Propagating Rosemary
Many of you have noticed our bundles of rosemary in jars around the centre, and we've been getting lots of questions about how to get them to grow roots in water, so here it is! All you need to know to propagate your own rosemary plants from cuttings!
Rosemary is a very low maintenance plant which makes it a great option for gifts, it can flourish in pots, it has a beautiful scent when you run your hands through it, it’s wonderful for cooking, its flowers attract beneficial insects and, perhaps best of all, it’s easy to propagate! The kids at WKC love to use rosemary in crafts, and often use it to create wonderful scented playdough.
What you’ll need:
Rosemary cutting(s)
Water
Glass bottle/ container/ vase
Procedure:
Take a 20-30cm cutting from a larger plant (the younger parts of the plant tend to be best) and strip the lower leaves off of the cutting.
Fill your glass container with water.
Place your cuttings in your glass container making sure that the leaves of the cutting do not sit in the water (the leaves can cause excessive algae or mould if they sit in water). Only the woody part of the cutting needs to be in the water.
Place in a sunny spot (eg. windowsill) where the cutting will receive plenty of light, but not too much direct sun.
After a couple of weeks you should observe the cutting growing thin, translucent, white roots into the water.
Once the cutting has grown roots you are able to plant it in soil at any time, however it is best to leave the cutting in water until it has developed many long roots.
To plant your cutting make a small hole as deep as the stripped section of your rosemary, place the cutting in the hole (being sure to get all roots into the hole) and back fill.
In no time you’ll be enjoying your very own established rosemary plant!
Rosemary enjoys lots of sun and well drained soil with very little need for fertiliser. Rosemary also enjoys infrequent watering, so don’t let the soil be too soggy!