Rosemary Cuttings: Grow Your Own Herb Garden!

Grow Your Own Rosemary Magic! ✨

Want to have an endless supply of fragrant rosemary for cooking or crafting? It’s super easy to propagate rosemary from cuttings! You can keep them for yourself, give them as lovely gifts, or even shape them into adorable topiaries. Let’s get started!

Is Rosemary Right for You?

In many areas, rosemary is a bit of a homebody and needs to come inside during the chilly winter months. Think of it as a houseplant vacation! A sunny windowsill or a bright greenhouse corner will keep your rosemary happy until spring.

Let’s Get Propagating!

I recently gave my rosemary topiary (check it out above!) a little refresh, and I thought it would be the perfect time to show you how I root the cuttings. It’s like giving the plant a haircut and getting more plants for free! Win-win!

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Creating the Perfect Potting Mix

Rosemary loves well-draining soil; think light and airy! My go-to mix is a blend of compost, rice hulls (perlite works great too!), and horticultural sand. If you’d rather keep things simple, cactus potting mix from the store will do the trick.

[Link to DIY potting soil]

Taking Rosemary Cuttings

You’ll notice I’m using a different rosemary plant in the next images! The type may vary, but the technique stays the same. Grab some snippers or sharp pruners and snip off fresh, green cuttings that are about 3-4 inches long.

Preparing Your Cuttings

Now, gently remove the leaves from the lower portion of each cutting. They should come off easily with your fingers.

Next, dip the cut end into rooting hormone (optional, but it helps speed things up!). This is the rooting hormone I like: [Link to rooting hormone].

Planting Your Cuttings

Use a small tool (like a pencil or a dibber) to create a little divot in your prepared soil. This helps protect the tender stem as you plant the cutting and keeps the rooting hormone from rubbing off.

The More, the Merrier!

Don’t be shy! Take plenty of cuttings. This increases your chances of success, and you can always share the extra plants with friends and neighbors. Rosemary makes such a thoughtful gift!

You can plant several cuttings in one pot, like I did, or…

…reuse a clean, sterile six-pack container for individual cuttings. You can also try soil blockers to create individual planting cubes! I’ve been wanting to try these and will update you on how it goes.

Update: After trying soil blockers I prefer to stick with pots and trays.

Pictured below are my filled pots of cuttings – from both the topiary trim and a new rosemary variety from our local garden center.

Creating the Ideal Environment

Placing your pots of cuttings in a propagation box can really boost their rooting success!

If you’re taking cuttings in the spring or summer, when the weather is warmer, you probably won’t need extra heat or lights. However, since I’m doing this in December, my cuttings are hanging out on my seed starting rack in my office to stay nice and cozy!

Watch How It’s Done!

This video shows how I create a topiary from rosemary cuttings and how I root them.

[Video Link]

Other easy plants to propagate from cuttings that I’ve written about [Link to articles]

Happy gardening, friends! Enjoy growing your own rosemary, and feel free to share the love!