A detailed guide to three common rosemary propagation methods

For food lovers, rosemary is a great seasoning for cooking, while for plant enthusiasts, growing rosemary as a potted plant is also quite an interesting experience. Cuttings are the main propagation method for rosemary. If your rosemary suddenly becomes sick or you want to give some to a friend, you can propagate it through cuttings. Here is a detailed explanation of three rosemary cutting propagation methods.

Rosemary cuttings can be rooted not only in soil but also in water before being planted in soil. In addition, rosemary can also be rooted in sand, because different gardening enthusiasts have their preferred cutting methods, so we will go through all three cutting methods.

Rosemary

I. Rosemary water rooting method:

1. Use clean scissors to cut new slender branches from healthy, vigorous rosemary. Be careful to avoid slender branches with flowers. The cut should be made just below the point where the leaf meets the branch (there are more growth cells there), and the cut surface should be clean and neat. The lower part of the rosemary branch is brown and relatively hard, the middle part is grayish-white with light brown spots and is softer, and the newest growth is green and can be bent freely without breaking. Generally, the length of the cutting we take depends on the season. It is recommended to cut green, tender new shoots in spring or early summer, with a recommended length of 5-10 cm; cut grayish-white branches from summer to autumn, with a recommended length of 10-15 cm; cut brown, hard, mature branches in autumn, with a recommended length of 15-35 cm.

2. Remove the leaves from the lower 1/2 of the cutting, place the prepared cutting into a transparent container, add water up to just below the leaves, then place it on a sunny windowsill. For the first week, change the water every 2 to 3 days. After that, change it only when the water becomes cloudy or has obvious sediment. After 5 to 8 weeks, white fine roots will grow from the lower part of the cutting. Continue soaking. Once the roots have grown to at least 5 cm long and there are 7 or 8 roots, you can begin transplanting. However, the more roots there are, the higher the survival rate after transplanting and the faster the growth rate will be.

3. Transplant into a separate flower pot and water thoroughly. At this time, because the cutting has not received nutrients for a long time and has also grown many roots, its consumption is high. When watering, you can appropriately add a little nutrient solution.

Rosemary

II. Rosemary soil cutting method

Remove the leaves from the lower 1/3 of the branch. Fill the flower pot with loose fine soil, press and level the potting soil with your hands, but do not press too firmly. Water thoroughly. Insert the prepared cutting directly into the loose fine soil, with a spacing of at least 4 cm, and place it in a sunny place. Water thoroughly the first time, then water thoroughly once a week thereafter, and keep the soil moist on ordinary days. If the local climate is dry, be sure to insert a wooden stick or chopstick taller than the rosemary cutting into the flower pot, then cover it with a perforated plastic bag. The plastic bag should not touch the cutting.

III. Rosemary sand cutting

For the rosemary branch that has been cut, remove the leaves from the lower 1/3 and dip the cut end in rooting powder. Steam the sand for more than 15 minutes to disinfect it. After it cools, place it in a flower pot as the cutting medium: use a toothpick or bamboo skewer to poke a hole in the center of the sand, insert the rosemary branch, and press firmly around it. Water. Cover it with a plastic bag or a cut-open beverage bottle to retain moisture. After rooting in one month, transfer it into a flower pot with growing soil.

Rosemary is native to the Mediterranean coast and is an evergreen shrub. It is resistant to cold and drought, but it fears waterlogging. It is suitable for growing in well-drained, calcareous sandy soil, and its difficulty of cultivation can be said to be not high. Cuttings are a relatively common propagation method for rosemary. Of course, you can also propagate it by division or sowing. If it is a creeping rosemary variety, it can also be propagated by layering. As for other propagation methods, I will explain them in detail in future articles.

Three common cutting methods for rosemary

Rosemary water rooting method

In spring or early summer, cut 5-10 cm green, tender new shoots. From summer to early autumn, cut 10-15 cm grayish-white branches. In autumn, cut 15-35 cm brown, hard, mature branches. First, use clean scissors to cut new slender branches from rosemary, being careful to avoid slender branches with flowers. The cut should be below the point where the branch meets the leaf, and the cut surface should be clean and neat. Remove about 1/2 of the leaves from the lower part of the branch, place it in a transparent container, and add water up to the height just below the leaves. Place it on a sunny windowsill. In the first week, change the water every two to three days. After that, change it only when the water becomes cloudy or has obvious sediment. After five to eight weeks, white fine roots will grow from the lower part of the branch. Continue soaking. Once the roots have grown to 5 cm long, you can begin transplanting. Transplant into a separate flower pot and water thoroughly. When watering, you can appropriately add a little nutrient solution.

