7 Best Rooting Hormones (2026 Buyer’s Guide)

Rooting hormone is a small purchase that changes how many cuttings you end up keeping. The products sold for home propagation supply extra auxin, a plant hormone involved in root formation, so a fresh stem cutting forms roots faster and more evenly than it would on its own. Easy plants such as pothos and coleus often root without help, but woody shrubs, semi-ripe stems and slow growers benefit most. The useful questions are which format you want (powder, gel or liquid) and how strong it is, because a gentle product for tender houseplant tips is a poor match for dormant hardwood cuttings. This guide compares the rooting hormone listings currently on Amazon, notes which ones state their active ingredient and strength, and explains how to choose and use a rooting hormone for cuttings at home.

In this guide

1. The best rooting hormones for cuttings
2. How to choose a rooting hormone
3. Frequently asked questions
4. References

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How we compared: we compared 15 current Amazon rooting hormone listings (covering ten distinct products, several sold in multipacks) on what each listing states about format, active ingredient, strength, quantity and intended cuttings, and checked general advice against extension propagation guidance. We did not test or handle the products, and nothing here describes hands-on use. Availability and listing details change, so confirm the current listing and product label before you buy.

The best rooting hormones for cuttings

1. Garden Safe TakeRoot Rooting Hormone, 2 Pack — Best overall for home propagation

Best overall

Why we like it

• Names its active ingredient: indole-3-butyric acid.
• Simple dip-and-tap powder method suits beginners.
• Listed for violets, roses, geraniums and woody ornamentals.
• Two jars give a spare sealed supply.

Specification	Details
Format	Powder
Active ingredient	Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA)
Strength	Not stated in listing
Quantity	Two 2 oz containers
Intended plants	Home, garden and greenhouse cuttings, including woody ornamentals
Method	Moisten cutting, stir cut end in powder, tap off excess, plant

Garden Safe TakeRoot HG-93221 — IBA powder, 2 x 2 oz, general-purpose cuttings, strength not stated.

The most widely listed rooting hormone on the shelf

Garden Safe TakeRoot appears in five of the 15 listings we compared, as a single jar and in 2, 3 and 12 packs. That breadth tells you it is the default choice many shoppers land on, and the 2-pack is the most practical size for a home gardener: one jar to work from and one sealed for later. The listing names IBA as the active ingredient and describes it as similar to the root hormone found in plants, which matches how extension sources describe these products.

What the listing does not give is the IBA percentage. Only three listings on the shelf state a strength (the two Hormex powders and the Hormodin 1 jug), so TakeRoot is in the majority here, but it means you are trusting the label on the jar rather than the product page. Its plant list leans toward soft and semi-soft material such as African violets, coleus, geraniums and poinsettias, with woody ornamentals added. For dormant hardwood cuttings, a product with a stated higher strength is the safer bet.

The method on the listing, moisten the cutting, stir in powder and tap off the excess, lines up with extension advice. Virginia Cooperative Extension recommends putting some hormone in a separate container for dipping and discarding it afterward, so the main supply is not contaminated.

Check Garden Safe TakeRoot 2 Pack price on Amazon

2. Hormex Rooting Hormone Powder #16 — Best for hardwood cuttings

Best for hardwood cuttings

Why we like it

• 1.60% IBA, the highest strength stated on the shelf.
• Made specifically for hard-to-root woody plants.
• Strength is printed in the listing, not left to guesswork.
• Works in soil, peat, coco or rockwool per listing.

Specification	Details
Format	Powder
Active ingredient	Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA)
Strength	1.60% IBA
Intended cuttings	Hardwood and difficult woody varieties, tough evergreens
Origin	Made in the USA
Quantity	Not stated in listing

Hormex #16 — 1.60% IBA powder for hardwood and woody evergreen cuttings, USA made, jar size not stated.

