How to Make a Natural Rooting Hormone Using Willow

Big box stores sell a small jar of synthetic rooting hormone for only a few dollars, but many people want to avoid exposing themselves to this. A DIY alternative is willow water.

Have you ever tried to cut down a willow tree, only to find a few months later that it is sprouting everywhere? This tree just wants to grow and roots so easily. You can take advantage of this natural tendency for rooting by making willow water. The magic behind this phenomenon is in 2 compounds that are found in willow trees: salicylic acid (the stuff in aspirin that helps with resistance to pathogens) and IBA (indolebutyric acid, which stimulates root growth). 

First, find a willow tree...any variety of willow will work here. Willows love water, so check by ponds, rivers, and streams. The best time to collect would be early spring or summer. If you're collecting in the summer, you'll need to remove the leaves.

Focus on getting the new growth - the ends of the branches that are thin and pliable. 

Next, chop up the branches into small pieces, about 1 to 1 1/2 inches.

Then, add water and boil for 10 minutes. Here, we did about 4 cups of willow pieces to 32 ounces of water. You really don't need much willow water to treat a ton of plants.

Allow to cool and store in a jar in the fridge until you're ready to plant.

When planting, simply dip the ends of your cutting into the water, then stick into the soil.

Of course, keep the soil moist when you're trying to root your cuttings, and do your best to keep out the squirrels and small hands! 😋