4 the straight Proof & Truth , Have a good 1 .

[@socialinsecuritytheshow5355]

“Does it work?” 😎 Nice test trials. Informative. Simple.

[@hoongweikin1484]

Informative video. Thanks

[@spongebob0101]

I just wanna say I really appreciate this video, esp the true and tested method so we actually know what works!

[@JimmyBHarvests]

Thanks for the support!

[@brucegarrison4999]

Thank you for doing this

[@Cactikoby1111]

Thanks for this video man helps so much

[@JimmyBHarvests]

Thanks for sharing, thrilled to hear it!

[@plantsandspreadsheets]

Just found and subscribed. Thanks for testing and sharing. Not many do.

[@JimmyBHarvests]

🙏🙏

[@compendiumyo3358]

Now you have a bunch of tomatoe plants ❤ I am really jealous. Thanks for the video I am super excited to try this.

[@americanrefugee5967]

This is awesome!! Thank you!!!

[@JimmyBHarvests]

🙏

[@englishcoach7772]

Solid content thank you

[@torsteinraaby]

Thank you so much for this!!

[@JimmyBHarvests]

🤗🙏🙏

[@FioBrio]

I love the fact you tried things (expirimented) before saying are they true or false

[@JimmyBHarvests]

🫶🏻🫶🏻 i wish more people would do the same!! The video blindly promoting these options with no testing or proof has over 9 milli views lololol

[@teannathompson9002]

Thank you! I'm a new plant onwer, and your tips are awesome

[@rhedhaering]

Love this! I just moved overseas and I can't get rooting hormone in my area. Thank you so much for doing this testing!! I was wondering about all the sketchy DIY videos. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@JimmyBHarvests]

🙏🙏 best of luck propagating!

[@TireSpare]

Thank you so much for your information. you are the professor of plants sir. I just applied cinnnamon powders all around my stems and weak trees

[@wcw19]

Thank you so much for sharing, really helpful :)

[@JimmyBHarvests]

🙏

[@kaprobinsyajunmar]

Interesting experiments, thanks for sharing..👏👏👏

[@or9094]

Man, those “tap water controls” are always winning over the “treated”. Makes me wonder what the hell is in your tap water. I’ve always heard and even read a few things about pharmaceuticals being in tap water. It would be cool to see you test that next. Lol 😄👍🏼

[@JimmyBHarvests]

I think most of the 'treatments' are just internet myths.. but its a good question!

[@Padraigp]

Most plants have rooting hormone at their nodes. Sterile water allows them to grow without any disease getting into the water ... I use willow water which works. Really well most of the time but sometimes if the water isn't sterile or boiled and then cooled it will get some fermentation ...or if I don't remove the willow leaves after making the water. It works amazingly well on most things but you have to also have the node all the hormone can do is signal the node to create roots rather than a branch or leaf. If the node isn't there it won't work.

[@megalepivolos]

thank you very much my friend and yes you help because you read my mind.Thanks again for the info stay strong and bring more

[@JimmyBHarvests]

Thanks as always for the support Vasileios! 🙏🙏

[@megalepivolos]

@@JimmyBHarvests thank you for the info my friend knowledge means power for me and now i know that honey and cinamon are good substitute for roots.Stay strong you do great job

[@darkshadowsx5949]

well at least the plants you treated with asprin didn't have a headache. cant say the same for the other ones.

[@liliankimani9524]

Good sense of humour.

[@alexisdamnit9012]

Bruh this guy is a life saver 🎉

[@kalyanishah17]

Loved it thank you so much!!!

[@JimmyBHarvests]

Thrilled to hear it - thanks Kalyani!

[@mikedunker7354]

thanKs good info mikee D

[@mememe84]

Thank you so much for this. I hate people who pass on folklore tales as advice. Real knowledge is best. You save me weeks or months of testing.

[@JimmyBHarvests]

Thrilled to hear it, thanks

[@Dave_en]

You shouldnt believe unless the same person shows you the results. There are plenty of such kind of people on youtube who make fake videos and cheat in the background.

[@reyninodiongzon6800]

Thank you sir!

[@JimmyBHarvests]

🙏🤙

[@lukeatillo6954]

Thanks for sharing! ✨🙏💖😁✨

[@terirachelsims8928]

I really appreciate this video and it's perfect timing just before I'm about to propagate some things. With many things, I just root in water or directly in soil, but I have had good luck with cinnamon. I figure, too, it doesn't hurt that cinnamon's a pretty good repellent for various pests from insects to rodents.

[@JimmyBHarvests]

💯

[@rubberband1951]

Thank you.

[@sanchosktn.9485]

A hug from Brasil!

