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Rosemary grown from clipping

post #1 of 44
1/9/10 at 1:28pm
Thread Starter 
Was on a walk round the neighbourhood and found a very conveniently placed huge rosemary bush, (no car in the driveway:rolleyes:), so trimmings were quickly snapped up for use with the lamb roast, but also was thinking of growing a bush from a trimming.

Have them in water in jar at present. Any recommendations as to how to propagate it successfully?
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post #2 of 44
1/9/10 at 2:14pm
Generally, and I forget the coreect term, a branch is bent down to the ground, cleared of leaves where it will be in contact wtih the ground, buried a bit and it will root.

in your case, strip off the lower leave, apply a rooting hormone (usually a powder) and stick in moist potting soil. Keep it moist. There is some dispute on the efficacy of the rooting hormone I seem to recall.
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post #3 of 44
1/9/10 at 2:30pm
Thread Starter 
Hi Phil,

Yes I've heard of the technique too...what IS it called ? :)
I'll give what you say a try. I managed to ...ummm... liberate quite a few stems, just for luck.

We've just moved house, and I had a rosemary bush that was just really taking off, but due to quarantine laws, could not take it with us :( So, it's start again.

Thanks!
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post #4 of 44
1/9/10 at 2:37pm
With one exception, I'd follow Phil's advice.

The exception: remove all the leaves, not just the bottom ones; otherwise some of the stem's energy will go into continuing their growth, instead of root production.

Best bet, too, is to cut the bottom (root) end of the stem at a sharp angle.

As to rooting hormone, I have mixed feelings. I've started cuttings both with and without it, and haven't decided for sure how much help it is---although the more herbacious the stem, the better it seems to work.

However, it's cheap. And my attitude, generally, is if something doesn't hurt, and may help, then give it a go.
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post #5 of 44
1/9/10 at 2:54pm
Thread Starter 
Ok....quick trip to the nursery planned for the rooting hormone. May try one with, one without. So, will cut the end of the stem as per cut roses, strip the leaves (and enjoy them!). And wait...patiently....Rosemary is mightily herbacious, and tenacious, once it gets going.

I found another plant earlier today in the supermarket carpark, so I have lots to play with :D It must be superbly drought resistant, as the borders around the carpark get very little attention and water restrictions are very high here at the moment. I've taken to putting a bucket in the shower and using the water on the garden. We get 2 watering days a week, and that is for handwatering only, or 2 hour allowance from midnight till 2am on a drip feed system. If you miss your days, then too bad.

Thanks again
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post #6 of 44
2/28/10 at 11:00am
I'd petition your municipal government to change your watering times.  Midnight till 2 A.M. is a poor choice in times.  Optimally, your best time for watering for the minimal wasteage is around 3 to 4 hours before sunrise. 

 After the sun goes down, plants go into a respiratory state.  Photosynthesis slows almost to a stop and they actually take in a small amount of oxygen and release CO2 during this time.  Plants at this time take in little to no water, hence the waste of water and potential for root problems.
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post #7 of 44
2/28/10 at 12:58pm
Generally those other hours are assigned to other communities.  Hopefully assignments will rotate every few years.
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post #8 of 44
2/28/10 at 3:21pm
The process is called layering.  Find a fairly tender branch that can be bent to the ground.  Wound or scrape it where it is to come into contact with the moist soil,  and push it down until it is slightly below ground level.  Cover over that part of the branch with more earth,  and place a flat rock on top to hold it down.  Walk away,  and leave it there like that.  Once it has sent out good roots, you can cut the parent branch and dig up the new plant. 
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post #9 of 44
2/28/10 at 7:15pm
There's also air layering, a slightly different approach.

For that one, you straddle the branch with a soil-filled container of some sort. Then walk away. Eventually roots will form at that spot, and you merely prune off that branch and plant it.
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post #10 of 44
2/28/10 at 8:51pm
Air layering can also be accomplished by slicing diagonally a third of the way into a branch, place a small wedge of wood, or even a toothpick, into the slice to keep it from closing up, then wrap the wound with moist sphagnum moss and then cover the moss with clear plastic and tie at both ends.  Leave this until roots emerge, then remove the new plant from the mother branch.  These various methods are used on different plants.  I used the above method for propagating deafembachia (spelling? AKA dumb cane). 
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post #11 of 44
3/1/10 at 9:25am
Grace, I'm interested in your "cut 1/3 through" approach. I was taught that so long as the inner bark was exposed (and presuming, of course, it's the kind of plant that will work with air layering) roots would emerge. So I just make a series of scraping cuts around the mother branch. Guess I should have mentioned that in my above post; just didn't know how many would be interested in the mechanics.