Rosemary soil rooting method

Remove the leaves from the lower 1/3 of the branch. Fill the flower pot with loose fine soil, press and level the potting soil, and water thoroughly. Insert the prepared cutting into the fine soil. If there are many branches, keep a spacing of at least 4 cm. Place the flower pot in a sunny place and keep the soil moist on ordinary days. If the climate is dry like in the north, be sure to insert a wooden stick or chopstick taller than the cutting into the flower pot, then cover it with a perforated plastic bag. The plastic bag should not touch the cutting.

Rosemary vermiculite cutting method

Use a 2:3 ratio of vermiculite:perlite as the cutting medium and place it in the cells of a plug tray. Prepare a pot of rooting powder + carbendazim solution and spray it when lacking water. Then, ensure that the rosemary's drainage and disinfection are normal until roots grow.

How to grow rosemary, rosemary cultivation and propagation methods

Rosemary likes a warm and humid environment. Growth is slow at higher temperatures, and it grows faster in winter when the weather is clear and there is no cold spell. Rosemary has many leaves and they are leathery, so it is relatively drought-tolerant, and keeping the soil slightly moist can meet its water needs. However, the soil used for planting should be chosen for good drainage, which is more conducive to its growth.

Rosemary is a kind of herb and likes a cool and dry environment. The flower pot is very important for its growth. An unglazed clay pot has the best breathability and can be given priority consideration. As for the size of the flower pot, one with a diameter of about 20 cm is enough. If it is too large, the amount of watering is difficult to control, and since rosemary grows slowly, it does not need too much growing space.

As for soil, ordinary garden soil is enough. Add a small amount of fertilizer to the soil before planting.

Fertilizing about two or three times a year is enough. Use decomposed organic fertilizer and place it in the soil at the edge of the flower pot. Applying light fertilizer frequently is also fine, and the amount of fertilizer used at one time does not need to be too much. Specifically, fertilize appropriately according to the plant's growth condition.

As for watering, more watering is needed in summer. Generally, when the temperature is high in summer, do not water at noon; water once in the morning and once in the evening. In other seasons, generally water once a week. During care, water according to the condition of the potting soil. If it is dry and whitish, it needs watering.

Rosemary is a relatively cold-tolerant plant. In winter, it can be placed on a semi-enclosed balcony to overwinter, and around -5°C is no problem. So in winter there is no need to take warming measures, and it still will not freeze to death. But if the winter temperature in your area is below -10°C, it is still recommended to move it indoors. Summer temperatures are relatively high, so it should be ventilated and cooled in time to promote its growth.

In fact, gardening enthusiasts all water based on experience. Beginners growing rosemary need to note that in high summer temperatures, although more watering is needed, you cannot water excessively, as the plant is very likely to wilt and its growth will slow down. In addition, perennial plants may also show this kind of situation if watered improperly.

After rosemary blooms, it needs sufficient fertilizer to promote longer blooming, but it is best not to use chemical fertilizers to avoid fertilizer burn. For ordinary home cultivation, you can also water it with a little fermented rice-washing water.

In humid environments, root rot, gray mold, and other diseases are common rosemary diseases. If the rosemary plant wilts while the growing medium is still moist, the plant needs to be moved out of the greenhouse immediately. The most common pests are red spider mites and whiteflies. At present, the most ideal method is to use biological control.

Propagation methods suitable for rosemary include sowing, cuttings, layering, and so on. Rosemary seeds germinate slowly and have a low germination rate, so they are usually used only when introducing new varieties. During the rooting period, the suitable temperature in the greenhouse is 22°C. The cuttings need to be misted frequently, but excessive moisture will cause the tops of the cuttings to rot, and the roots produced will not be strong enough. In the first 10 to 14 days, the cuttings begin to root, and special attention must be paid to preventing the cuttings from wilting.