Propagating Rosemary cuttings

[tn_veggie_gardner]

Hi all, I was lucky enough to get 10 excellent Rosemary cuttings on a seed/plant trade recently. The person who sent them took great care when doing so. They dipped them in rooting hormone, wrapped a wet paper towel around them, put all that in a plastic bag with more water, then put that bag in another bag. Anyway, I got them in the mail yesterday, healthy looking as ever (for cuttings). Some look like they've even started the rooting process. I dipped each one in some more rooting hormone, put them in a good rooting medium & made a sort of terrarium for each of them to keep them humid/moist. Then, each of the tarrarium things is sitting in a tray with much available bottom water. Any other pointers for this propagation? I am quite new to propagation. I tried some rose cuttings last Fall that didn't seem to work out too well, but I think I left them out in the cold too much. Please let me know if you have any hints, tricks, etc. that might help me with these. Thanks! - Steve =)

[joshbuchan]

well I only realy tend to put tomatos chili pepers in a propogator, but as mine was going I put my spear mint on top of it in my greenhouse and it seems to be doing alot better than just sat on my windowsil. that was from a cutting. also the lemon tyme and rossmery are on top of it aswell and they seem to be doing fine aswell, I think inside the proporgater would be to hot and humid for herbs, but a little will not hurt.

[applestar]

I haven't tried growing rosemary from cuttings, but have grown others including lavender, which has similar requirements. One point that struck me from reading what you're doing is that I don't think you want to have standing water in the bottom.

It's important to remember that some plants readily grow roots in water and some need to be rooted in soil. Water roots and soil roots are different. Typically water rooting plants prefer very moist soil and are almost always tender green herbaceous plant. Rosemary is a semi-woody shrub and prefers sandy well draining soil. So keep your soil moist but not sopping wet. Soil roots need air in the soil to "breath" or they will rot.

In almost all cases, propagating from cuttings benefit from gentle bottom heat. Make sure your humidity cover has ventilation and that the foliage doesn't touch the sides. Watch out for mold. The cuttings should get good light but not direct sunlight.

[tn_veggie_gardner]

Great, thanks for the info, applestar. I've only had them that way for 2 days now. So, when I get home later, I will remove the bottom watering tray and place them on something I can put my heat mat under.

- Steve

[thanrose]

Applestar is absolutely right about the different types of roots growing in water or in soil.

That said, rosemary will root in water, because I've done that with cuttings I just wanted to keep fresh for a few more days...

And that said, rosemary does not like to be wet, and does not like acid soil. Ditch the water trapping tray, let the rooting medium go to the dry side of things rather than frog heaven.

It's actually a fairly easy herb to root. The critical thing is repotting. Rosemary really hates repotting. I have only one mature plant remaining in a pot, same pot for the last ten years or so. I think I've lifted it once, adding fresh soil.

[WatchMeShove]

The rosemary all depends on what part of the plant you have taken cuttings from. Newer types of cuttings could sprout roots within a couple weeks. If you have the more woody older section then it could take months to root itself. I wouldn't even try to remove the rosemary from the current pot for at least 6 months, this way you are careful not to damage the roots. Do not pull the rosemary up to try and see if roots have formed like most people suggest. Books and people suggest pulling up on cuttings and if you feel resistance then you know roots have formed, however this can damage roots so I wouldn't recommend this advice. Using a wide shallow tray for a number of cuttings is a good idea, then waiting until you see roots growing out the bottom of the tray before you think about repotting. I hope this helps.

[tn_veggie_gardner]

I didn't have time to "fix" this. I checked on them yesterday. A ton of white mold on every single one. had to throw them out. Now, no Rosemany for this year. =(

[applestar]

Oh, that's too bad.
Propagating, whether from seeds or cuttings is always a challenge, especially with your first species. Things you know works for one doesn't always work for another. I think that's why it's so rewarding when they do "take" and grow. It seems like such a little miracle.

Don't be discouraged. Try again with rosemary when you can, or practice with cuttings of other species. Some are so easy you wonder why you ever bought plants before.

[tn_veggie_gardner]

Thanks, applestar. =) I do plan on working on my propagating much more! I have about 20 2 liter soda bottles I saved, just waiting for the opportunity.

[rainbowgardener]

Personally, I'm much better with seeds than cuttings, with which I've never had much luck (going to try again this year and try to do better!)

So you could always start some rosemary from seed. It is slow germinating and slow growing. But I have some I started from seed in the middle of Jan (about 1 in 3 germinated). 2 months later they are maybe 2" (or a little less) high. But by the end of the season they will be nice little 6" high plants. My trouble is then I have to bring them indoors and they never do very well indoors. But you are probably far enough south that you could leave it out for the winter, with protection. Look for more cold hardy strains.

[WatchMeShove]

I don't think you really needed to throw out any of the rosemary. You should have washed all the mold away and sprayed a fungicide to keep the mold from coming back. Mold happens all the time to a lot of people who grow in little hothouses or mini greenhouses with heating mats. It is always better to try and eliminate the mold than to throw away a whole project, and trying to get rid of the mold actually isn't as difficult as it may sound.