Cytokinin Paste for Commiphora: Force Branching Safely

Cytokinin paste for Commiphora forces a caudex to branch where you want it. Learn the pinhead-dose method, avoid witches’ broom, and handle 6-BAP safely.

Patrick Ivern · 2026-02-28 · 4 min read

Key Takeaways

• Cytokinin paste (keiki paste, 6-BAP) forces dormant buds on Commiphora to branch by locally overriding apical dominance.
• Use a pinhead-sized dose on scratched green tissue, during active growth only, and treat just one or two buds at a time.
• Overdosing causes ‘witches’ broom’ deformities or can drain the caudex, so less is genuinely more.
• It is a synthetic plant hormone, so handle it with clean hands, keep it off your skin and eyes, and store it away from children and pets.
• Feed and light the plant well first, because forced branches burn energy the plant must already have.

A stubbornly single-stemmed Commiphora can take years to branch on its own, but cytokinin paste lets you decide where and when. Dab a tiny amount on a dormant bud and you locally override the plant’s apical dominance, forcing a new branch exactly where you want it. It is a precise tool rather than a miracle cure, and it works only when the plant is healthy and the dose stays small.

What does cytokinin paste do to caudex plants?

Cytokinin paste overrides the hormone signals that keep side buds dormant, pushing the plant to grow a new shoot right where you apply it. The effect is local, so you control the placement.

A plant’s main growing tip makes auxin, which flows down the stem and suppresses side branching, the effect known as apical dominance. Cytokinin works against that, and the active ingredient in keiki paste, 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BAP), tells cells at a chosen bud to start dividing.

Applied to one dormant node, that concentrated cytokinin locally breaks apical dominance and convinces the plant to sprout a branch there. Research shows cytokinin promotes branching by redirecting auxin transport through the bud, and that 6-benzyladenine reliably pushes dormant buds into outgrowth.

How to induce branching in Commiphora?

Apply a pinhead-sized amount of keiki paste to a dormant axillary bud during active growth, and treat no more than one or two buds at a time. Restraint is the whole technique.

First find a dormant node where you want a branch, usually a small bump or an old leaf scar on the caudex or a primary branch. Wipe the spot with a sterile alcohol pad, then use a sterilized toothpick to lightly scratch the surface and expose the green tissue underneath.

Dab a tiny amount of paste onto that scratched tissue and keep the plant warm and bright to fuel the new shoot. Treating several buds at once can drain the plant’s reserves, so work in small steps and wait for each push to establish.

Keiki paste (6-BAP cytokinin) is the standard tool here, a ready-mixed lanolin paste that saves you from diluting and dosing a raw hormone.

Buy on Amazon (B0F7R2B5ZC) A single match-head dab per node is plenty, and one small tube lasts for years of bonsai work. The honest catch is that it is easy to overapply, which causes the deformed growth described below, so resist the urge to use more.

Is it safe to use keiki paste on succulents?

It is safe for succulents like Commiphora when you use it sparingly during active growth, but how safe it is depends entirely on dose and timing. Treat it as a potent tool, not a casual one.

Too much paste causes witches’ broom, a chaotic cluster of deformed leaves instead of a clean branch. And because building a branch costs real energy, forcing a weak or dormant plant can shrink the caudex or even kill it.

So make sure the plant is actively drinking, well lit, and fed before you start, and wipe away excess paste at once if deformed leaves appear. Steady feeding through the push helps, since the new growth needs nitrogen the plant can readily spend.

Dyna-Gro Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 gives that new growth a complete, nitrogen-forward feed without the salt buildup of cheaper fertilizers.

Buy on Amazon (B004A27DJA) Use a quarter to a half teaspoon per gallon every other watering through the growing season. The tradeoff is that it is foliage-focused, so ease off once the branch hardens and you want the caudex to fatten again.

One handling note, since 6-BAP is a synthetic plant hormone. Apply it with clean hands or a tool, keep it off your skin and out of your eyes, wash up afterward, and store it well away from children and pets.

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