How to Root Kratom Cuttings: A Step-by-Step Guide for New Growers

If you’ve just received your kratom cuttings from Kratom Eye or you’re planning to order them this season, this guide covers everything you need to know to get them rooted successfully. Mitragyna speciosa is a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia, and while it’s not the easiest plant to propagate, it’s doable at home with the right setup and a little patience.

This is a hands-on, practical guide built from real growing experience. No fluff, no filler. Just what works.

Kratom Plant Cuttings:

Cuttings are genetically identical to the mother plant, meaning you preserve the exact phenotype you ordered. For collectors and hobbyists who want a specific strain like our Green Elephant from Borneo or our Red Vein Kali, cuttings are the reliable route.

What You’ll Receive from Kratom Eye

Our non-rooted cuttings ship inside a rockwool cube & a humidity-controlled container designed to mimic the humid tropical environment these trees need. When your package arrives:

• Open it immediately. Do not leave it sealed in the box. Lack of airflow can stress or kill the cutting fast.
• Expect the leaves to look droopy. This is completely normal. It’s a response to the disruption in water uptake during transit.
• The cutting ships between Spring and Fall, which is the optimal window for rooting success.

For full shipping details and our plant policies, review our Live Plant Terms and Conditions before purchasing.

What You’ll Need

Before you get started, gather the following:

• Rooting gel or rooting hormone powder (gel tends to adhere better to the stem end)
• Rockwool cubes or a peat/perlite mix, or vermiculite/perlite mix. All have shown solid rooting results for Mitragyna speciosa.
• A clear plastic bin or large zip-lock bag to use as your humidity chamber
• An indirect light source. A south-facing window works, but an LED or fluorescent grow light will produce noticeably faster results.
• A spray bottle for misting
• Recommended: a rooting accelerant nutrient solution such as ‘Root Excelurator’. Only add these once roots are visibly forming, not before.

How to Root Your Kratom Cutting After Receiving it from KratomEye.com

• 1) You must remove the cutting from the shipping container, 
• 2) Place the cutting in your own rockwool (or other substrate) after dipping it in rooting gel.
• 3) Place the cutting + rockwool into your plastic bin/dome or whatever you prefer to create an enclosed & humid environment.
• 4) Spray the bin daily & open the bin at least every other day (to exchange gas levels and avoid mold, etc. )
• 5) Once you see the roots forming; spray some rooting hormone (such as ‘Root Excelurator’ – or similar) onto the root-zone of the rockwool cube.
• 6) Once you have a nice explosion of roots – carefully transplant the entire rockwool cube into a pot with soil (keep up the bin and spraying regimen from #4).
• 7) After circa 1 week of soil acclimation; you can start acclimating the plant to the regular air aka outside of the bin (do it slowly to avoid killing the plant). Details on this below:

Acclimation Process: Place the plant in a clear ‘bin’ (storage bins work perfectly), and open the top once daily for circa 20 min for about a week to let it breathe/avoid mold.

Every other day: instead of closing the lid completely, create a slightly larger & larger opening to slowly allow the plant to acclimate to the new surroundings. Do this ‘very’ slowly as in ½ in – 1-inch increases at a time.

You will know if the process is moving too quickly when the plant starts wilting. If this starts to occur, immediately mist & water (if needed) the plant & close the lid again to start the process of acclimation over.

After Transplanting to Soil

A well-draining mix of outdoor potting soil is key. Mitragyna speciosa does not like sitting in wet soil, yet needs to be watered before the soil completely dries out – optimally. A blend of quality potting mix, perlite, and a small amount of organic compost works well. Avoid heavy, clay-dense soil.

If you’re growing indoors long-term, keep it in a warm spot with high ambient humidity. If you’re in a region with a warm, humid climate and want to plant it outdoors, do so after all frost risk has passed and overnight temperatures stay above 55 degrees F.

Strain-Specific Notes

The cuttings we carry at Kratom Eye each have distinct growth habits worth knowing before you start:

Green Elephant (Borneo) – A fast-growing, vigorous strain. Large leaves even at a young age. Prunes well and respond quickly once rooted. A solid choice for first-time growers.

Red Vein Kali (Kalimantan) – Also a fast grower. Slender, attractive leaves with deep crimson veins. Tends to establish a strong root system without too much fuss.

Rifat Thai – Widely considered the original kratom cultivar brought to the US. Very adaptable. Produces red, green, and white veins depending on age, environment, and season.

Super Green Malay – A canopy-dweller that can grow tall if given space. Occasionally, they produces horned leaf tips. It can show multiple vein colors simultaneously depending on growing conditions.

Red Vein Thai – Sleek, slender leaf structure consistent with its Thai heritage. Behaves consistently throughout the rooting process.

Bumble Bee (Vietnamese) – One of the more adaptable strains on our list. Vein colors shift throughout the year, making it a visually interesting plant to grow long-term.

If you want to skip the propagation phase entirely, we also carry fully Rooted Kratom Plants. You can browse all currently available Live Kratom Plants on our site.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Skipping humidity control. This is the single biggest reason cuttings fail. Kratom does not root in dry environments. Seal it up.

Too much direct light too soon. Bright, direct sun heats up the humidity chamber fast and can cook the cutting. Indirect light is the rule until the plant is well-established.

Adding nutrients too early. Fertilizer or rooting accelerants before visible root development can burn the cutting. Wait until roots are showing.

Letting the substrate dry out completely. Check the medium every day or two. It should stay consistently damp but never waterlogged.

Rushing acclimation. Moving a freshly rooted cutting from a 90% humidity environment to a normal room in a single day is a common way to lose an otherwise healthy plant.

Explore More from Kratom Eye

If you enjoy growing your own and want to explore what else we carry, here are a few more pages worth bookmarking:

• All Kratom Strains – Browse every strain we carry by vein color and origin
• Borneo / Indonesian Kratom – The regional home of strains like Green Elephant and Red Kali
• Malaysian Kratom – Home of the Super Green Malay lineage
• Thai Kratom – The regional origin of the Rifat and Red Thai strains
• Top Tier and Exclusive Strains – Kratom Eye exclusives and hard-to-find varieties
• Kratom Sample Packs – A great way to explore strains before committing to a larger order
• Lab Test Results – All of our products are tested for quality and purity
• Kratom Blends – Explore house blends alongside your growing collection
• Kratom Promotions – Current deals on plants, powder, and more

Why Cuttings Instead of Seeds?

Kratom seeds can have low viability…however, our in-house theory is that most of these seeds were never pollinated, leading many to believe the seeds are hard to germinate. We’ve germinated ‘pollinated’ seeds on many occasions with minimal effort & great results. Finding the viable seeds, is not easy as you would have to first have a couple of trees (for pollination). It has also been stated that “unless they’re harvested within days of falling from the tree, they typically won’t germinate” – however, we’ve saved dried pollinated seed pods for up to a couple of years & they germinated just fine. So, there’s that…

Legality and Shipping Reminder

Kratom plant cuttings are shipped legally to most US states between Spring and Fall. We do not ship to states or localities where kratom is banned, including Alabama, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Vermont, Indiana, and others. Please review our full terms before ordering. We do not ship internationally.

Ready to Get Growing?

If you’re ready to order your cuttings this season, head over to our Live Kratom Plant Cuttings page to see what’s currently in stock. Strains sell out quickly during peak season, sometimes within hours, so if you have a specific strain in mind, grab it when you see it available. You can also check our current Kratom Promotions and Coupon Codes for active deals on plants and powder.