In my personal experience, rooting hormone is most useful when rooting hardwood cuttings. Some
plants root very easily with no treatment, others are harder to root, and the hormone is helpful with them. A search on propagation of the specific cuttings you are considering should give you more info on ease of propagation.
I place cuttings into the specific type of media that is recommended for each
plant, some prefer lighter soil, sandy soil, coarse media, etc., and some will do well in any good propagation mix, or good potting soil. Again, it depends on the specific
plant.
Most cuttings should be taken below a node, as this is where roots will form. It's beneficial to include as many nodes as possble below the surface of your media, for more root developement.
When using rooting hormone, I suggest putting the necessary amount of hormone into a seperate container (I usually use a pill bottle), rather than dipping the cuttings into the original container of hormone, and then disposing of any leftover hormone, as this eliminates the risk of contamination in the event of diseased cuttings.
Nikkal