I've never done it, but I wonder if sprinkling rooting hormone in the cuts would speed the process?
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post #12 of 44
3/2/10 at 7:00pm
 I don't know if applying a rooting hormone would aid in the rooting process but it is definitely worth a try.  
 
 Thanks KYH, I now have another thing to try.....Like I didn't have enough to do already this spring
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post #13 of 44
3/2/10 at 8:05pm
KYH, either method will work.  In most cases it's a matter of preference. 
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post #14 of 44
3/2/10 at 8:51pm
FR33_Mason,

What the heck. Everybody can use another hobby!
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post #15 of 44
3/2/10 at 10:38pm
Thread Starter 
Ok - the reults....didn't end up using hormones.  Plonked 4 sticks into a good potting mix, kept them a little moist.  One has taken - the others not.  Mind you, I've been busy of late so haven't paid them much attention.

But I got one!!

(layering is the word...thank you)
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post #16 of 44
3/3/10 at 8:19am
Congratulations!  I think one out of four is very good, especially for just rooting the cutting in a soil medium without the nutritional support of the mother plant.  Good job! 
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post #17 of 44
3/3/10 at 9:01am
I'll second that motion. One for four is pretty good odds with this sort of thing.
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post #18 of 44
3/3/10 at 11:05am
I live in Mediterranean climate of Northern California and rosemary loves this place; they grow into large bushes in front of our house. I clip twigs, place them in a water-filled vase and in a few months most sprouts bushy roots ready to be planted outside in the spring. They do take well.
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post #19 of 44
3/4/10 at 11:51am
Thread Starter 
Well, I figured I couldn't take too many clippings without being obvious - but yes it is pleasing to get one growing - I better pay it a bit more attention.

Gerdosh - these bushes I freed the clippings from are great big beasties too - would love to get one to that stage.

Maybe another stroll after twilight for some more ...
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post #20 of 44
3/7/10 at 1:32pm
I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous... ok, yes I am, a bit.    It still strikes me as odd to read about 'huge bushes' of rosemary growing in public places (a median in a parking lot! ).  So much of what grows wild in more temperate areas doesn't survive the winter at my latitude.  To find any edibles, anything at all, growing wild around here is such an exciting treat.  I got giddy when I discovered some wild grapes growing along a fence line once lol

It has always struck me as odd that more food sources aren't planted in public areas.  Fruit trees in parks would be lovely, but dropped fruit is probably too much to worry about cleaning up after...  Hardier herbs as decorative shrubberies?  Probably some legality about weed sprays or potential allergic reactions... sigh.  Around here everything is so controlled its hard to imagine anyone ever being able to forage for survival.

So, this summer, I will plant my new fruit trees along the fencelines where passerby will have access to half (and hope they don't break too many branches) and I think I'll train the peas and beans up the privacy fence where they can grow through to the side where my customers walk up from the park.  Until then, I'll dream about monster rosemary running wild
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post #21 of 44
3/7/10 at 3:39pm
>So, this summer, I will plant my new fruit trees along the fencelines where passerby will have access to half (and hope they don't break too many branches)<

Sometimes it works the other way. For years (until they replaced the building) there was a plum tree growing outside the door to our local library. Nobody ever touched them. So I spoke to the head librarian, who said, "help yourself."

So I'm out there, on a ladder with a 5-gallon bucket, and several people asked "are those edible?" or "I didn't know you could pick those." But nobody ever joined me in the harvest.

I had that tree as a private fruit source for three years, until they took it down. Alas.
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post #22 of 44
3/7/10 at 3:40pm
Where are you located, Charron? There aren't too many places in North America that don't support edible wild and naturalized plants. 
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post #23 of 44
3/7/10 at 5:28pm
Southern Ontario.  I don't know that a lot of plants can't grow here (lots of cultivated stuff grows excellently) but not a lot is grown out where just anyone can get at it, in the more 'civilized' areas.  There was a large bush of, um, (poo, can't remember) growing outside the university library but I only discovered it just before they cut it down.

Herbs are plentiful if you can get out into the wild areas, just not the standard fare for everyday cooking.  Catnip, thistles, lemon balm, wintergreen (if you can find it).  Cattails, of course, are plentiful.  Fiddleheads, if you are very well timed and can get out of the city.  Sadly a lot of areas that could support edibles are either carefully landscaped into boring, easy to maintain 'green spaces' full of decorative-only plants, or sprayed with any manner of suppressing chemicals.

