Has any one ever used rooting hormones at the root flare to generate more roots from the trunk? Thanks, Jack

I would like to add another question...

Can a plant with root rot problems be helped to form new roots using rooting hormones?

Would treatment with mychorhizal fungi additive possibly be beneficial?

What is meant by --"root flare". - Millet

Root flare is where the top roots "flare" out at the trunk, and head down into the soil. No, rooting hormone applied at the flare would do zero for root development. That's not really where you need roots to grow. First, you need to deal with the root rot. You need to improve your potting medium, so it doesn't retain so much water and make conditions conducive to Phytothphora. Yes, a soil innoculant might be helpful, such as Streptomycces (Actino-Iron), but the best treatment for root rot is Phosphorus Acid (Agri-Fos). Both can be bought on amazon.com. You need to re-pot your tree, rinse the roots carefully, re-pot in a well draining potting mix - I suggest you make your own. Innoculate the roots with Actino-Iron, and also mix into the soil, then mix up some Agri-Fos in water (1-2 tsp per 5 gals), and water in. Save the treated water, and continue to water with Agri-Fos for the next few weeks. Once you start to see recovery, and possibly a little leaf flush, you can start fertilizing with 1/2 strength liquid fertilizer (I prefer to use DynaGro's Foliage Pro). Once warmer weather is back, later spring, and you see significant improvements and warmer temps (and can move your tree outside), you can then switch to full strength fertilizer applications.

I don't have any root rot and I grow my tree in a fast draining soil (5 parts bark fines, 1 part perlite, and 1 part peat). I also fertilize with foliage pro. My Meyer lemon seems to be growing fine, it's just very loose in the soil (after two years) and this coming spring when I repot I thought some rooting hormone at the root flare might produce greater root growth. I saw the use of rooting hormones at the root flare in a bonsia video on you tube but it has never been updated to see if this process worked. Thanks, Jack

Jack, sorry, trying to address both posters and their questions. I really don't think rooting hormone applied to the root flare will do what you want, but it won't hurt. It may just be that you need to actually add a few more fines into your mix, so there is simply more for the roots to "hang onto". Normal watering and fertilizing should promote root growth, as long as your temps are above 55 to 60 degrees.

Hoosierquilt's general thoughts regarding the rooting hormones on your issue, Jack, are seconded - it might be worth a try, but I wouldn't necessarily except great things. Typically rooting hormones work best, with already rooted plants, at stimulating fine root development, while your problem seems to be with the coarse "framework" roots. Maybe something like a hormone "patch" kept tied at about 1/2 inch above the soil line would work, though. You could use a just-slightly-tight tourniquet just below the hormone patch. This is all speculation, though - and you asked if anyone had experience with it, to which my answer is "no". Sorry.

The easiest solution is probably staking (as you may already be doing).

Does the plant get moved around much?

Regarding the root rot issue posed by MarcV: I also second Hoosierquilt's thoughts, with one exception, which is that I would reorder the treatments: treat with the phosphorous acid and then with the mycorrhizae. Just make sure you get the mycorhizzae to the roots; you can use a skewer to poke holes in the soil all around the plant and then mix the mycorhizzae with water, so the water carries the spores into the holes and down throughout the root zone, or, if it is a potted plant, treat with phosphorous acid and then re-pot, treating with mycorhizzae when you do.

I also agree w/ the general thoughts from Hoosierquilt and Elsedgwick. It shouldn't hurt to try the rooting hormones in addition to the other treatments. For example, something like 1-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) at a concentration of 5-10 micromolar (approximately 1-2 ppm). Rooting hormones (e.g. NAA, indole butyric acid, etc...) are often used to help root plant cuttings and to initiate root formation in plant micropropigation. There are many research papers on the subject of using these hormones in citrus micropropigation that can be found with Google.

The difficulty will be that you will likely never know if the rooting hormones helped in the trees recovery, or were of little to no benefit. In any case, as long as you don't go overboard and use too high of a concentration, at worst it will have no effect.

Minor chemistry correction: the active ingredient for treating phytophthora is phosphorous acid (H3PO3) as Hoosierquilt mentioned, not phosphoric acid (H3PO4). It is easy to confuse the two names, they look and sound similar, but are not the same.

From the sound of the current tree's problems, it sounds like the original problem from the beginning was the medium the tree is growing in and might still be in. . - Millet

My tree with the root rot problem is in a different medium for a while now and appears to be doing fine (without rooting hormone).

Re: Scott6B: No, no, I really did mean to suggest you should just pour a Coke on your citrus.

Will the fruit taste like coke then?

Marc, good to hear your tree is recovering... the Citrus + Coke reminds me of some German/Austrian mixed beer drinks

Radler: Beer + Lemonade = pretty good
Diesel: Beer + Coke = disgusting

In regards to the original question and assuming the medium is correct why don't you do selective root pruning to encourage new root growth. Do 20% of the circle every three weeks. When you get back to where you started move out four inches or so and repeat. I would think that would develop a nice root mass.