How to Propagate Rosemary from Cuttings
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Learn how to propagate rosemary from cuttings with this step-by-step guide. You’ll discover when and how to take cuttings, how to encourage root growth, and the aftercare your plants need. With these tips, you can grow dozens of new rosemary plants at no cost.
If you already have a healthy rosemary plant, you can use it to create many more for free. Propagation involves cutting a piece from an existing plant and encouraging it to develop roots. Each cutting from a parent plant can potentially grow into a separate plant, and it will be almost exactly like the original! Each will technically be a clone, and since rosemary cuttings root fairly easily, you can expect plenty of new plants within a couple of months.
While rosemary can be grown from seed, the process is slow and often less reliable, and takes far longer. That’s why propagating from cuttings is the method most gardeners use to multiply their plants. If you’d like to try it out, too, the best time to take cuttings is in mid-to-late summer, when fresh growth begins to mature. By early autumn, you’ll have young plants ready to overwinter and transplant the following spring. This same technique also works well for other herbs, such as lavender and mint.
How to Propagate Rosemary from Cuttings
You don’t need very much gardening experience or skill to propagate rosemary from cuttings. Often, you can place rosemary cuttings in a glass of water, and it’ll begin to grow roots! That method is perfectly fine, but you’ll have even better success if you root rosemary cuttings in a growing medium.
Propagating rosemary in potting mix is the most traditional method for creating new plants. It doesn’t take very long to get them started, and their root systems grow quickly once they begin to emerge. It’s also very simple and a beginner-friendly gardening project that will give you new plants to grow in your herb garden, vegetable patch, or to create a stunning rosemary hedge. All you need is fresh lengths of rosemary and a few simple materials.
Materials Needed to Propagate Rosemary
- Rosemary cuttings
- Rooting Hormone Powder (optional)
- Terracotta pots
- Perlite, grit, or vermiculite (your choice)
- Peat-free multipurpose potting mix
- Plastic ziplock bag
Step 1: Take Rosemary Cuttings
You begin the process by taking cuttings from an established rosemary plant. I tend to take mine from July to August when the new growth is relatively mature. You can either snip from each branch or cut an entire branch and divide it into multiple cuttings. It should be a healthy stem that’s grown in the current year and should be a good length as well—each cutting you try to root should be four to six inches long. If you don’t have a plant already, ask a friend who has one for a few cuttings.
Another source of cuttings is rosemary plants sold in pots in the herb section of the supermarket. They’re inexpensive, and you can cut some decent lengths off them. I suspect that the fresh rosemary packaged into bags will grow, too, but I’ve never tried it yet.
Step 2: Potting Mixture for Propagating Rosemary
The best potting mixture to use when propagating rosemary is one with good drainage. It doesn’t even need to be rich in nutrients either. The plants won’t need it until after the roots have developed fully, and you’ll repot them at that time.
To create good drainage, I make my own mix using one part perlite (or grit or vermiculite) and one to two parts multi-purpose potting mix. Technically, you could root them in pure perlite or sand. Though you could plant cuttings in ordinary soil, there’s more of a chance that the cuttings will fail. It’s not sterile, and there’s potential for rot, fungus, and pests to weaken or kill your cuttings.
Step 3: Prepare the Rosemary Cuttings
What we do next is cut that single rosemary stem into pieces — each one has the potential to grow into its own plant. Starting from the bottom, trim the original cut up to a fresh leaf node. A leaf node is where leaves are growing out of the stem. Discard that end piece you’ve just cut off. Then cut the first segment using a sharp knife. It should be a minimum of 4″ long, but far better to be 5-6 inches. Keep cutting until the original piece is segmented into as many cuttings as you can get.
Keep note of which end of each cutting was lower down on the original stem. This is the end that needs to be planted, and if you get the ends mixed up, your cuttings won’t grow. You don’t want to plant them upside down. Now strip the leaves from the bottom of each cutting, leaving the last bunch of leaves growing at the top. The stripped area should be about 2-3 inches long, depending on the length of your cut. The leafed part that you leave sticking up from the potting mix should be 1-1.5″ long.
