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  • From: Gregory Strella <gregory.strella AT gmail.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] rooting rosemary cuttings
  • Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2016 06:30:05 -0400

Rosemary is a reliable rooter for us. I was once talking to a woman who was propagating herbs at a large certified organic nursery in Maryland and asking her questions about the art and science of plant propagation. She was gently letting me know that I was over thinking things and to make her point she turned around and showed me the back of her nursery shirt which read,  ''Just stick it.'' There were a millions of newly propagated plants in trays on the floor behind her (that's not an exaggeration) so I relaxed into her advice.

We are only propagating a few times each year, but when we are working with rosemary, lavender, thyme, and the like we simply cut 2'' pieces, strip the bottom inch of leaves, stick the into whichever 1020 insert we have on hand and keep them moist, but not soaked (misting system, spray bottle, humidity dome have all worked).

I write this not to second guess your plan, but to reaffirmed that you should give it a go with some confidence in your chances. I'm sure that those cuttings will appreciate your love and care.

Greg
Reisterstown, Maryland

On Apr 11, 2016 9:32 PM, "Shoemaker, William H" <wshoemak AT illinois.edu> wrote:
I meant to say more but accidently sent it.

It might be good to use a humidity tent, which is nothing more than a clean plastic bag inflated over the pot or tray. Inflated is an exaggeration. It can be suspended with a wire frame for the same effect. It minimizes the demand for moisture and gives the cuttings a much better chance to root.

Bill

William H. Shoemaker

Retired fruit and vegetable horticulturist

University of Illinois

wshoemak AT illinois.edu


From: Market-farming [market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] on behalf of Shoemaker, William H [wshoemak AT illinois.edu]
Sent: Monday, April 11, 2016 8:28 PM
To: Market Farming
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] rooting rosemary cuttings

If they're long, cutting them back may help. Make a fresh cut at the base end, then proceed with rooting hormone and setting them in a good moist medium.

William H. Shoemaker

Retired fruit and vegetable horticulturist

University of Illinois

wshoemak AT illinois.edu


From: Market-farming [market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] on behalf of Kathryn Kerby [kakerby AT aol.com]
Sent: Monday, April 11, 2016 3:50 PM
To: 'Market Farming'
Subject: [Market-farming] rooting rosemary cuttings

I had something of a plant emergency over the weekend.  A dearly departed friend had a magnificent healthy rosemary out in her yard, and I had talked to her husband about taking cuttings from it before he removed it from the landscape.  I was even trying to come up with a way to safely remove the entire plant and replant it here.  So imagine my dismay when we showed up at the house on Saturday and found that he’d already hacked off all the branches that morning, tossed them on the yard waste pile, and saved me one limp sprig.  <sigh>  I fished all the branches out of the yard waste pile and brought them home and I’m going to try to take cuttings anyway. 

 

Ideally I would have taken a cutting, put it right into rooting hormone and then either into water or into moist soil.  I’ve been trying to figure out about how best to proceed given that they were cut 48-72hrs ago.  It’s been in the 40’s to 60’s here the last few days, with moderate humidity, so maybe they haven’t dried out yet?  I was able to get some of the branches and/or cuttings into water within a few hours of being cut, but most of the branches had to wait at least a day or two before getting any water.

So, my questions:

1.       Should I even bother trying to take cuttings from the branches which didn’t get water for 24-48hrs?  I can always just “harvest” those sprigs as herbs instead.

2.       For the cuttings which I did get into water right away, some of the branches were a lot longer than the recommended 3” – 6” lengths.  I was planning to cut them back to that ideal length, then maybe soaking them overnight and then dipping in rooting hormone prior to planting. Would that help restore some of the water to the cuttings, and give them a better chance?

3.       I did read one online source about starting rosemary cuttings in water, and changing the water each day.  Would that perhaps be a better approach for these cuttings, since they didn’t get into water right away?

 

Any suggestions would be welcome.  I really wanted to propagate that plant into as many cuttings as I could, so seeing those branches laying there on the yard waste pile was quite a blow.  I hope it’s not too late to get some cuttings to root.

Kathryn Kerby

Frogchorusfarm.com
Snohomish, WA


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