When I was a kid my grandmother and aunt would take us for walks in the forest to discover all manner of plants.  I look for them now, and can't find most of them.  Finding foodstuffs in the wild (or in parkinglot medians! ), instead of having to buy them in the groceries, seems to be pretty far fetched.  Oh, except for rosehips.  You can find those around the local mall parkinglot.
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post #24 of 44
3/12/10 at 1:44pm
Thread Starter 
Seems to be a bit different here regarding fruit trees etc grown in public places.  There are miles of streets where you'll find plum trees growing - I think the councils plant them for the flower beauty and the lovely purple colour of the foilage.  Again though - you will not see people harvesting the plums!  In Adelaide, South Australia, many councils would plant olive trees in median strips in the middle of the road (that's where I spent my first 30 years), yet the only ones you would see harvesting them were mature Italian and greek women, sticks in hand and buckets at the ready.  Near home surrounding the local swimming pool there, was the remains of an old vineyeard with really old, beautiful really bountiful red grape vines. Dad made some wine too. We ate well in summer.  Plus the Almond trees that lined the outer verges of the vineyard.  "Come on kids, grab a stick, the almonds are ready!" Followed by an evening of husking and shelling them.

In Darwin, Northern Territory, there were mango, coconut and cashew trees everywhere.  Never used the cashews - didn't know how to prepare them.  But the mangoes were great as were the coconuts (hard to open but worth the effort) as long as they didn't drop on your head.  Oww,

Update: Rosemary plant still alive, potted some more, fingers crossed.  Charron, I found it odd to find the plant there too, but now I park as close as I can to it when I go for a shop and then a clip   Makes the car smell great on the way home too - added bonus.  More councils should do the same, not just plant useless plants.
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post #25 of 44
3/12/10 at 3:10pm
oop, there it is again lol       *beats down the jealousy with a stick*
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post #26 of 44
3/14/10 at 12:07am
Thread Starter 
rofl Charron - settle down    It was good there - very much a medittereanean (sp?) food based culture based on the community, well 20 years ago.  But the Almond trees have long since gone - the grapevines do remain (I believe they are "heritage listed" vines so cannot be torn down for housing), on my last visit home 2 years ago anyway. (BTW I didn't spend the first 30 years of my life camped on a median strip - I just re-read that and it looked silly.)

Planted some garlic cloves which where too small for cooking (to me)- you know, the inner ones which cling to the big ones you want so you end up tossing the clingers - , and they are sprouting beautifully along with the rosemary.  Wil leave them a good 9-12 motnhs before harvesting some.  When I've done that before they've come up as single clove/bulbs, very tasty, just different from the norm.  Heaps of moisture in them too.  I've been told I need to leave them longer than the 3-4 months I gave them last time to end up with the multi-cloved bulbs.

What I would also like to do is plant ginger - I love the stuff.  Will try and look up how to.

Anyone here had success with it?  Long process as far as what I have found out so far....

Hey, also planted mange tout (sweet/snow peas) from packaged seed, they have gone crazy out of control.  Ok yes, to translate,  they are growing very well, I must train them up onto a trellis.  It has taken only 3 weeks to get them to have a lot of greenery and the mange tout are about half size now.  Very tempted to try some, but will be patient and let them mature a touch more.
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post #27 of 44
3/14/10 at 7:13am
I've been told I need to leave them longer than the 3-4 months I gave them last time to end up with the multi-cloved bulbs.

DC, garlic tells you when it's ready. The leaves start to turn brown (from the bottom upwards, btw). When 2/3-3/4 of the leaves have changed colors it's time to lift the bulbs.

However, what you've produced might not differentiate into cloves. Small cloves tend to produce either small differentiated bulbs, or what are called rounders. Rounders, which are what you've gotten, are perfectly good garlic, they're just undifferentiated. Basically, single small balls of garlic.

Now, here's the trick. If you cure the rounders, like any other garlic, and save them for seed stock, then replant them, the new bulbs will not only be differentiated, they've be, on average, larger.

This is why most garlic growers use their larger cloves as seed.
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post #28 of 44
3/17/10 at 10:58pm
Thread Starter 
Aha  - thank you KYH.  I think we had a garlic discussion a couple of years ago :)  Yes, last time I got rounders, they were pretty nice.

Righto, will try planting some big ones.  I take it curing means letting dry out in a dark dry place....?

Any ideas on ginger?  Geez I ask a lot of questions.
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post #29 of 44
3/18/10 at 5:58am
I've never grown ginger, DC, so have no first hand experience.
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post #30 of 44
3/18/10 at 3:07pm
Thread Starter 
With the ginger I'll cruise the net, but I think probably that I'll try breaking up a finger and putting the bits into some potting mix.  I know it takes a long time for ginger to mature, pretty much the same amount of time as garlic.  Will see what happpens.
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