The uptake and the degradation of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) solubilised in 50% ethanol in the basal part of Prunus rootstock hardwood cuttings, throughout cold storage and during the rooting period, were determined by the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Two different doses of IBA were tested (2000 mg kg^-1 and 4000 mg kg^-1). The following plum rootstocks were investigated: ‘INRA Marianna’GF 8-1’, ‘Myrobalan B’, ‘MY-KL-A’, ‘INRA Saint Julien GF 655/2’ and ‘Fehér besztercei’. Cuttings were prepared at seven different timings between the end of October and the end of February to examine the level of IBA and its effect on the cutting’s metabolism. In each case, the rooting percentages were also recorded. The hormonal treatments favoured accumulation of IBA at the basal part of the cuttings. We compared the 2000 mg l^-1 and 4000 mg l^-1 of IBA and found a twofold concentration of the plant growth regulator. In the cuttings of ‘MY-KL-A’, ‘Marianna GF 8/1’ and ‘Myrobalan B’ IBA degradation occurred rapidly, whereas it proceeded more slowly in the remaining rootstocks, ‘GF 655/2’ in particular. Furthermore, large differences among rootstocks were observed when the half-life of IBA in the basal parts of the hardwood cuttings was determined. Plant growth regulator level was reduced to halves in just two weeks in the myrobalan type rootstocks (‘MY-KL-A’, ‘GF 8/1’ and ‘Myrobalan B’), while in the case of ‘Fehér besztercei’ (Prunus domestica L.), where cuttings prepared at the end of autumn, the same process took more than 35 days. The time course of IBA concentration in the treated portion of the rootstocks was related to the time of cutting preparation, since the rate of plant growth regulator degradation increased when the cuttings were prepared late in the winter, whilst decreased for the cuttings prepared in late autumn and early winter. For the cuttings treated in January the degradation of IBA was even more rapid. The same occurred with the cuttings treated in February. In this case even the uptake of IBA proved to be lower. Actually, in late February no IBA could be detected in the quickly IBA degradation myrobalan cuttings: ‘MY-KL-A’, ‘GF 8/1’ and ‘Myrobalan B’.