The strongest stated IBA concentration of any listing

Hormex sells its powder in four strengths, which the listing gives as 0.1, 0.3, 0.8 and 1.6% IBA, and #16 is the top of that range. No other listing on the shelf states a strength above 0.1%. That makes this the clearest choice for cuttings that resist rooting: dormant woody shrubs, conifers and other evergreens that root slowly or not at all with a mild product.

Strength cuts both ways. A product meant for woody stems is a poor match for soft green tips, which is exactly why Hormex sells lower numbers. If you mostly root houseplants, start with #1 (below) and keep #16 for the jobs that need it. The listing’s suggested method, a 3 to 8 inch stem cut at an angle below a node, dipped in water and then coated, is standard practice, though the listing pairs it with other Hormex products you do not need.

The listing does not state the jar size, which matters because high-strength powders are used in small amounts and a large jar may outlast its useful life. Check the size on the product page before ordering.

Check Hormex Powder #16 price on Amazon

3. Hormex Rooting Hormone Powder #1 — Best for tender houseplant cuttings

Best for houseplant cuttings

Why we like it

• Stated 0.10% IBA suits soft green stems.
• Listing names common houseplants it targets.
• Same brand offers stronger steps as needs grow.
• Made in the USA per listing.

Specification	Details
Format	Powder
Active ingredient	Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA)
Strength	0.10% IBA
Intended cuttings	Delicate, easy-to-root softwood and houseplants
Origin	Made in the USA
Quantity	Not stated in listing

Hormex #1 — 0.10% IBA powder for soft houseplant and softwood cuttings, USA made, jar size not stated.

One of only three listings that state a strength, and the gentlest

Two of the three listings that print a strength sit at 0.1%: this Hormex #1 and the Hormodin 1 jug. For anyone propagating aroids, African violets, begonias or herbs, a stated low strength is reassuring, because the point of rooting hormone on soft tissue is a light nudge rather than a heavy dose. The listing calls out monstera, pothos, philodendron and African violets by name.

Compared with Garden Safe TakeRoot, the main difference is transparency: Hormex prints the number and TakeRoot does not. Compared with Hormodin 1, Hormex #1 is aimed at houseplant growers rather than nursery-scale volume. Note that many easy houseplants root in water or moist mix without any hormone at all. Virginia Cooperative Extension says hormone is useful to hasten rooting, increase root number or get uniform rooting, and makes an exception for soft, fleshy stems.

Check Hormex Powder #1 price on Amazon

4. Clonex Rooting Gel, 100 ml — Best rooting gel

Best rooting gel

Why we like it

• Only gel format among the listings we compared.
• Gel stays in contact with the cut surface.
• Contains IBA in a water-based formula.
• Listing says it has been sold since 1988.

Specification	Details
Format	Water-based gel
Active ingredient	IBA
Strength	Not stated in listing
Volume	100 ml
Intended cuttings	Soft-tissue plants, wide range of types
Method	Dip, insert into medium, mist, keep warm and moist

Clonex HGC726005 — IBA rooting gel, 100 ml, soft-tissue cuttings, strength not stated in listing.

The only gel on the shelf

Every other product we compared is either a dry powder or, in one case, a liquid for water propagation. Clonex is the lone gel. The listing’s argument for gel is contact: a tacky coating stays on the cut end while you insert the cutting, instead of rubbing off in the hole the way loose powder can. That is helpful when you are sticking many soft cuttings into trays or cubes.

The listing aims Clonex at soft-tissue plants and mentions misting and a warm, clean, moist environment after sticking, which matches general guidance. It does not print the IBA percentage, and its claim of outperforming powders is marketing rather than something the listing supports with data. Gel also costs more per cutting than a powder jar, so it makes most sense for regular propagators rather than someone rooting a few geraniums a year. As with powder, pour a little into a separate cup and dip there to keep the bottle clean.

Check Clonex Rooting Gel 100 ml price on Amazon

5. A.M. Leonard Hormodin 1 Rooting Compound, 1 lb — Best bulk supply

Best bulk supply

Why we like it

• Largest quantity on the shelf: a 1 lb jug.
• States 0.1% active ingredient.
• No measuring or mixing needed.
• Listed for about 35,000 cuttings.

