Using Apple Cider Vinegar as a Natural Rooting Hormone

Propagating plant clippings is one thing most gardeners like doing because it saves us money and also keeps our plants true. What do I mean by keeping the plants true? When you propagate a plant, it means that the plant that you've taken the clipping from will stay true to the original plant. With stem cuttings, each new plant will duplicate its parent plant. So if you have a favorite plant, it's nice to take several clippings from it and propagate it. 

My favorite part about propagating plants is that you can also do this with vegetable plants. Tomatoes and peppers are just a few of the plants in your vegetable garden that can be propagated from cuttings. Starting a vegetable plant from an existing stem is also much faster than growing it from seed. 

Apple cider rooting hormone

Three teaspoons of apple cider vinegar mixed into a gallon of water is all it takes to make enough rooting hormone to use for several plant stem clippings. 

Start with a four to six inch cutting. Clip off the biggest leaves, blooms, and make your cut diagonal right underneath a node (about ¼ of an inch). The nodes look like a bump on the plant's stems and are where new plant growth forms, whether it be leaves, flowers, or stems. Not all plants will have nodes, but the majority of them do. In the picture above, you can see that my cutting has numerous rooting nodes. At several nodes on the cutting, there's new growth forming.

To use the all natural rooting hormone, dip the bottom of the clipped cutting into the vinegar solution just before adding the cutting into a rooting medium such as potting soil, or mix the solution to place your cuttings in bottles, or jars.

Using apple cider vinegar as a rooting hormone is another great way to give your cuttings that extra boost they need to grow.

Make up an extra gallon of the hormone solution to water your cuttings too. Using the natural apple cider rooting hormone, you will see a quicker response from your cuttings than if you used only water, especially if you have more semi-hardwood or hardwood cuttings.

Some cuttings may only take days to root, while some will take weeks, and then there are others that will take months. Don't get discouraged. Always try propagating more than one clipping on a plant, because sometimes a clipping may not survive.

At this time, I am propagating pepper plants that grew way too leggy. I have several clippings that I have used successfully, while there's been a couple that unfortunately failed. 

You can also propagate plants in apple cider vinegar water. Just pour some of the solution in a bottle, or jar, then place your clipping into the solution. About every fourth day pour the solution out and add fresh. This will help your clippings from getting slimy and keep bacterial and fungal growth from occurring. Always top up the propagating bottles, or jars with more solution, if the water solution gets low before changing it out. 

Keep all of your cuttings in full sunlight during the day on a windowsill, or keep them inside a greenhouse, etc.