I use stim root No. 1 for most cuttings. No.1 is for softwood cuttings and there is a no.2 and 3. 3 being used for woody cuttings. I've used it for years and always have success with it since I learned how to root things successfully. It may not be your choice of rooting hormone but the way you grow cuttings. Although I usually avoid most miracle grow if there are other options--just my preference.

I take my cuttings about 4 inches long-just below where a leaf was--that's where the roots will grow from. I remove all but the top 3 to 5 leaves. I dip into the rooting hormone and shake off the excess and plant in a divoted hole in moist soilless mix--so you don't remove the hormone in planting.. I use small containers because it's easier to control the moisture. I cover them in and place on a heating mat until new growth appears on top. The heating mat keeps the soil warm and cuts down on rot of the cuttings. I keep them moist until I know they are rooted and then I transplant into larger containers

Thanks a lot for a detailed answer, what type of heating mat do you use. It means perhaps soil should be little warmer than ordinary indoor temperature. How long does it take for plants to develop roots and potting soil is no good for cloning? I don't know I have had 0 % success rate with miracle gro.

Abid, I have used Rootone rooting powder with captan fungicide in it until they quit adding captan, and other cheap rooting powders. I used to think I had a 90% or greater success rate. Then my success rate dropped after some years. I still am not sure why. I did buy some Hormodin 2 root powder this spring and I am having better results with rooting. I don't know if the hormone powder is responsible or if it's because I made some cold frames and put my pots of cuttings in there. I have a thermometer that also shows humidity in there and it is quite a bit more humid than the outside air. In the past I've never done anything to raise humidity. In fact adding humidity seemed to cause rot. So I liked open air rooting. It seems like a more humid environment is helping my cuttings, along with the Hormodin 2.

I don't know if you could find a small bottle of Hormodin 2. I bought a big jar of it for about $35 on Amazon. I put a small amount in a little jar and use that awhile, keeping the rest uncontaminated. I have questions about whether the cheap rooting powders actually have the amount of rooting hormone in them that they claim.

I use pots of play sand to root cuttings in and have for many years. I've rooted them well in fine or coarse sand. There are lots of threads on here and the rose propagation forum about rooting. Malcolm Manners roots thousands of plants and has a misting system in full sun. Getting enough light is important but not so much your pots overheat. I thought for a while that I must get a misting system. But I think my cold frames are providing enough humidity perhaps. I am rooting them year round....in cold and heat. Never have used a heating pad but your climate is different than mine. When I first tried to root roses, and when a lot of people first try, they don't succeed. It looks really hard to root them. Then all of a sudden your cuttings cooperate and once they do, seems like roses become easy for you to root. So you just have to keep trying until they get it that you're their rooting guy.

I use "Root Gel" from Dyna-Gro, and for woody plants "Dip 'N Grow" is even stronger.

BTW, hormones do not keep very long - if yours are over a year old they should be replaced. They keep best in a refrigerator.

I've read where Dip & Grow is good for 2 years if kept out of sunlight.

This site claims 3 years:

Someone who used to post here, Sheerbliss, had a pretty big rose nursery and she once told me that she didn't use rooting hormones at all.

Abid Raza---I use a plant heating mat under my cuttings. I've taken many cuttings and have had different rates of success. One year I had poor success and was thinking what I could doo differently. Out of the corner of my eye I saw my plant heating mat that I used for seed starting. It occurred to me that fungal diseases like wet and cold so I might have more success if the soil were kept warm. I was right. I had much better success and I've continued to use that method

I use a soilless mix for cuttings and seeds. Some cuttings root faster than others but it usually takes a couple of weeks. You know it's rooted when you see new growth and then they should be removed from the mat so you don't damage the roots