Step 4: Stimulate The Cuttings to Grow Roots
Rosemary cuttings can develop roots all on their own, but if you want to start that action more successfully, use rooting hormone powder. It stimulates the cuttings to make roots fairly quickly, but this ingredient is purely optional. Most rosemary cuttings will form roots without it.
Assemble your cuttings and fill your terracotta pots with potting mix. Next, dip the end of each cutting into the powder and then gently slide them into the pot along the outer edge. Leave about 1 1/2 inches between cuttings. The more professional way to slide cuttings into the pot is by making a hole with a dibber (or pencil) and then putting the cutting in that way. It’s a gentler approach, but I rarely use it that way, and I haven’t had any issues.
Some might question placing the cuttings around the outer edge and not in the middle. This is because they prefer a drier environment than established plants. Terracotta is a material that breathes, and your cuttings will appreciate the extra drainage.
Step 5: Taking Care of the Cuttings
The cuttings will form healthy root systems within four to eight weeks. During this time, keep the potting mix moist. Not sopping wet but just damp enough that you can feel it with your finger. Watering from the bottom is a good habit, but not a mandatory one. It’s also best to keep a plastic bag over the cuttings during this time and keep them in a warm, bright place that’s out of direct sunlight. You’ll know that your cuttings have rooted when you can see roots coming out of the drainage hole at the bottom of the pot.
Step 6: Caring for the New Rosemary Plants
When you spot roots, it’s time to separate the plants and place them in their own pots to allow them to continue growing. First, water the cuttings and then tap the cuttings and potting mix out. Gently tease the plants apart with your fingers and plant them up using one part drainage material (perlite, grit, or vermiculite) to two (to three) parts multi-purpose potting mix. Water them again and let them grow on for at least another month before planting them outside.
Step 7: Hardening Off Rosemary Plants
Remember to always harden the rosemary plants off before moving them from an indoor to an outdoor location. If you skip this step, you could shock their systems, and they can be permanently affected. Plants that are not hardened off can die, fail to grow, or fail to thrive.
You harden rosemary plants off by setting them out on warm, sunny days and bringing them back in at night. After a week or two, they should be ready to be planted outdoors. If the weather is poor, then don’t put the unhardened plants outside. You want to gently introduce them to the world rather than give them a rude awakening.
Step 8: Caring for Rosemary Long-Term
Rosemary is a hardy plant that requires very little to thrive. They’ll grow in large pots and containers as well as the ground, and can eventually become as large as small trees in the right conditions. Check your own gardening zone and recommendations for caring for rosemary in your region.
If you have freezing cold winters, rosemary might not survive outdoors. Planting into pots that can be taken into a sheltered place, such as a greenhouse or polytunnel, will be your best way of keeping them alive over the winter. Here are more tips on how to grow rosemary.
Use 1 tspn honey + 1tspn cinnamon for an all natural rooting powder.
Tanya- nice informative info on propagating rosemary. I’ll need it. We’ve had our plant outdoors here in Southern Maryland for over 25 years, planted on an unprotected, sunny, west-facing slope just off the driveway. It has provided us with as much rosemary as we could ever use. It finally looks close to death after being covered with salty snow from a well-intentioned neighbor with a snow blower. With only two or three branches showing signs of life, I’m hoping to use your instructions to create some offspring. Thank you!
Rich
Oh Rich, that’s heartbreaking. Cold winters and snow can often kill rosemary plants but salt definitely won’t help! I’m planning on updating this piece with more photos and methods, but there’s a method I’d recommend you take as soon as possible. Cut all the sprigs of living rosemary that you can, aiming for about six inches long. Then set them in a clear glass jar of water in a bright windowsill. They’ll develop roots in the water, just like houseplant cuttings do! Then pot them up in some good potting mix when they’re large enough. I show the method in this YouTube video. Also, consider covering your rosemary with horticultural fleece each winter from here on out. It will protect your Mediterranean rosemary plants from the worst of the weather and potentially from other snow blower incidents. Good luck!
