Rooting Hormone Rootedex is used to propagate plant cuttings, increases the chance that the new plant will thrive. Taking a cutting from a plant and growing it produces a new plant identical to the parent plant. This is a reliable and inexpensive way to propagate your favorite plants and the best way to grow new difficult-to-propagate plants. Stem cuttings are the most common, but plants can also be grown from root cuttings and leaf cuttings. When rooting hormone is used correctly, it causes the cutting to develop roots quickly and be more robust than cuttings that don’t receive rooting hormone.