Bontone

I have some bontone rooting powder. Has anyone ever used it? The active ingredient is indole 3 butyric acid, anyone recognize it?

The package doesn't say anything about it, but do i need to dissolve this in alcohol? (according to wikipedia yes)

its real bad for you, spit on the end of your clone it works big time

newGrows said:

I have some bontone rooting powder. Has anyone ever used it? The active ingredient is indole 3 butyric acid, anyone recognize it?

The package doesn't say anything about it, but do i need to dissolve this in alcohol? (according to wikipedia yes)

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This reply took a while... i used it on some geraniums and the cuttings that were already healthy survived and developed roots I don't know if the powder did anything useful though, it isn't even water soluble so i don't understand what a plant could do with it. Took a few weeks to see results, has anyone else used anything like this since then?

I've used the stuff in the past. I don't really like it all that much. I stick with the gels now. They are better at sealing the wounds for one - and are absorbed into the plants tissue almost immediately.

Very few of my noobie buddies would resort to such shit, at best is Clonex then Willow Tree Tea, but best of all is common household Homey ...!

AllenHaze said:

I've used the stuff in the past. I don't really like it all that much. I stick with the gels now. They are better at sealing the wounds for one - and are absorbed into the plants tissue almost immediately.

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Are you using the same active ingredient just put into a gel? If thats true could I use the stuff ive got and cook up some unflavored jello and put it in?

If not, where did you get the gel?

Gels tend to work better, sealing and sticking to the cut. Some also contain other ingredients like B-vitamins (Thiamine). Rooting powder should also work, though. You do not need to dissolve it in any kind of alcohol or anything. The Indole-3-butyric acid in the powder is more likely than not in the form of a water soluble salt.

I got the gel at a local nursery - the hormones and vitamins may be water soluble but the powder is actually talc which won't really dissolve.

Thanks for the info on the gel, I'm going to see if I can find some instead of a DIY jello thing.
I noticed that two of my four cuttings are showing some weird signs. The bottom half of the stems have turned brown and the plants no long support themselves without help from my pots, but the roots are still strong and if I pull on the plants they resist falling out... what happened?

Also, none of the cuttings have started growing new nodes or any sort of verticle growth yet, and they have had roots for about 2 weeks now. Is there anything else I can do?

What are they in? Sure you aren't over watering, keeping them too wet? Were you using a dome? After they start to root you want to start venting it and then remove it entirely.

If they have some roots already, you don't really need a rooting hormone at this stage. But, they do sell cloning solution (as well as gel/powder) for media Clonex, Olivias and Earth Juice make such products.

Pictures would help, because it sounds like it could be rot.

Aeroponic propagator. Simple, easy and so far works well. $40 no rooting gel or powders, willow honey, saliva, fairy dust just works on its own.

Aeroponic propagator. Simple, easy and so far works well. $40 no rooting gel or powders, willow honey, saliva, fairy dust just works on its own.

Nullis said:

What are they in? Sure you aren't over watering, keeping them too wet? Were you using a dome? After they start to root you want to start venting it and then remove it entirely.

If they have some roots already, you don't really need a rooting hormone at this stage. But, they do sell cloning solution (as well as gel/powder) for media Clonex, Olivias and Earth Juice make such products.

Pictures would help, because it sounds like it could be rot.

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Pictures as requested, I can get better angles if needed. I did not use a dome and they have been in the same soil for 3 weeks. I used a (very) diluted fertilizer solution called garden elements bud and bloom, watered three times for a total of ~16.9 fluid ounces.

IMG_0189.jpg is the two that have remained healthy, they were more than just one leaf when I started.

Also you may have noticed these look nothing like weed, these are geraniums lol... I'm still working on getting cannabis seeds but I want to practice with what I've got.

Thanks for all the responses you've given me bud, hopefully my sick ones can be saved.

Looks like rot. It has succumb to the saprophytic microbes in the mix. The thing is, you can't clone just a leaf. The reason the one in the second image there looks to be doing alright is because it actually has a growing shoot (with a bud it looks like).

Just like with Cannabis though, you can't just take a single leaf as a cutting, you need to take a secondary meristem, or in other words a side shoot/branch with at least a couple sets of leaves. Best thing to do is use Rapid Rooters/rooting plugs or a soil-less mix for cuttings. Keep it them moist constantly but still not super saturated. Because they have no roots, they need to be kept under a dome in a humid environment until they do start to root. After about 4-5 days you begin to vent them by removing the dome periodically, and by roughly day 8 it should be removed entirely.

I bum out when i see guys recomending $ 40 Clonex Vs $ 5 Bontone when they both have the exact ingredients , indole #3 butyric acid is the best cloning agent on the market & Is all i use , infact i use Bontone from home depot at $ 5 a bottle on all my cuttings & get nearly 100 % sucess ratios , before somebody blasts me for not getting a full 100 % sucess ratio with the sheer number i cut 99% ratio is perfect .

