My grow shop guy laughed at me when I asked him to order me a 6-pack of Gel2Root cups. He explained how roots don’t like light and a clear medium will not encourage rooting. I nodded my head, took my package, and went home to ponder my silliness.

Gel2Root from SupaPlants come in packs of 6, although some retailers will sell them individually. Each clear plastic cup contains Gel2Root rooting gel and a foil top to contain the medium’s moisture.

You pierce the foil, insert your cutting, and walk away. Some days/weeks later, voila, a rooted clone. Simple, no? Pretty close.

Any new cloning methods that I test will not be used with easy-to-clone or fast-to-thrive plants. I see no need to switch methods unless I’m having problems. This is where I leveraged the Gel2Root cups.

I chose 2 difficult-to-clone plants: a strawberry variety and Cuban mint (mojito-lovers rejoice!). With my GH RapidRooters, the best cuttings from the Cuban mint died before they could thrive. Failing Cuban mint turns black quickly. Easy indicator.

Of the strawberries, only 1 of 3 rooted. However, it rooted well. So well, in fact, that the roots almost sucked dry the canopy before I noticed that it was time to transplant it.

The real benefit of this medium is that it is maintenance-free. No need to water a block or plug. No need to use rooting hormone or rooting powder. In fact, using these additives stunts the effectiveness of the gel.

In the case of Gel2Root, the mint thrived in the medium and rooted after 8 days. The strawberry took 3 weeks. In both cases, I needed to do nothing else. I kept both plants inside my humidity dome, atop my seedling tray.

Words of advice when using this medium:

• Make the foil insertion hole as small as you can to avoid medium evaporation. If the hole allows too much evaporation of the medium, your cutting will be air-exposed and not root. Of the 6 cuttings I tested, this occurred in 1 of them.
• Don’t insert more than 2 cuttings per gel cup. While you can attempt 3 (as per instructions), each cutting’s canopy may overshadow the others.

I won’t use Gel2Root for all of my cuttings. However, when my main clone methods generate no results or if I need maintenance-free cloning, I will roll with the Gel.

Embrace your Clear Side!
- Curtis

Please note: blog posts are the opinions of independent growers, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or experiences of Urban Garden Magazine or its affiliates.