Increasing the concentration of sucrose in media containing 5 μ m ancymidol increased rooting, with about 95% rooting of two asparagus ( Asparagus officinalis L.) selections (Guelph-97, ‘Jersey Centennial’) obtained with 7% sucrose. In the absence of ancymidol, there was no evidence that increased sucrose concentration increased rooting. The increased rooting was not due to an osmotic effect, since the replacement of sucrose by an equimolar concentration of mannitol did not improve rooting. Chemical names used; 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), N -(2-furanylmethyl)-1 H -purin-6-amine (kinetin), and α-cyclopropyl-α-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5-pyrimidinemethanol (ancymidol).