Specification	Details
Format	Powder
Active ingredient	Named only as 0.1% active ingredient
Strength	0.1%
Quantity	1 lb jug
Intended plants	Roses, home garden and greenhouse plants
Yield claim	About 35,000 cuttings

A.M. Leonard Hormodin 1 — 0.1% rooting powder, 1 lb jug, ~35,000 cuttings, roses and greenhouse plants.

By far the largest quantity in a single listing

Most listings on the shelf are 1.25 to 2 ounce jars, or a 50 to 75 gram pack. The Hormodin 1 jug is a full pound, which is why the listing claims enough for some 35,000 cuttings. That is nursery volume. For a home gardener it only makes sense if you propagate heavily every year, share with a garden club or run a plant sale, because even a dry powder does not keep its quality indefinitely once opened.

The strength matches Hormex #1 at 0.1%, so it sits in the soft and semi-ripe range. RootBoost, which appears in two other listings, says it contains Hormodin 1, so it is essentially a smaller retail jar of a similar formula. The listing does not name the active ingredient chemically, only the percentage, so read the label on arrival.

Check Hormodin 1, 1 lb Jug price on Amazon

6. Bonide Bontone II Rooting Powder, 1.25 oz — Best for cuttings plus bulbs

Best for cuttings plus bulbs

Why we like it

• Listed for both softwood and hardwood cuttings.
• Can coat seeds, bulbs, corms and roots.
• Small 1.25 oz jar suits occasional use.
• Covers ornamentals, vegetables, fruit trees and berries.

Specification	Details
Format	Ready-to-use dust (powder)
Active ingredient	Not stated in listing
Strength	Not stated in listing
Quantity	1.25 oz
Intended uses	Cuttings, seeds, bulbs, corms, transplants
Plants named	Azaleas, mums, geraniums, pachysandra, poinsettias

Bonide Bontone II (925) — 1.25 oz rooting dust for cuttings, seeds and bulbs; ingredient and strength not stated.

One of two listings that also covers seeds and bulbs

Most rooting products on the shelf are described only for stem cuttings. Bontone II and the Alvinlite powder are the two that also describe shaking seeds or bulbs in a bag with the powder. If you divide bulbs, plant corms or move transplants as often as you take cuttings, one small jar that the label allows for all of those is convenient.

The weakness is detail. The listing does not name the active ingredient or its strength, even though it claims use on both softwood and hardwood cuttings, which normally call for different strengths. That makes it a reasonable general-purpose jar rather than a precise tool. If you are working with difficult woody material, a product with a stated higher strength such as Hormex #16 gives you more to go on. Because rooting products are regulated as plant growth regulators, the product label, not the listing, is the authority on where and how it may be used.

Check Bonide Bontone II price on Amazon

7. Southside Plants Root Drops Liquid, 4 oz — Best for water propagation

Best for water propagation

Why we like it

• Only liquid made for water propagation on the shelf.
• Simple dose: 2 drops per cup of water.
• Also listed for leca, pon and sphagnum moss.
• Made in the USA per listing.

Specification	Details
Format	Liquid drops
Active ingredient	Described as natural rooting hormone plus vitamins; not named
Strength	Not stated in listing
Volume	4 oz
Dose	2 drops per cup of water, refreshed every 4 to 5 days
Media	Water, soil, leca, pon, sphagnum moss

Southside Plants Root Drops — 4 oz liquid, 2 drops per cup, water and semi-hydro propagation, hormone not named.

The only listing built around rooting cuttings in water

Powders and gels need a solid medium to stay on the stem, so they are a poor fit for the jar-on-the-windowsill method many houseplant owners use. Root Drops is the one listing on the shelf designed to go into the water itself, with a dose of 2 drops per cup and a reminder to refresh every 4 to 5 days. It also lists leca, pon and moss for semi-hydro setups.