You asked about starting a plant from cuttings from the herb section of the supermarket. I don’t know about rosemary, but I have a nice size lemongrass plant in a pot and part of it in a flower bed. It is supposed to keep mosquitos away.
I used your technique and the lemongrass just grew. The important thing is to pick stems that look fresh.
Thanks so much for sharing!
Very easy and cost effective for propagating rosemary and lavender
It sounds like you plant the cuttings, put a clear bag over the pot & plant and keep it indoors; but what do you do for sunlight if it’s not available/adequate through, in my case, the windows in my workshop? Grow light? Nothing? Thanks for your article and assistance!
Hi John, I would try to find a better place for them, with good indirect light and at room temperature.
Good
hi. thanks for the detailed explanation. i live in the south of spain and i see a lot of rosemary growing semi wild. i would like to introduce it to my land as a kind of hedge. im wondering how much water it would need and if any at all after its settled?
Probably very little water, once it has established Sonny. If you’re in a drought and it’s looking a little sorry, then an inch of compost as mulch on the ground and watering will help.
Hello! Thank you so much for this detailed step-by-step tutorial on growing NEW Rosemary plants from cuttings. My mom has a well-established Rosemary plant and she just gave me a cutting. I have followed all of your instructions and I am very excited to see what she does. This would mean so much to me as I am a true lover of all PLANTS! I have taken many of moms seeds and have also propagated many of her original plants so I can enjoy moms flowers and plants for many years to come and my daughter who now
LOVES plants as well long after she and I are gone. I appreciate all the information and wish you a fantastic summer growing season and good health always!!!
How long do you leave the plastic baggie on the plant?
A good couple of weeks and/or until you spot roots growing out of the drainage holes.
I have an old rosemary plant that is mostly wood with exposed roots where it looks like soil has washed away. Should I cover the roots with fresh soil? I want to take cuttings to try and propagate new plants, but the sprigs that are there aren’t very long or healthy looking and I’m wondering what time of year is best for taking the cuttings? I live in Germany and fall is just around the corner.
Hi Barb, it sounds as if you have a leggy rosemary bush that’s also suffering from soil erosion. It’s leggy probably because the soil is probably too rich and moist for its liking. They prefer more of a Mediterranean soil — less rich and with lots of drainage. You can recreate this in your German garden by digging in lots of grit and fine gravel. Personally I’d replant it now, before any cold does damage to those exposed roots. It’s still early enough for the woodier parts to begin growing roots too. So when you replant it, bury the plant’s woody stems too. I know it sounds counter intuitive but some woody shrubs can handle it including rosemary and lavender. Just make sure that you add that grit to the soil before hand. Wet soil can rot the woody parts of the stem.
Have been looking for rosemary herb plant to grow or pot. I just saw some imported rosemary bundle and bought some to try and grow. I’m excited but not sure if they will eventually have roots. Please tell me is it going to grow or not?
I’m not sure what an imported rosemary bundle is so can’t give an answer. Are you talking about cut herbs from the supermarket?
I LOVE how well you explain everything and don’t assume that we all know what a leaf node is. Although I started propagating from cuttings last year, I still didn’t know exactly where I was supposed to be cutting because nothing I read explained it well enough. I also love that you give options and state that there are other ways to do things; when I’m learning new things I don’t really consider other methods (or that even are other methods) other than whichever method I learned about that was the fist to be successful. Can’t wait to look around the rest of your site. I’ll let you know how my rosemary goes! ( I know it’s supposed to be easy, but apparently that pertains to everyone but me, I kill every rosemary plant I get, I’m hoping to give myself more of a chance at rosemary success with multiple plants :)
great thanks! but I never could get adult plants alive directly in the soil. I can propagate in pots but I will love to have a permanent plant in my garden. I was shocked when I saw in Las Vegas Nevada the plant growing wild is such a heat. Means might be a plant with not attention in the southeast.