What rooting stock was used, and did you do a control test, too?

Sugar has long been used to reduce stress/enhance rooting of new woody transplants and even to help plants recover after severe root pruning. Recent trials, however, have still not resulted in any interesting results. So, some people swear that it works, but there is still no scientific evidence.

That's enough for me to want to experiment, too! This spring, when I get geared up, I'll test the sugar theory out a variety of ways, and do a control test, too. BTW, sucrose is usually watered in during transplanting. You might want to see if that makes a difference in your root response, just for fun.

I scanned this and clicked back and suddenly this idea for an experiment. Mix the hormone with honey.

In a propagation lab we had an experiment with something very difficult and we mixed the auxin, we called in auxin back then, with lanolin. The theory being the lanolin would resist the elements for many months preserving the contact with the cutting. (It has been decades and I have forgotten all the details. They will come to me sometime, perhaps.)

Good luck with the sugar. Run some controls and let us know on the Gardenweb experiments forum as well as here if you like.