What does Rooting Medium mean?
In botany, a rooting medium is any type of substrate that encourages root growth. This substrate normally comprises of different organic components and minerals. The best type of rooting medium depends on a grower’s available materials and plant species.
A rooting medium is any grow media used to start (propagate) new plants, whether they be seeds or cuttings. Often, once a new plant develops roots in the rooting medium, they are transferred to either a larger home that contains more of the same medium, or a new medium altogether. For example, a plant cutting left to develop roots solely in a nutrient-rich liquid solution (the rooting medium) will often be transferred to a soil-based container (the grow medium).
Rooting mediums are often used together with synthetic or organic rooting hormones, which have been known to act as a catalyst for root growth while protecting the root cuttings from various types of ailments and fungi.
MaximumYield explains Rooting Medium
Plain tap water is commonly used as a rooting medium. While it is one of the least expensive mediums, water does not encourage aeration, which may trigger root rot. In some cases, sand is also used, as long as it’s coarse enough to allow draining while retaining moisture.
According to the experts, it is important to sterilize and clean the sand first to protect the plants from its high salt content. Peat moss can also be added to the sand mixture to boost its water-retaining capacity.
A less common, albeit just as efficient root medium, is coconut husk. This is especially used in tropical and humid environments because, like peat moss, it can retain quite a lot of water. There are more industrial types of rooting mediums that are used for wider-scale commercial crops. These include pumice, perlite, and vermiculite. Rockwool is another commonly used medium for rooting new plants.
Overall, rooting mediums are about the same as grow mediums. The term simply helps a gardener be more specific when describing their processes.