A question to any/all horticulturalists:
Is there any way to grow a second rosemary plant from an existing one? That is, I have a beautiful plant at one house, but I’d like to start a “child” plant of that one growing at another house. Is it remotely possible to accomplish this? If so, how?
Cut a longish stem, strip off the lower leaves, stick it in the ground, maybe in a pot to get it going. Really, it’s that simple. Rosemary and lots of other herbs are quite happy that way.
If you want to get fancy, plant stores usually have ‘rooting hormone’ that you can dust lightly on the cut end of the stem. Make sure to knock off all you can; it helps roots start, but keeps them from growing well after they’re started.
You can grow “offspring” for many plants & trees this way, rosemary included. I’ve done it successfully with many herbs, including from a sprig of rosemary cut from a friend’s bush. Many techniques to do this. Here are the basics if you haven’t done it before:
Cut off a sprig or small branch (about 8 inches sounds right) and put it right away into a cup, bowl or glass with a couple inches of water. Wait for it to grow roots from the cut end, adding water as needed to keep the roots under water (I like to wait until there’s a pretty good branching system of roots), then plant in moist soil, in a pot (better) o rin the ground (okay too). Keep soil moist (not wet, but don’t let it dry out) until you feel it’s established itself.
Thank you both for your quick replies!
I have actually tried sticking a branch in water, but I never see any roots start growing before the branch dries up and dies. Aside from the “rooting hormone” (which I’ll try), are there other ways to maximize the potential? Temperature? Additives in the water? Cutting method? Lighting?
It’s important to strip off the lower leaves, to minimize water loss. For the same reason, don’t put it in direct sun. You might even want to put a plastic bag over the pot or glass, to keep things humid. If you do that, take it off for a while every day to let the air circulate - maybe start with half an hour, and add another half hour every few days.
Once it gets started, you should have no problems, as long as you make sure it’s well drained, and never let it stand in water.
BTW, there’s a yard in Vancouver with a whole hedge of rosemary. Go for it!
thanks again! I feel adequately informed to try again -
If it is a big, sprawling bush of rosemary, you can layer it; choose a springy lower branch; bend it down so that it is touching the soil at a point maybe eight inches from its tip; scrape the bark (just a little) on the bit that touches the ground, cover the point of contact with a little mound of damp soil and weight it down with a rock; leave for a few months and it should take root.
I’ve also grown it from seed; after the flowers fade, you’ll find lots of sticky little brown pods; crack these open and they contain little round seeds; sow a bunch of these in some gritty, moist (not sopping wet) soil in a pot, put the pot inside a plastic bag and tie up the top - put it somewhere warm, but not in direct sunlight and in a few weeks you may well see some little seedlings.
Rooting hormone (Rootone®) is very useful for making a new plant from a cutting (slip.) There’s a cheaper, better rooting hormone, though. If there’s a willow tree nearby, snip about a foot off one of its weeping branches. Chop it up into little pieces, and soak in water overnight. Pour the willow water over your rosemary cutting. Throw out the little willow pieces, unless you want a bunch of little willows.
I agree with the prior responses, especially rjk. Just don’t waste time trying to grow it from seed. Of all the plants I’ve tried to grow from seed, rosemary is by far the most difficult. I’ve done it, but only with about a 5% success rate.