Today you will learn how to propagate rosemary from cuttings. You can grow rosemary in pots and move the pot outside on sunny days.
Rosemary is an annual plant in warm zones. Under ideal growing conditions, it can grow 3 to 4 feet with a spread of 3 feet.
There are many rosemary varieties in the market to grow at home. The size of the plant and growing needs depend on the type of rosemary type.
Those who are living in cold zones can also propagate rosemary from cuttings. They need to grow it in the container. So that they can move the container inside on winter days. Because the rosemary is a warm-season plant. It cannot tolerate the cold winds.
This is the reason we recommend you to move the pot inside in the fall. Do not wait for the hard winter days.
Just give it the proper care and your plant will stay alive. Remember that in the cold season plants do not show growth as they do on warm days.
For most of the plants, winter is the rest period and spring and summer is their active season.
Benefits of propagating rosemary
It is always hard to start a plant from seeds. But it is very easy to grow a plant from cuttings. To get all benefits of propagation you need to know how to propagate rosemary?
Same quality every year
This is the most important benefit of propagating rosemary from cuttings. Once you have perfect rosemary in your garden. You should grow more plants like that from cuttings. Because this way the plants grown from cuttings grow identical to their mother plants.
Quick Harvest
For a quick harvest, you should grow it from rosemary cuttings. Because seeds take time to germinate and they also have a low germination success rate. But within in few months the rosemary plant will grow to a good size. You can use it as you want.
No extra cost
This way you don’t have to pay for the rosemary plant every year. Buying seeds or seedlings from a local nursery store is a costly option. Whereas it is simple and free to take cuttings for the propagation of the rosemary plants.
How to propagate rosemary?
You May Also Like: Grow Sansevieria zeylanica
Below are the exact steps that you need to follow to take cuttings from a rosemary plant and grow it in the container.
You need to identify the useful stem for the propagation. Take a cutting of the soft stem. It should be flexible and have a bright green color. Do not take hardwood or brown stem cuttings. These types of stems will not grow.
Now use sharp sterile shears and take cuttings. Do not use a knife because a knife can damage the main stem of the plant. The size of the cutting should be 6 inches long. Cut 4 to 5 stems every time just in case if some fail to grow.
Now put the stem in the glass of water. The water should be at normal room temperature. Place the glass away from direct sunlight in a warm humid place. Change the water after a couple of days. or you can dip the cutting in the rooting hormone for 5 seconds and plant it directly in the pot.
In both ways, the rosemary cutting will develop roots in just a few days. In the first few days, it looks like the stem is dying. But within 6 to 7 weeks, you can see the cutting is producing small little stems and tiny leaves.
The final step is, once you see the roots if you are going with the glass of water method. Take it out of the glass and plant it in the pot. Make sure the pot is filled with cactus potting soil or all-purpose potting soil.
If you are not sure about the soil you can visit the local nursery and ask them to show you the soil for growing rosemary.
Place the pot in the location where it gets the bright light but not direct bright light. In the initial growing stage, rosemary needs 6 to 8 hours of indirect light.
If you have a grow light at home you can use it to give high strength light to small rosemary plants.
How to maintain propagated rosemary plant?
Once the plant is well established you can give it direct sunlight. It needs 6 to 7 hours of direct sunlight once it grows its roots. This light helps rosemary to prepare the energy for its further growth.
Water the plant once the upper inch of the soil gets dry. Because this plant-like to grow in little dry conditions. It is not a juicy plant so it does not need frequent watering even in the summer season.
Once you see the roots are coming out of the drain hole change the pot. Take the bigger pot and repot the rosemary plant.
Prune it whenever it is necessary to do so. Because this depends upon the type of rosemary that you have in the pot. Some plants show aggressive growth while others grow slowly.
You May Also Like: How to grow silver dollar plants?
How to save propagated Rosemary from pests and diseases?
Spider mites, aphids, and whiteflies are the common pests that affect the rosemary. They suck the nutrients from the plant and make it weak and dry. To prevent all these pests always check the plant 5 times per week. If you find any of these pests use insecticidal soap to treat the conditions.
Powdery mildew and root rot are the 2 main diseases of rosemary plants. Both diseases are caused by aggressive watering. So, to prevent plant diseases always give adequate water to the plant.
By giving extra water and fertilizers you cannot speed up the plant growth. This will cause more harm than benefit. Remember that rosemary is a slow-growing plant. It will take its time to grow large in size.
I hope now you understand how to propagate rosemary plants from cuttings. If you still need any help in growing rosemary from cuttings. You can write us we will help you asap.