If your having problems with Bontone powder its most likely from using too much on the cutting ,Bontone powder is stronger than clonex , wiki is full of morons if they are advising to disolve in alcohol , take a small glass & put 1 teaspoon of powder in the glass then add just a few drops water until you can make a thin paste by mixing with your finger , kinda like a pancake batter consistency , dip the cutting in water 1st then dip in the bontone paste & your good to go .

I get little packs of clonex for free inside the sponge clone plugs i use & just throw them out ,ive used clonex before & i got the same results using bonide powder & those silly little free clonex packs only do about 50 cuttings which isnt

Nullis said:

Just like with Cannabis though, you can't just take a single leaf as a cutting, you need to take a secondary meristem, or in other words a side shoot/branch with at least a couple sets of leaves. Best thing to do is use Rapid Rooters/rooting plugs or a soil-less mix for cuttings. Keep it them moist constantly but still not super saturated. Because they have no roots, they need to be kept under a dome in a humid environment until they do start to root. After about 4-5 days you begin to vent them by removing the dome periodically, and by roughly day 8 it should be removed entirely.

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(you're right, that is a bud you see on the healthy one, can't wait to see if she flowers, sorry if the picture isn't the best. I was actually afraid that the bud would take too much energy for the plant to survive while the roots developed but I'm happy I was wrong about that)

Thanks for the info. This was my first time so I wanted to test every possible method, I even tried to clone stems without leafs just to see what would happen (lol) ... as you expected only the stems + 2 or more leaves survived but now I know.

One quick question about the dome, should it be completely airtight or do I want to poke a few holes in it?

Not 100% air tight no, you just want to create a mini-greenhouse environment that will keep humidity in. If you're making one, you can drill 2-4 (quarter to half inch) holes in whatever translucent plastic you are using and cover them with tape (you'll remove the tape later, so fold part of it over and let it stick to itself so you'll actually be able to get it off). Or just use something like a CD/DVD case to prop it up from underneath. You could do this with the top of a Deli platter (the big round ones) or cake dome, or the solid clear plastic containers some brands of lettuce, field greens or spring mix come in.

They sell mini-greenhouse/domes that fit on top of the ubiquitous white/black plastic drain trays. These are inexpensive and might even be sold at a local hardware store by you, at least seasonally. Typically these feature venting ports on the top and/or sides, covered by plastic which you can slide to open/close them and vent more or less. Even with these all closed the dome isn't totally sealed or air-tight, like say a tupperware container would be.

Generally, you would keep the vents closed and the environment in the dome humid for roughly four days, only taking it off briefly to mist the cuttings if needed. On the 5th day or so, you start to open the vents just a bit and monitor for wilting. If they look good, open them more until the holes are entirely uncovered. If they begin to wilt, mist and close the vents up again. The idea is the slowly introduce fresh air, which the cuttings need in order to root.

If they can handle being under the fully vented dome, you can start to take it off entirely. Remove for half hour at a time and again monitor for wilting. If they don't wilt at all, try removing the dome entirely the following day. Usually by day 7-10 they no longer need a dome at all and should have roots growing.

My plants are at a point where they have developed small roots, would they benefit from another round of bontone paste? Or is that something to just do once at the begining?

I have also ready about something called superthrive and rootburst, would that or something like it be a good next step?

Edit: quick update, I just looked at one of my clones and the bud has died
should I be worried? what can I do? Do i need to move it to a new pot?

panhead said:

I bum out when i see guys recomending $ 40 Clonex Vs $ 5 Bontone when they both have the exact ingredients , indole #3 butyric acid is the best cloning agent on the market & Is all i use , infact i use Bontone from home depot at $ 5 a bottle on all my cuttings & get nearly 100 % sucess ratios , before somebody blasts me for not getting a full 100 % sucess ratio with the sheer number i cut 99% ratio is perfect .

If your having problems with Bontone powder its most likely from using too much on the cutting ,Bontone powder is stronger than clonex , wiki is full of morons if they are advising to disolve in alcohol , take a small glass & put 1 teaspoon of powder in the glass then add just a few drops water until you can make a thin paste by mixing with your finger , kinda like a pancake batter consistency , dip the cutting in water 1st then dip in the bontone paste & your good to go .

I get little packs of clonex for free inside the sponge clone plugs i use & just throw them out ,ive used clonex before & i got the same results using bonide powder & those silly little free clonex packs only do about 50 cuttings which isnt

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Thank you for this reply, All i want to know is if the stuff WORKS, ill trust your answer on this one, i just bought some today but of course when a question like this is brought up, everyone always has a far better more expensive alternative that is the one and only solution lol. fuckin morons. thanks again tho