Jacki Cammidge is a Certified Horticulturist specializing in frugal, low-input gardening and propagation, with lifelong hands-on experience and years as a wholesale nursery head propagator.

Honey as a Rooting Hormone

Myth, or Magic?

Honey is good for many things, but it is not a rooting hormone. What it does have are antibacterial and antifungal properties, which can give a cutting a fighting chance.

Honey is often suggested as a natural "rooting hormone", but that description is not quite accurate. Honey does not contain the plant hormones, such as auxins, that commercial rooting powders and gels use to actively stimulate root formation.

What honey can do is help protect a fresh cutting because it has well-known antimicrobial properties and high sugar content, which can inhibit some microbes on the wounded stem surface. In that sense, honey may act more like a wound dressing than a true rooting hormone. 

For plant propagation, rooting hormones are usually based on synthetic or naturally derived auxins, most commonly indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) or 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). Try saying that three times, fast.

These compounds are used because they improve the chances of adventitious root formation on many types of cuttings.

University and extension sources consistently describe rooting products in those terms, which is why honey should be viewed as a folk substitute rather than an equivalent replacement. 

That said, some gardeners still use honey when taking cuttings, especially for easy-rooting plants like pothos, mint, coleus, basil, or tradescantia.

The usual method is simple: take a healthy cutting just below a node, remove the lower leaves, dip the cut end lightly in clean honey, and stick it into a moist propagation medium such as sterile potting mix, perlite, vermiculite, or a perlite-peat blend.

Good sanitation matters more than the honey itself—use a clean blade, fresh medium, and a container with drainage. Keep the medium moist but not waterlogged, and provide bright indirect light. 

If you want reliable results, commercial rooting hormone is generally a better choice, especially for woody, semi-hardwood, or difficult-to-root plants such as roses, hydrangeas, camellias, and many shrubs.

Honey may not hurt if used sparingly, but too much can become sticky, attract contaminants, or potentially encourage mold if conditions are poor. Ants are also attracted to anything sweet.

Also, because honey composition varies by floral source and processing, it is not standardized the way commercial rooting products are. 

So, the bottom line is this: honey is a natural propagation aid, not a true rooting hormone. It may help reduce microbial problems on a cutting and may be worth trying on soft, easy plants if you enjoy low-cost experiments.

If your goal is to maximize rooting success, especially for valuable or difficult cuttings, use a proper rooting hormone and sound propagation practices.

Healthy parent plants, correct cutting technique, clean tools, suitable medium, humidity, and patience matter far more than honey alone. 

So if you want to use honey as a rooting dip, feel free, but just know that it's not a hormone, even if it will give cuttings a head start on the rooting process.

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