Willow Water - homemade plant rooting hormone

[veggiechicken]

Just saw this article and thought you may be interested Home Made Plant Rooting Hormone – Willow Water | Deep Green Permaculture
I'm going to give it a go as I have willow in the garden and I propagate a lot of cuttings in water.

[Olorin2001]

If you don't have a willow tree, then one asprin tablet in a gallon of water works just as well.
Not entirely GREEN but so much easier, and not only for use as a rooting hormone, while many people laugh because I give my plants asprin it really does work, and has scientific evidence to back it up.

[veggiechicken]

One of the Q&As at the end of the article is about using aspirin -
"As per my previous comment, no, aspirin is not a substitute. Salicylic acid is present in apririn, and in willows, and this is the source of the confusion.

Salicylic acid only signals a plant’s defences in the whole plant when one part of the plant is attacked.

Indolebutyric acid (IBA) is the plant hormone in willow water that induces rooting of the cuttings, which is not found in aspirin."

[zazen999]

Yes, we rooted loads of willow over the winter and we use the water for watering seedlings in. Then the rain fills the butts up again and more willow water! It's great.

[binley100]

*makes note to cut some willow to stick in the butts......

[Olorin2001]

You are wrong in saying that SA only acts when one part of the plant is attacked, it is more than that. SA is water soluble, while IBA is insoluble in water and without the addition of a suitable solvent (alcohol) would not be in any extact made from willow. But you are right that asprin doesn't contain IBA it is only SA.
I copied and pasted what wikithingy had to say, and you can go see what it says about IBA.
Salicylic acid (SA) is a phenolic phytohormone and is found in plants with roles in plant growth and development, photosynthesis, transpiration, ion uptake and transport. SA also induces specific changes in leaf anatomy and chloroplast structure. SA is involved in endogenous signaling, mediating in plant defense against pathogens. It plays a role in the resistance to pathogens by inducing the production of pathogenesis-related proteins. It is involved in the systemic acquired resistance (SAR) in which a pathogenic attack on one part of the plant induces resistance in other parts. The signal can also move to nearby plants by salicylic acid being converted to the volatile ester, methyl salicylate.

[AkionTotocha]

Yep, you got to distill it in rubbing alcohol and dilute. Throw in an asprin and then you get real rooting hormone.

Anything else will be a placebo.

[Snadger]

My Granny always added an aspirin to the water that cut flowers were in.

I was brought up believing flowers got headaches!