Propagating a rosemary cutting?

[Chillimad]

I'm with Snadger on this. If all plants were as easy as rosemary what a simple life we would have! As I said before in a different line my spaniel (she of the permanent waggy tail) is always knocking bits of and I just plonk them in water outside and wait for requests. There is always someone for rosemary. If you are still having probs I can send you a nice big piece.

Hi Mrs Dog,
I have been having problems trying to grow rosmary for ages, I was just wondering if the offer you made before may possibly be open to me ??

[percy charlie]

before planting in compost when you take a cutting try dipping it in a bit of hormone rooting powder to help root growth, i did this with some herb cuttings i got of a friend and there doing well, i found rosemary and parsley hard to grow from seed, but ive now found some tricks for getting parsley to germinate and grow now.

[mrs dog]

Hi there if you pm your address to me I will post some cuttings for you. No problem at all.

[maddles]

propagating rosemary

Hi I've propagated some cuttings as well in a glass of water and am about to pot them up. You can see a photo and a description of how to do it on my blog.

Mad About Herbs: Rooting Rosemary in Water

Good luck!

[mr and mrs lotty]

rosemary from seed

hi
growing rosemary from seed seems a long process,we planted some in the spring and has taken so long to germinate,is this normal
Thanks

[Hilary B]

My parents grew a rosemary bush from a 'cutting' they were offered while on holiday (because my sister, then a toddler, is called Rosemary) and the advice they were given was the 'glass of water' technique (plant it when you can see roots). The plant eventually outgrew the space and got 'leggy' so they took another cutting, and when that was doing well, scrapped the old bush. My sisters and I all got cuttings, and all doing well...... It is probably the easiest herb in the world to take cuttings from. The small plants you have bought can be put in big pots outside to grow up, and by spring will be fit for taking cuttings off anyway.

I wouldn't bother with rosemary from seed unless it is the only way to get a variety you especially want. Try nicking a twiggy bit or so from the next garden where you see it<g>

[Demeter]

Clearly it's just me then.

I took a few cuttings of rosemary about 3-4 weeks ago and put them in water, changed the water every day, kept them in good light (but not direct sun or anything) but nothing happened at all! They've all gone black now and are in the compost. What did I do wrong? Any expert tips?? I'm going to have another try but don't want to repeat the same mistakes...

The single sage cutting I took about the same time rooted almost immediately and is now growing quite happily in a little pot of compost.

[djhs196]

I've had success by taking semi-ripe cuttings - e.g. this year's growth that's starting to go a little woody. From now onwards should be fine.

I normally pot them straight up, 5 to a pot topped with a plastic bag and put in partial shade. Take the bag off when you feel you can, usually a few weeks.

Not all the cuttings come thru, but about about 2/3 to 3/4 of them do so take more than you need.

Of those that are left (and now rooted) at this stage, I'd then also pinch out the growing tip a few inches from the soil. This will give you a nice multi-branched bush in due course with about four arms, rather a single column "leggy" looking plant.

Hope that helps

[Demeter]

Douglas - thanks for the tip
Just looked out the window and saw that it has stopped raining so I was thinking about going out right now lol
I'll give you an update in a few weeks time

[loverofsage]

Layering works. (Just been out to check mine had rooted before replying!) But if it's as easy as putting a cuting in a glass of water then perhaps it's more bother than you need. The advantage might be that if you layer a more mature branch you'll have a mature plant more quickly. But I'm no expert.

[Demeter]

loverofsage - I think I might try layering next.
Just been inspecting my rosemary cuttings in water and one has started to turn black, the others are not dying yet but there is no sign of any roots, it has been 12 days only so I'm not giving up on them yet, but I would have expected to see some little rooty things by now?

[Hilary B]

I never changed the water when trying to root cuttings in a glass of water (actually a jamjar). Yes, I would expect to see root spots (white spots below the water line, and the roots grow from those) in about a week, but it can vary a lot. Did you take cuttings just below a leafjoint, and remove the leaves from that joint?

[lynda66]

hi
growing rosemary from seed seems a long process,we planted some in the spring and has taken so long to germinate,is this normal
Thanks

my rosemary seeds were planted about 4 weeks ago, and they are just starting to come up now ...... and today i have been very norty and stole a lavender twig off a bush, that is currently sitting in a jar of water till i get round to planting it

[Demeter]

I never changed the water when trying to root cuttings in a glass of water (actually a jamjar). Yes, I would expect to see root spots (white spots below the water line, and the roots grow from those) in about a week, but it can vary a lot. Did you take cuttings just below a leafjoint, and remove the leaves from that joint?

I took shoot tips. This year's growth, starting to go woody. I don't know whether it was just below a leaf joint - there were leaves all the way up the stem? Or do you mean the place where a side shoot joined the main stem - in which case, definitely not. I removed all the leaves that would have been below the water line, i.e. about 2/3 of them.

The sage cutting I had that took, a few weeks ago, had white spots like you said, along the stem, not growing from the bottom, and they turned into roots. (And that was just a bit that fell off the plant!) The rosemary doesn't look like that. Argh. I'm glad I managed to get a sage cutting to take, or I'd be losing faith in the whole idea by now! This is supposed to be easy!!