[@beenjax94]

Amazing *.*

[@ethnyjane3248]

Thanks much for taking the time and making the effort to test these items! I'm going to try the cinnamon to root clematis! One thing I question though is that you appear to have used enteric coated aspirin, which might mess with your results. All sites I've seen recommending the use of ASA specify to use non-enteric coated sources. I'm wondering if the coating - a substance meant to withstand stomach acid! - might have been the problem!

[@JimmyBHarvests]

Thanks Jane! You might be on to something with the enteric coating. I hadn’t seen that detail when originally seeing aspirin mentioned as a rooting agent, but a couple people have said that here in the comments. Would be worth another test next time I’ve got some cuttings!

[@mohamedsabra1173]

well done

[@bethc5905]

Thank you!!!!

[@tdl525]

Thanks, good to know that Saigon Cinnamon works.

[@lostdoll0]

Aloe is all I use on my cuttings and it works like a gem never had any issues so far…. Like your one user said different plants like different things something’s may work better on others than some but thanks for the video informative

[@force9446]

Thanks 👍

[@kowalityjesus]

That's pretty hype bro

[@christopherm9353]

That “helllll no!” on the aspirin almost made me spit my beer out 😂

[@reginahanson2186]

Thank you. I'm trying the cinnamon 💖

[@alantira]

Grazie, bel video!

[@JimmyBHarvests]

🙏🙏🫶🏻

[@lyricscann]

Thank you for conducting these tests! Love the wallpaper behind you, where did you buy it??

[@JimmyBHarvests]

My wife painted the wall! 😄 i'll tell her you liked it!

[@saratkasyap782]

Thanks

[@cruz6538]

You're supposed to dilute aloe vera gel with 10 parts water elsewise it has adverse effects.

[@lgornik7750]

I LOVE YOU VIDEOS

[@JimmyBHarvests]

Tytyty! 🙏🙏☺️

[@sb9442]

Very good 👍 video…ty

[@JimmyBHarvests]

🙏🙏

[@ms10000]

Perfect!!

[@JimmyBHarvests]

🙏🙏🙏

[@fredwerring8665]

Just now (end of January) took some cuttings from thornless blackberries and blueberries to try and root (I'm tired of winter). Can't find my store bought rooting hormone, so was looking on the web for substitutes. Came across your video after reading a lot of "THIS WORKS" on the net. But you showed what did work and what didn't. Going to mix honey and cinnamon and apply to half, just plain water for the other half, see what happens Thanks

[@JimmyBHarvests]

Best of luck Fred!

[@autumnleaves2294]

What happened?

[@fredwerring8665]

@@autumnleaves2294 Nothing rooted, in any of my jars

[@LeadByFaith81]

Gained a sub for getting to the point.

[@ikhouvanpannekoeken3272]

Wow thank you so much for your time and your explanation! I have a lot of raw Honey and cinnamon at home. but I have a question can I dilute the cinnamon with water for the root stimulation?

[@yashuajames]

Thank u Bro

[@Ch33chCortez]

For the honey, you put too little honey on the water, when honey is less than 15% you'll have microorganisms grow like bacteria or mold, put more honey and show the results! Honey is a natural antibiotic, we use it a lot when growing mushroom, specifically on liquid cultures. You're welcome ;-)

[@josephinethornton3823]

I'm also curious about different varieties of honey would work, specifically manuka. But as I only have a bit left and I use it to make me skin care regimen, I won't be using it for rooting experiments until I've obtained more.

[@bonnienichalson5151]

Thank You for your testing and clear consise post :) I will use cinnamon:) to propagate cutting:) great Channel:) Well done 🥳✨🇨🇦

[@JimmyBHarvests]

much appreciated!

[@ernestfultz6159]

Saliva works just not for cuttings. saliva works for grafting. If you take a cutting and put it in your mouth right after taking it. It keeps the cutting end from drying out long enough to graft it in place. But no saliva won't work on cuttings. cuttings need to harden off not stay open. Also some of your testing is faulty as to how they are being done. Aloe, honey, and cinnamon are commonly used together. because they have different property's. cinnamon=fungal protection, honey is kinda like plant food, And aloe is actually contrary to popular opinion more to prevent disease. None are actually a rooting hormone. Until you add some thing most people don't have available. Water from soaking weeping willow branch cuttings for the hormone the trees create naturally or some other plant that creates an abundances of growth hormones.. Even onions can be used. But mostly for pests that like attack cuttings. because onions produce a toxin. Your test is faulty because of how your using each. Your trying to put every thing in a nice little box, But you have no concept of how each is being used. But yes a lot of videos have bad information. like one seen other day, sugar, baking soda, and vinegar. fermented. basically had nothing to ferment because no yeast or fruit were added. so basically was PH neutral sugar water. Most people don't have any thing in their homes to use as a rooting hormone. But most people do in their back yards. In most cases its the weed or vine that grows out of control and anchors itself to every thing around. Some thing most people don't know is worm castings have auxins rooting hormones.

