Rosemary is super tasty and we love to cook with it.
It’s also one of the best choices if you want to get into home gardening.
That’s because rosemary plants don’t need much in the way of looking after and you can grow it without any rosemary seeds but instead, you can grow rosemary from cuttings.
So, let’s take a look at how you can go about propagating rosemary at home and start seasoning your meals with fresh rosemary. Yum, right?
Propagating rosemary always requires rosemary cuttings rather than seeds.
This means that your rosemary plant will always be identical to the first rosemary plant that you use (genetically speaking).
The good news is that growing rosemary in this way is very easy, indeed.
The Equipment You Need Before You Start To Propagate Rosemary Plants
You don’t need much to start growing rosemary plants from cuttings. That’s why they’re among the easiest herbs to grow indoors.
- A mother plant (any established rosemary plant) to take rosemary stem cuttings from.
- A small pot (this should include good drainage holes on the base) or another convenient growing area.
- Some potting soil mix for indoor rosemary plants.
- Water to ensure that your new plant gets the nutrients that they need to become a mature rosemary plant.
- You may also want some rooting hormone but this is not essential to grow rosemary plants – it just makes the process a bit easier.
Grab Your Rosemary Plant
Now it’s time to grab that parent plant and make some stem cuttings.
Aim to take branches/sprigs of rosemary that are no more than 4″-6″ long and which are not currently flowering.
The best time to do this for new rosemary plants is at the end of a growing season when the stems have a “woody texture” but don’t worry, you can do it at any time. Your herb garden doesn’t need to wait on the rosemary bush, it’s hardy enough to give cuttings when you need them.
If you don’t have access to your own rosemary, already, you can ask a friend to take cuttings from their plants or pick some up at a grocery store or a nursery store or order them online.
Strip The Leaves Back
Next, stop the leaves from the base of the stem – this is needed to ensure rooting rosemary has the right base.
Assuming that you’re ready to start growing new plants immediately, you can cut the tip at a 45-degree angle and start the process.
However, if you don’t intend to propagate now, just wrap the sprigs in a plastic bag and pop them in the fridge.
Consider Using A Growth Hormone
Again, this is absolutely optional but if you want a well-established rosemary plant within the next few weeks, you can encourage new growth and root growth using a growth hormone.
Just dip the bare stem in the hormone and it will be much easier to propagate plants than if you don’t.
Develop The Roots
OK, if you opted for hormones, you can now take the “new rosemary plant” and plant it in potting soil mix in your pot (or another area).
But, if not, then you should place the plant in a glass of water and allow it to form roots before you plant the rosemary cutting.
This process can take up to 4 weeks, so be patient, don’t plant it until you feel there’s a solid root system in place.
Plant Maturation
It takes about 8 weeks for rosemary to grow after it’s planted in soil.
You don’t need to worry about treating it for pests (it’s a pest-resistant plant, in fact) but you should give it plenty of humidity.
Ideally, you pop it in a greenhouse at this point but if you don’t have a greenhouse? Just cover the pot in a plastic bag for some of the day.
If you see any discolored leaves? These are the result of “transplant shock”. Just trim them back and wait for healthy leaves to replace them.
Caring For The New Plants
Once your rosemary is growing happily, you don’t need to give it much care – you want to ensure that it gets a lot of sunlight and that there’s always enough water to keep the top layer of the soil damp and it will keep on growing.
To harvest it, just collect some clippings of the leaves and the plant will happily replace them.
You will need to re-pot the plant every few months but rosemary can last for years if looked after properly.
Final Notes
There are very plants easier to propagate than rosemary and it’s also very easy to look after once you’ve got new plants growing.
It’s the perfect way to start an indoor herb garden and to enjoy tastier meals.
