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Is there a substitute for rooting powder?

I don't want to go out in public if I don't have to I hurt my knee and can't walk today. Maybe tomorrow or another time.

Last time I looked a tiny bottle of rooting powder was $8.

Depends on what kind of cuttings, I'd say. Tomato cuttings will root in plain water. I have some rooting hormone, I hardly use it, but it has come in handy. Think he last time I used it was on young cedar tree roots after I dug it up. Tree survived and is growing, so guess it worked.

Root hormone ain't cheap, but $8 is worth it when it lasts a good many years.

I don’t use rooting powder because I avoid the chemical fungicides in them.

There are some intriguing claims on internet like banana and potato. But that aside since I don’t know and have no experience...

I’ve dabbled with honey (antibacterial/antifungal) and also willow bark and willow tip decoctions, extracts, and teas (plant growth hormones).

Some plants readily root and don’t need rooting powder. Difficult to root and easy to rot cuttings mostly need help against fungal infection, so chamomile and cinnamon teas might help. Some people mention ground cinnamon and hardwood ash or ground lime — but again I haven’t actually tried.

Most important to know what conditions each need — temperature, moisture, light, humidity, and aeration. Some (shrubs and woody cuttings) do better in filtered natural sunlight outdoors but need high humidity possibly automatic misting system.

I agree some plants are very easy to root. The rooting powder helps plants that are more prone to fungal disease and those that are harder to root. You can make a rooting solution with willow bark. I don't know. Has anybody tried to see if Aspirin would work? Water rooting would not require rooting powder but the water roots will eventually have to be replaced with air roots. Super thrive will work. It is basically mostly vit B1 and kelp. Upstart would work too. Dipping the cut ends in cinnamon would help against fungal disease.

If you don't want to go out shopping just order it online. Amazon is taking a little longer but it usually arrives on the date they say it will.

Oh yeah DEFINITELY need not-water, sterile rooting “media” (usually well draining) for the ones that take more than easy ...to... difficult to root.

I just realized you spelt rooting: ROTTING powder in the thread title, but that's okay it gave me a good laugh and I make typos ALL THE TIME when typing.

I got a laugh out of that mis-spelling too! Usually, it's my own silly mistakes that give me laughs.

What are you rooting, Gary? Many herbs will root without a rooting compound - I use a rooting gel, which makes them root much faster, and I don't worry about the chemicals in it, by the time I get around to eating the herbs. I have a small container of Root-Tech, which has lasted for years.(and still half full), stored on the door of my fridge, and it speeds up cloning faster than others I've tried. There are other ways of rooting some of the more difficult plants, like air layering, and things like that. I have something started like that, just to see how soon it will work!
Rooting Pot set up on curry tree, 4-13-20 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I am rooting Goji cuttings.

if you've already got the goji, there probably isn't time to prepare, but a bucket of water with chopped willow twigs/branches in it, left for a couple days, will be fairly full of rooting hormone.

willow or elder cuttings don't need extra hormone.