[@crazyDIYguy]

Love your videos, excellent 👍💯. Apple cider vinegar might have worked or improved some cuttings by potentially dropping the pH to more acidic in the medium around the stem for some people. (Just a theory) I'm finding out that a more acidic pH 5.0-6.5 helps expedite maple cuttings I'm rooting it seems. So maybe dilute vinegar in combination with a hormone.

[@JimmyBHarvests]

Thanks for sharing! Would love to see some content on the maple tree cloning. Ive been trying to look into the tree game and cloning info is hard to find- not sure whats possible

[@crazyDIYguy]

@@JimmyBHarvests I've killed so many 😄 I might make a video eventually. Check out gibberellic acid I think you could have some fun with that. Or cytokinin (I believe they use that to clone orchids) I'm testing gibberellic right now on some cannabis clones, I'll comment if it does anything 👍 thanks again for the videos 🙏

[@reddedhed]

They all work really well if theyre done right

[@JimmyBHarvests]

Would love to see proof of that!

[@OG_VeniVidiVici]

Hey, i know this is old, but for the aloe vera, the process is about 120g blended into a gallon of water (typically pour water out the gallon to 8 oz, blend, strain and pour back in). Soak the cuttings in this solution for ~24 hours and then continue with your cloning method. This allows time for the plant to absorb the nutrient solution which contains the hormones (as well as aminos, and macro/micronutrients).

[@JimmyBHarvests]

Thanks for sharing that! More work than a quick honey/cinnamon dip but great to hear its possible

[@Dave_en]

As per my experience the cutting should be dipped in aloevera solution for a day before putting it in soil. Even in plain water it works. I was going to throw out my banyan bonsai cuttings after giving it hard pruning. Then decided to try out rooting just out of curiosity. I let the cuttings dry out for 2 days and just soaked them in water for a day. The cuttings which looked dry absorbed water and became green with life energy. Then planted them in organic soil. Within few days leaves started to sprout. Perhaps rooting has started and i'm going to leave it there so that plant establishes itself in the soil before i plan to shift it elsewhere.

[@Octoberr_x]

Love this video! I spent so much time wondering why some of these methods would bot work for me 😭now i know it's because it just doesn't work in that way 😹

[@hendersonandre1]

This video was very helpful. Before I even seen it I did a google search trying to figure out the best ways to go about rooting and of all the ones I seen on google I instant went towards cinnamon and honey. Watching this video only confirmed what I already assumed would be the best options for rooting. When I seen vinegar I was thinking that will kill a lot of the health micros in the soil and etc. The aspirin i was like i dont know about that one. The aloe I had rule that out cause I dont have any aloe plant and this is the first time I have heard of saliva but just hearing that I was like no way that will work with all the stuff us humans put in our mouths. Our mouths are probably loaded with all kinds of bad stuff that will probably not be good for plants I would think.

[@boywhohasl1vedhascometodie469]

I just saw this before propagating some Yoshino trees, thank you so much for saving me that time! And I offer you a request, can you try growing Cherry Blossom trees and test the different methods and techniques, I am trying to start some of my own from seed from a tree in town and it doesn’t seem like it’s working😂 I would greatly appreciate it!

[@JimmyBHarvests]

I've been collecting tree seeds lately and trying to grow them.. adding cherry blossoms to the list is a great idea!

[@boywhohasl1vedhascometodie469]

@@JimmyBHarvests thank you! i have been doing some research on cherry blossoms and been experimenting with some cherries from a tree in my town because i dont wanna pay upward of $100 for a tree that might die during shipping. thank you again!

[@dhutch12345]

You can actually make a rooted cutting right on the tree , by using a clear or colored pop bottle and cut it to fit around the limb , fill it with spagnum moss and I like using root tone also just keep it wet, it will root then you can cut it from the tree and plant it .also pick a decent limb to make a cutting from trial and error will perfect the method.

[@Dave_en]

​@@dhutch12345Just prepare the soil by mixing tea compost, sand and garden soil. Just tie up a plastic bag with this soil on any of the healthy branch. Just make a small round cut along the circumference of the branch and cover it with the soil and plastic bag. Come back after a month or two. You will see plenty of roots within the plastic bag.

[@gbrown9273]

If you lick a stem, make sure it is not a poisonous plant...

[@JimmyBHarvests]

Important tip 😂

[@salviaspuzzle]

Love your video! I assumed the saliva test would include hocking some major loogies into the water instead of just a quick lick. Have you tried using more saliva?