Here's a question to those of you who've used rooting hormone on figs or anything else...
...is it possible to use too much rooting hormone?
Assuming you're using something like Dip-N-Grow and have diluted it to one of the recommended concentrations (e.g. 5x, 10x...)....does the amount of time you dip the cutting make a significant difference?
  The Dip-N-Grow instructions say dip for 3-5 seconds.  There is another thread active now whereby the rooting hormone was brushed on.  Previous postings I've read talked about dipping the cutting for 10 seconds or 20 seconds.  Is there a significant difference between 5 seconds and 20 seconds?  What if you leave the cutting soaking for 30 seconds or 45 seconds while you're preparing another cutting?  Is that bad?  What if it soaks longer?  (Recall that the "one node wonder" cuttings were done in rockwool cubes soaked in rooting hormone...)
  I've seen other postings mentioning that rooting hormone is sometimes a component of herbicides (the plant dies because it spends all its energy making roots.)  Is there any chance that a long soak in rooting hormone would somehow cause the cutting not to make any roots?

Sorry for the barrage of questions -- I'm just wondering about some "less than spectacular" results I'm getting when others are reporting stellar results with rooting hormone.

Jim

Any rooting hormone on figs is too much.  Rooting hormone totally isn't necessary.  It's like pouring gasoline on a blaze.

You be the judge....

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/Fig-Rooting-Hormone-or-None-6155695

but typically in life I've found "more is not always better".

Steve,
  Yes, that is the thread I was referring to in my original post (where the hormone was brushed on.)
True True that more is not always better.  But, in this case, is it worse?

Jason,
  I'm just trying to get roots before the mold rears its ugly head.

Jim

Jim, yes you can use to much. Depending on the brand, some are diluted like dip and grow. Hormex is not diluted but
the instructions give a specific amount of time for certain types of plants, cuttings etc. Hormex will turn the cutting
orange (burns it) if it is left in the mixture too long.

Sorry Jim, I can't answer your question.  Need to rely on other members here that have more experience with rooting hormone than me.

I use clonex rooting hormone on literally every plant I root.  I dip my figs until they are completely saturated all the way up the scarified area (which I usually run from the bottom node to the second node) to the point of dripping down the cutting.  I have around 95% rooting success.  So in my opinion there is no too much.

Jim,
I don't have an answer to your question (if its possible to "use too much"). I may be able to add observations after growing the hormone treated cuttings for one season (at least).

But, if you dip the cutting in the rooting hormone for 3-5 seconds it will be coated with hormone, I coated the cutting by brushing, which actually used less liquid (and less waste).

My objective was to get more root and callus formation as soon as possible, and that was accomplished with rooting hormone. All the Hormone treated cuttings are ready to be potted at 2 weeks (in moss at 75-78 deg F), while the untreated cuttings are still not fully callused, have only a few roots each, and may rot if potted with too much moisture.

The amount of time would matter because the cutting could possibly absorb more Liquid hormone at the cut end.

I have let cuttings soak in very strong dip and grow for a bit. somtimes i havent even diluted it at all but then its just a quick dip. when i mix it somtimes cuttings set in a 10-1 mix for 5 min. i am sure it could cause problems but never has for me and i have been doing it awhile with alot of differant plants as well as figs.

Too high a concentration or too long a soak in Dip & Grow can definitely kill what it touches.

"Take root" by Schultz (Walmart)- sucks
Result: rotten twigs
What happened: I scraped the outer bark just enough to see green, then dipped the ends of the twig with powder, 2 weeks later, mushy ends.

I don't need to rush personally. I let the cuttings take care of themselves.

-Jennifer

hate powders, gel or liquid is the way to go. soaks into the plant tissue better.

I hate to be a wet blanket, but I was just reading Sybil's (from Paradise Nursery) blog today and she mentions that there is some danger to humans with rooting hormones. 

^ hoosier is absolutely right.  I know the clonex gel I use is classified as a toxic chemical and is advised not to use on fruit (I do anyway.)  It advises to not let it touch any skin either on the bottle.  :-/

But the way I see it a cutting isn't going to have fruit for some 2-3 years so by that time there shouldn't be any traces of rooting hormone left, not to mention it never touches any fruit.  The parts the touch the fruit don't even exist when the stuff goes on!  

I doubt there would be any left in the plant after a few months even. I would be more concerned with spills inside and maybe pets drinking the runoff. When you are doing a ton of cuttings like Sybil did I think it could be a bigger problem because of the total amount needed and of course repeated exposure and the chance it could accumulate in the growing area.

I don't know, I just made the connection from Sybils post to this thread and thought it was good advice.

The reason I asked about "too much rooting hormone" was because I'm having poor results with cuttings in general.  (I'm a newbie, so I'm still trying to get "dialed in" in terms of technique and my whole setup/environment for doing this.)  Hearing lots of other people report success with hormone, I used it in a couple of cases:

I used some Dip-N-Grow as a "Hail Mary" to try to re-energize some cuttings.  (They never sprouted roots in sphagnum moss, but they started sending out leaf shoots.  I let them go too long before moving them to cups (i.e. the leaf shoots starting dying/molding off), so I gave them a dip before moving to cups.  I had reason to believe that the mix in the cups was too dense and wet, so I took them out.  Half of them were starting to rot from the bottom up.  I was wondering if the "too much rooting hormone" could be too blame, but it is more likely the rooting medium was just too damp.

I also used some Dip-N-Grow on a bunch of other cuttings (various kinds, some fresh/green and other from the fridge.)  It has just been very slow to see any results whatsoever --- which is in stark contrast to the results that so many other people are posting.  Again, I was wondering if the "too much rooting hormone" could be to blame, but again it is more likely that my rooting environment is to blame (e.g. too cold in this case.)

Jim

sounds like too cold, and wet in the potting medium.
bottom heat is a good idea.
as well as a higher air temperature around them also.