Starting rosemary from cuttings?

[TexasTycoon]

Originally Posted by habitat_gardener

Avoid peat! That's the (ahem) root of the problem. Rosemary needs good drainage, and peat does the exact opposite.

I've had good luck rooting rosemary cuttings in garden soil or compost in 1 gallon pots. Strip the foliage from the bottom half of a 6-12 inch cutting and place 4-6 cuttings in a pot. No rooting hormone needed.

Just be sure to keep the cuttings upright (don't lay them horizontally) at all times. As soon as the cutting is made, the hormones that facilitate rooting travel downward (gravity), so to get the max amount of hormones where you want them, you need to have a container ready before you make the cuttings. I went to a talk last year where a greenhouse grower at a university said they were having little luck with a particular plant until they discovered this tip. They had been taking cuttings, laying them on a tray, and then walking across the greenhouse to pot them up. They discovered that if they kept the cuttings upright at all times, instead of laying them on a tray -- even just to walk across the greenhouse -- they had dramatically better success!

That is so interesting, I had no idea that would make such a big difference!

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by TexasTycoon

That is so interesting, I had no idea that would make such a big difference!

Now that I am home and can reply without my post falling off the face of the earth.

Here is what you can do to get a cutting from you grandmothers rosemary also.
It is called air layering.
Tie a cloth or many of them around the branches.
Put potting soil inside the cloth bags.
Roots will begin to grow inside this bag, simply cut the branch off below the bag and remove the bag.
Plant in a container and there you have it, a new plant.

Worth

[TexasTycoon]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Now that I am home and can reply without my post falling off the face of the earth.

Here is what you can do to get a cutting from you grandmothers rosemary also.
It is called air layering.
Tie a cloth or many of them around the branches.
Put potting soil inside the cloth bags.
Roots will begin to grow inside this bag, simply cut the branch off below the bag and remove the bag.
Plant in a container and there you have it, a new plant.

Worth

Looks like I'll be driving out to Oak Hill this weekend to try this out, or maybe there are even some rooted around her plants already, we'll see. Thanks Worth.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by TexasTycoon

Looks like I'll be driving out to Oak Hill this weekend to try this out, or maybe there are even some rooted around her plants already, we'll see. Thanks Worth.

You and your husband are more than welcome to stop by my place in Bastrop on the way back and dig all you want.
I am right off 95 in town and not out of the way at all.
Yes you can take the offer at face value no strings attached.

Worth

[kayrobbins]

I have a friend that is a 78 year old herb farmer. When she is getting ready for her events that are open to the public I spend days helping her get ready. In exchange she gives me herbs, cuttings and has taught me how to root cuttings.

Her method is have the trays ready before taking cuttings. She uses a seed germinating mix (yes, it has peat) but is fine. She packs it very tightly into the cells. Air pockets are the enemy that causes cutting to rot. She does not use any rooting hormone. Cuttings are taking from the tneder shoots and the leaves stripped from the part that will be under the soil. She grows in a green house and keeps them well misted. She also has an outside misting bed that she use if the weather conditions are right.

I don't have a greenhouse so I put my prepared cuttings under the same grow lights I use for vegetable seedlings and mist them daily. Since I started using her methods my success rates have improved dramatically.

[clkeiper]

I use a media by baccto. I am sure there is peat in it, but I like the mix as an all purpose media for all of my greenhouse growing.