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pfmastin_gw

propagating rosemary

pfmastin
12 years ago

I want to root some rosemary for our spring plant sale in May. Should I be successful if I start rooting them in February inside and then transplant them outside in early March to have some small plants ready by mid May? I'm in zone 7b.

Comments (10)

  • Lynda Waldrep
    12 years ago

    I copied this from a website. And, I tried to grow inside last year but failed. I didn't use bottom heat, however, and my potting soil was probably too heavy. Misting is important. I have been told it is very easy and should work. Good luck.
    *************
    1.Snip about a 2 inch cutting from the soft, new growth of an established plant.

    2.Remove the leaves from the bottom inch and dip that tip into a rooting hormone. Rooting hormones can be found in any garden center.

    3.Carefully place the dipped end into a container of dampened, sterile seed starting mix. Choose a mix that says it is well draining, like something containing peat moss with vermiculite or perlite.

    4.Place the container in a warm spot with indirect sunlight.

    5.Mist the cuttings daily and make sure the soil does not dry out.

    6.In about 2-3 weeks, test for root growth by very gently tugging on the cuttings.

    7.Once your cuttings have roots, transplant into individual pots about 3-4 inches in diameter.

    8.Pinch off the very top of the cutting to encourage it to develop branches.

  • trianglejohn
    12 years ago

    Way back when I used to sell plants my secret for Rosemary was to snip cuttings, shove them into potting media in the fall and let them sit all winter outside in the weather. By May they looked great and sold well. Neglect produced bigger stronger plants than any of the 'professional' techniques. Not every cutting would root but most of them would.

    I snipped large cuttings, like a foot long with the main stalk being at least a year old and woody. I removed the leaves and side branches on the bottom 3 to 4 inches. I dipped into rooting hormone and stuck them deep into sterile potting media in one gallon pots. By April you could tell who had died and who had rooted in. My plants always looked bigger and stronger than the tiny babies others tried to sell.

  • Lynda Waldrep
    12 years ago

    I will try that next fall...am a big proponent of winter sowing, so this should fit right in.

  • trianglejohn
    12 years ago

    There may be still enough winter to get them going this year. Another trick was to half fill one gallon pots, maybe 4 inches of media in the bottoms and then insert the cuttings and let the walls of the pots keep them from getting knocked around by the wind or clumsy gardener. The new roots being formed are fragile so you can't move them around much - set them up where they will be untouched all winter. In the spring you can carefully pull them up and fill the bottom of the pot with media so that the pot it now full when you replace the cutting and whatever media stuck to its roots.

  • dottie_in_charlotte
    12 years ago

    I'm curious about best placement of the pots in winter while you hope they root.
    Should they be out of direct sun even though the sun is so weak this time of year?
    What about watering? Should they be protected from snow and ice?

  • trianglejohn
    12 years ago

    I kept them in what I would call 'bright shade' but not in direct sunlight. I didn't water them all winter but I did soak them the first time I moved them to their winter spot. They seem to take a while to start rooting and they suffer if they get bumped around. I do remember some the pots being completely full of roots. I think the woody stems root better than the green wood. I also think it looks better to have larger plants for sale.

    I did the same trick with other things - like mints, salvias and loquats. Rather than deal with tiny cuttings and hoping they would fill out by May, I took large cuttings and just ignored them all winter. I've had success rooting five foot branches of loquat. Again, I think the woody tissue roots better than new growth, but with loquats it can take over a year to get good roots.

  • pfmastin
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Please excuse me for taking so long to get back here. :) I so appreciate everyone's suggestions and will print them to save for this fall. Just this week I've taken some cuttings and am starting them in a mixture of soil/vermiculite/perlite...we'll see what happens. I appreciate it!

  • wertach zone 7-B SC
    12 years ago

    I'll admit, I'm cheap! Instead of using rooting hormone's you can use willow tree cuttings! Any kind of willow will work, weeping or just plain old willow tree cuttings. They put off something, I'm guessing hormones? Put them in a container of water with whatever you want to root. I've used them for a lot of different plants.

    An old farmer taught me this years ago. He used it to propagate otherwise expensive root stock for his apple orchards.

  • carol23_gw
    12 years ago

    Willow is the source of salicylic acid, aspirin. I think that is what makes it useful to help cuttings root.

    Here is a link that might be useful: salicylic acid

  • dolzadell
    11 years ago

    Get a drinking glass, fill with water, put the cutting in, set in on a window sill, and fogetaboutit :) It will grow roots in about a month or so. Give it a kiss, put it in the ground and enjoy the smell and taste!