Nutritive Solutions ® 'RootOn' — Custom Rooting Hormone

Grow Your Nursery at Home. One Cutting at a Time.

Custom-blended KIBA + potassium salt rooting hormone, formulated in our south Alabama nursery from 45 years of propagating houseplants, shrubs, trees — the same auxin chemistry nurseries use, matched to the plants you actually grow at home.

At A Glance

Pharmaceutical-grade KIBA + potassium salt — the auxin proven in peer-reviewed trials to lift rooting success up to 2x versus untreated cuttings.

Matched Concentration — calibrated for home-gardener cuttings, not the messy industrial 8,000 ppm powders that burn softwood tissue. No-alcohol auxin to burn stems and tissue.

Grower-Tested — proven on 40 million successful cuttings rooted since 1990.

Ships to 100% of the US from our Alabama nursery.

Three Things We Learned After 40 Million Cuttings

1. The hormone sets the stage. Your technique fills the room.

After propagating tens of millions of cuttings in our career, the clearest lesson is this: a quality rooting hormone is the foundation — not the whole house. 'RootOn' gives your cuttings the best possible chemical signal to initiate roots. A clean cut, the right medium moisture, and proper timing turn that signal into results you can see.

2. Matched concentration outperforms brute strength every time.

We calibrated 'RootOn' specifically for the houseplants, shrubs, and trees home gardeners actually grow — not commercial conifer beds. A formula dialed in for your plants is far more effective (and far gentler on stem tissue) than an industrial-strength powder designed for a completely different purpose.

3. When you take your cutting matters as much as what you dip it in.

We propagate 10-11 months a year. That experience taught us that cutting stage — softwood, semi-hardwood, or hardwood — determines rooting speed more than almost anything else. That's why every bottle of 'RootOn' ships with our timing guide, so you're not guessing when to cut.

How To Use It

Softwood Cuttings

New spring growth, still flexible.

Dip 1/2 inch of a fresh, clean-cut stem for 5 seconds. Tap off excess. Insert 1/4" to 1/2" into moist — not soggy — perlite or a 50/50 perlite-peat mix. Cover with a humidity dome. Bright indirect light, 70–75°F.

Semi-Hardwood Cuttings

Mid-to-late summer, firm but not brown. Azaleas, boxwood, camellia, holly, most shrubs.

Same dip, but load the base longer. Wound the bottom 1/2 inch with a shallow vertical scrape before dipping — this exposes more cambium and lifts rooting.

Hardwood Cuttings

Dormant, leafless, winter. Roses, figs, deciduous trees, deutzia.

Take 8–10 inch cuttings, dip, insert 1/2" deep into a sand-perlite bed, and be patient — hardwood roots on the order of weeks or months, not days.

Fulfilling High Expectations Since 2006

• Est. 2006. The Plant Factory, Inc. — a working wholesale nursery in Theodore, Alabama.
• 200,000+ orders fulfilled for some of the largest online nurseries in the country.
• 45 years of propagation experience from our founder — grown, rooted, and shipped by the same hands.
• Year-round shipping to USDA zones 3–10. We propagate 11 months a year — this hormone is built from that data.
• Made in the USA. Formulated and packed at our Alabama facility, not drop-shipped from a private label.

Frequently Asked Questions

Isn't rooting hormone just rooting hormone? Why buy yours?

What differs between brands is concentration, carrier, and who tested it on what. Ours is calibrated for shrubs, trees, and perennials propagated in real nursery conditions — the same plant families we grow and ship every day. That's a promise the big-box brands can't make.

Powder or liquid — which is best?

Powder has the longest shelf life but is messy and can be inhaled during use. Liquid concentrates give propagators precise dilution control. We launch with liquid because it's the right choice for home propagators taking a handful of cuttings a season and wanting a formula that lasts.

Will this work on houseplants, shrubs, and trees?

Yes — 'RootOn' is formulated for exactly these plant families. Our KIBA + potassium salt formula sits in the optimal concentration window for softwood, semi-hardwood, and hardwood cuttings across a wide range of species.

Is it safe?

KIBA is a naturally occurring plant auxin used in commercial propagation for decades. Follow the label. Wash hands after handling. Not for consumption. Keep out of reach of children and pets.

What if my cuttings still fail?

Cutting failure almost always traces to one of three things: wrong tissue stage, wrong environment (soggy medium, low humidity, cold soil), or an unhealthy mother plant. If you're still stuck, email us — we've rooted a lot of cuttings.

How fast does it ship?

From our Theodore, Alabama facility, we reach 100% of the US in an average of 2.8 days. Same careful packaging as our thousands of live plants.