Propagate that rosemary!!

I love rosemary! It smells wonderful, tastes good, and keeps the bugs away!

So how can I make the one rosemary plant I have into a lot of rosemary plants?

It’s very easy and I will show you how

What you’ll need:

1. A healthy rosemary plant with a lot of new shoots
2. Rooting hormone (You can pick this up at any garden center)
3. Clean pots to put them in (as in sterilized)
4. Rooting medium (organic compost with no fertilizer works well)
5. An area indoors out of direct sun light
6. Large zip lock bag or milk carton or soda bottle, (something clear to keep moisture in)
7. Clean and sharp pruners

Get your pots filled, with the rooting medium. Then make you rooting solution in a separate container.

TIP: Don’t directly dip cuttings into the bottle of rooting hormone, or you will contaminate it pour some in a disposable container and dip your cutting in that.

Take a 4” cutting just above a set of leaves, tear 2 sets of leaves from the stem causing a wound; then pinch the 3rd set of leaves off. When you’re done you should have a stem with 5-6 leaves on the top and nothing on the bottom.

Now dip the stem in the rooting solution, tap off the excess.  Push you finger through the rooting medium and put the cutting in, and firm the medium around the stem.

When you are done making the cuttings put them in doors out of direct sun light. Lightly water the rooting medium, and put the pots in a zip lock bag or place a plastic bottle over them to keep moisture in.

It will take a couple of weeks to root, but not too long. When the rosemary starts growing from the tip, remove the plastic bag, or bottle, and water and find a new spot for your new plants.

Tip: Acclimate your new plants to the sun, before you transplant them http://www.thegardeningmom.com/get-my-plants-ready-for-the-sun/

Now you have a lot of rosemary plants for the price of one!

Propagating take practice, so don’t be discouraged if your first time isn’t very successful. There is always, the second, third, fourth and so on

If you have any questions please ask!

Happy Propagating

~ tara