It is also the least specific listing among our picks. It does not name the hormone, give a concentration or list other ingredients beyond vitamins, and its claims about faster, thicker roots and reduced transplant shock are not supported in the listing. Treat it as a convenience product for easy houseplants. Extension guidance adds a caution about water propagation in general: Virginia Cooperative Extension notes that water should be changed weekly to avoid stagnation, and that roots formed in water can suffer more transplant shock when moved to soil.

Check Southside Plants Root Drops price on Amazon

How to choose a rooting hormone

What rooting hormone does

Plants make their own auxins, and University of Florida IFAS Extension describes commercial rooting hormones as a supplemental dose of auxin that helps root development. Most products use indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). The hormone does not make a weak cutting viable; it speeds up and evens out a process the cutting can already do. Virginia Cooperative Extension frames the benefits as faster rooting, more roots and more uniform rooting, and notes that soft, fleshy stems are the exception.

Match strength to the cutting

Strength is the most useful number on a label, and only three of the 15 listings we compared print it. The Hormex range shows how manufacturers grade products: about 0.1% IBA for soft, easy cuttings, stepping up through 0.3% and 0.8% to 1.6% for hard-to-root woody material. As a working approach:

• Softwood and houseplant cuttings (new green growth, aroids, herbs, coleus): use a low-strength product, or none for very easy species. Our guide to taking softwood cuttings covers timing and technique.
• Semi-ripe cuttings (current season’s growth that is firming at the base): a mid-strength product.
• Hardwood cuttings (dormant woody stems in late fall or winter): a stronger product such as Hormex #16. See how to take hardwood cuttings for step-by-step guidance.

When a label does not state strength, go by the plant list on the package and the manufacturer’s directions.

Powder, gel or liquid

Powder is the most common format on the shelf and the simplest to store. Moisten the cut end so it sticks, dip, tap off the excess and insert into a pre-made hole so the coating is not scraped away. Gel clings better and is tidier when sticking many cuttings in trays. Liquid products range from concentrates you dilute to drops you add to propagation water; they suit water and semi-hydro growers. Some gardeners reach for honey or willow water as a home remedy; our comparison of rooting hormone and honey explains how they differ.

Good technique matters more than brand

A clean, well-placed cut does more for success than any product. Use sharp bypass pruners so stems are cut cleanly rather than crushed, and cut just below a node. Virginia Cooperative Extension recommends a clean, low-fertility rooting medium that drains well but holds moisture, such as half peat moss and half perlite or equal parts peat, vermiculite and perlite. It also suggests keeping air and medium around 70 to 75 degrees F, giving bright but indirect light and encouraging air circulation to discourage fungal problems. Keep cuttings moist but not soaked; UF IFAS Extension advises moist but not too wet conditions for the first several weeks while roots establish.

Avoid contaminating the jar

Both Virginia Cooperative Extension and UF IFAS Extension say the same thing: pour a small amount into a separate dish, dip from that and throw away what is left. Dipping straight into the container can introduce moisture and disease organisms to the whole supply. Keep the lid tight and store the product cool and dry.

Read the label

Under federal law, a substance intended for use as a plant regulator counts as a pesticide, according to the EPA. Product labels for pesticides are legally enforceable, and EPA summarizes that idea as “the label is the law.” In practice, that means the label on the container, not the online listing, sets the approved plants, rates and safety precautions. Wear gloves if the label calls for them, avoid breathing powder dust and keep products away from children and pets.

When rooting hormone is not worth buying

If you only root pothos, tradescantia, coleus or willow, water and patience will usually do. A rooting hormone earns its place when you propagate woody ornamentals, roses, conifers or bonsai stock, or when you want a full tray to root evenly. Browse more propagation and pruning gear in our tools and gear guides.

Frequently asked questions

References

• Virginia Cooperative Extension — Propagation by Cuttings, Layering and Division (426-002)
• UF/IFAS Florida-Friendly Landscaping Program — Rooting Hormones
• U.S. EPA — What Is a Pesticide?
• U.S. EPA — Introduction to Pesticide Labels