Starting rosemary from cuttings?

TexasTycoon · July 1, 2015

My Gram has a few prolific rosemary bushes (both the bushy variety and the crawling variety) that I would like to start in my own pots from cuttings. I tried once this past spring, with a few cuttings from each plant dipped in rooting hormone and stuck into some peat, but the peat just got moldy and the cuttings died. Is there a trick to rooting rosemary cuttings? My Gram is no help, she says she just stick the cuttings in the ground and they grow. Well, I'm in an apartment and she's got some of the best soil in the state (first thing she did when they moved to Texas 40+ years ago was get her soil tested and start amending it so she could garden), so I'm out of luck. How should I go about it if I'm able to get my hands on some cuttings again?

Labradors2 · July 1, 2015

I cut the sprigs, strip the lower leaves and put them in a container of water. They root easily.

Linda

TexasTycoon · July 1, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Labradors2

I cut the sprigs, strip the lower leaves and put them in a container of water. They root easily.

Linda

Does it matter how long of a piece you start with? And do the newer branches/sprigs root easier than the older ones? I read somewhere that they won't root once the stem is woody.

Worth1 · July 1, 2015

Well they will root when the stems are woody.
My huge bushes end up on the ground and root easily.
The things are taking over the place.
They are Tuscan Blue an upright rosemary.
You might try staking the limbs to the ground let them root and dig that section up and plant.
Practically all rosemary are clones from cuttings.
Worth

Labradors2 · July 1, 2015

I cut them about 6" in length.

Worth's idea of pinning the branches to the ground to get them to root is a great one too!

Linda

Cole_Robbie · July 2, 2015

If you ever have trouble rooting cuttings of anything in water, try using a small aquarium air pump to aerate the water. A small water pump will do the same thing. Aerating the water changes the bacterial profile from anaerobic to aerobic. You grow the good guys, and not the bad guys who cause stem rot.

TexasTycoon · July 2, 2015

Thanks for all the advice! A house I used to rent had a huge rosemary bush in the front yard that I used all the time (hellooooooo rosemary garlic baked chicken), so I've really missed having it on hand all the time. Plus, I really want part of my Gram's garden with me. I know I won't have my grandparents around that much longer, and the house/land is going to one of my aunts who lives in San Antonio when they pass. I doubt she'll keep it since she's got a nice house of her own and it's just her. But I digress.

I think I'll try to root some in water next time I can get out there to visit, and if I still can't make that work I'll see if Gram's interested in letting me stake some branches to the ground like Worth suggested.

ScottinAtlanta · July 2, 2015

Worth is right. Root around the bush, and you will find some stems with roots already on them.

TexasTycoon · July 2, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottinAtlanta

Worth is right. Root around the bush, and you will find some stems with roots already on them.

Good idea. I'll check next time I'm out there.

hoefarmer · July 2, 2015

If you are going to be near El Campo (in between Houston and Victoria), I have several liners in 2" pots that I could share with you.

clkeiper · July 2, 2015

I have rooted it and it is easier than lavender to root. I use soft cuttings to do mine. I use rooting hormone, covered containers and a heat mat. I mist them every day or two until they are rooted. Some take and some don't. You might also want to change rooting hormones too. Some are suited to soft stem cuttings and some are suited to woodier ones. Check at a garden center for different types (not a big box store center, a real garden center only type place) or look online and order it.

habitat_gardener · July 2, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by TexasTycoon

My Gram has a few prolific rosemary bushes (both the bushy variety and the crawling variety) that I would like to start in my own pots from cuttings. I tried once this past spring, with a few cuttings from each plant dipped in rooting hormone and stuck into some peat, but the peat just got moldy and the cuttings died. ...

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!

kayrobbins · July 2, 2015

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.

Tracydr · July 2, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Labradors2

I cut the sprigs, strip the lower leaves and put them in a container of water. They root easily.

Linda

Can I also do this with lavender?

TexasTycoon · July 6, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoefarmer

If you are going to be near El Campo (in between Houston and Victoria), I have several liners in 2" pots that I could share with you.

Haha not planning on being in that area anytime soon, but thanks!

July 1, 2015	#1
TexasTycoon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2015 Location: Round Rock, TX, Zone 8b Posts: 1,157	Starting rosemary from cuttings? My Gram has a few prolific rosemary bushes (both the bushy variety and the crawling variety) that I would like to start in my own pots from cuttings. I tried once this past spring, with a few cuttings from each plant dipped in rooting hormone and stuck into some peat, but the peat just got moldy and the cuttings died. Is there a trick to rooting rosemary cuttings? My Gram is no help, she says she just stick the cuttings in the ground and they grow. Well, I'm in an apartment and she's got some of the best soil in the state (first thing she did when they moved to Texas 40+ years ago was get her soil tested and start amending it so she could garden), so I'm out of luck. How should I go about it if I'm able to get my hands on some cuttings again? __________________ -Kelly "To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow." - Audrey Hepburn Bloom where you are planted.

July 2, 2015	#7
TexasTycoon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2015 Location: Round Rock, TX, Zone 8b Posts: 1,157	Thanks for all the advice! A house I used to rent had a huge rosemary bush in the front yard that I used all the time (hellooooooo rosemary garlic baked chicken), so I've really missed having it on hand all the time. Plus, I really want part of my Gram's garden with me. I know I won't have my grandparents around that much longer, and the house/land is going to one of my aunts who lives in San Antonio when they pass. I doubt she'll keep it since she's got a nice house of her own and it's just her. But I digress. I think I'll try to root some in water next time I can get out there to visit, and if I still can't make that work I'll see if Gram's interested in letting me stake some branches to the ground like Worth suggested. __________________ -Kelly "To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow." - Audrey Hepburn Bloom where you are planted.

July 2, 2015	#10
hoefarmer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: North Central Florida Posts: 110	rosmary If you are going to be near El Campo (in between Houston and Victoria), I have several liners in 2" pots that I could share with you.

July 2, 2015	#11
clkeiper Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: ohio Posts: 4,350	I have rooted it and it is easier than lavender to root. I use soft cuttings to do mine. I use rooting hormone, covered containers and a heat mat. I mist them every day or two until they are rooted. Some take and some don't. You might also want to change rooting hormones too. Some are suited to soft stem cuttings and some are suited to woodier ones. Check at a garden center for different types (not a big box store center, a real garden center only type place) or look online and order it. __________________ carolyn k

July 1, 2015	#2
Labradors2 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Ontario Posts: 3,895	I cut the sprigs, strip the lower leaves and put them in a container of water. They root easily. Linda

July 1, 2015	#4
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Well they will root when the stems are woody. My huge bushes end up on the ground and root easily. The things are taking over the place. They are Tuscan Blue an upright rosemary. You might try staking the limbs to the ground let them root and dig that section up and plant. Practically all rosemary are clones from cuttings. Worth

July 2, 2015	#6
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	If you ever have trouble rooting cuttings of anything in water, try using a small aquarium air pump to aerate the water. A small water pump will do the same thing. Aerating the water changes the bacterial profile from anaerobic to aerobic. You grow the good guys, and not the bad guys who cause stem rot.

July 2, 2015	#8
ScottinAtlanta Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 2,593	Worth is right. Root around the bush, and you will find some stems with roots already on them.

July 2, 2015	#13
kayrobbins Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Jacksonville, Fl Posts: 820	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.