Have left over stock of Schultz Take Root Rooting Hormone. I am looking to trade with plant stakes or plant food. Thanks.

Well, first thing is, as long as the cuttings appear to be living, leave them alone! Do not take them out to "check" for roots or callus. You'll disturb any growth and actually prevent them from succeeding if you've disturbed them too much. You don't need more hormone. If they are callused that quickly, they should continue growing unless you've interrupted them enough to cause them to fail. Personally, I wouldn't remove the plastic bags until you see evidence of new top growth and you've been able to determine there are roots. If you can plant them individually in smaller pots and still keep them covered and appropriately watered, it will make it easier to check for roots without having to pull them up. You can easily tilt out a small root ball to check for root growth then put it back without interrupting the development. Once you are sure there are roots and there is some top growth beginning, you may begin exposing them to increasingly greater out door elements. You don't want to just rip the bag off and let them fend for themselves as the growth which has developed inside the bags is softer than it would be had it grown out in the usual elements. Hardening them off is a gradual process. You give them a little more outside elements and less "greenhouse" type, increasing that gradually until they are fully uncovered. If you're in a rainy period, you can safely remove the bags from fully rooted cuttings and they will usually harden off just fine. But, fully exposing newly rooted cuttings to harsher conditions out of the plastic bags in one step is like you being inside all winter then jumping right in to summer without any getting used to the increased heat and sun. You both will fry. Kim

Sure it is. Many millions of plants were propagated from cuttings before rooting hormones came into existence. The three keys to success are: proper timing in taking the cuttings, a suitable rooting medium, and a means of maintaining 100% humidity around the cuttings until rooting has taken place. Old time propagators used sand, mixtures of peat and sand, or anything else that held moisture but had lots of air space. Containers with good drainage, a glass cover- later a poly plastic one - to maintain humidity and a lifetime's experience to know when to take the cuttings.

Phosphorus and potassium are both very helpful for roots (both according to what I've read and what I've experienced with potassium—and according to what I've read with phosphorus, but I imagine it's true). Too much nitrogen can be bad for roots, as can too much water, too little ventilation, diseased soil, etc. When I started plants indoors, I used to give them potassium sulfate, and they would get awesome roots pretty fast. I also did this for cuttings rooted in soil, and for transplants, and it was helpful. I didn't experiment with phosphorus much until I stopped starting seeds indoors. I'm not saying that potassium and phosphorus do what hormone rooting powder is supposed to do, but at least potassium is still helpful for cuttings rooted in soil (it helps them to absorb more water and be less prone to shock—and at least by the time they do root, it helps the roots). I found it to be extremely helpful (both for seedlings and cuttings, but avoid soils with big chunks of partially composted wood chips). I took loads of cuttings in early 2015 with a very high success rate (e.g. tomatoes, watermelon, muskmelons, cucumbers, peppers, tomatillos, etc.) If you give cuttings bright light too soon after you take the cutting, it can stunt and/or wither and/or kill them. Give them at least a day or two of dimmer light. I did pretty large cuttings every time, though (between 3 and 16 inches). Maybe the reason people tend to use younger shoots is to avoid the light issue—but you can definitely take longer cuttings involving older growth. I'd usually take maybe an 8-inch tomato branch, put it in a cup with Nature's Brand seedling mix (with basalt rockdust and some kind of maybe natural 10-10-10 fertilizer added—it was a safe kind for seed-starting and taking cuttings), plant the stem near to the bottom of a 20oz foam cup, and water with water that has a good dose of potassium sulfate in it. Then I'd keep it out of bright light for a couple days, and then put it in bright fluorescent light, or a south window. They generally took a few days (~4 to 8) to root and start growing (for tomatoes; some other things took longer). You don't need hormone rooting powder for the plants I rooted (although you might for some species). If you believe in rooting things in water, it takes some faith to try rooting in soil, but it really is easier (especially in the long run). It's way faster, too. You can have a nice plant in no-time. Just be careful about damping off—you really need to avoid that (it afflicts both cuttings and seedlings). Fresh soil, clean containers, plenty of light (especially 2700k fluorescent light, for some unknown reason, and brighter south window sunlight), ventilation, and a high soil line can help to avoid damping off disease. I'd do a few things differently if I were to take cuttings now (I'd probably experiment with using wood ash instead of basalt rockdust and potassium sulfate, and I'd do some judicious pruning of the old leaves before transplanting the rooted cuttings to the garden; I wouldn't add 10-10-10 fertilizer, because I think it caused more mold or something, although the plants did enjoy it). I would add a small fan to my growing area, and maybe use heat mats where helpful (while keeping the air cooler than I had it). I'd probably give more attention to fewer plants, instead of packing loads of them in close proximity. I'd probably use smaller foam cups (and not start my plants so early). The wood ash could help pests/diseases not be as much of a problem. I used the same soil and amendments for seedlings as I did for cuttings.