[canwickplot]

Hi folks. I've just made an attempt at propagating rosemary but I was guided by instinct rather than know-how. I cut small shoots of a plant of my own from outside, cut a 45 degree angle on the stems and stuck them in modules in the greenhouse.

Did I do wrong? Anybody have any tips for successful plant care?

Ta

[Ice]

I did some about a month ago as an experiment and they are growing well.  I did roughly what you did but I removed a lot of leaves and dipped in rooting powder.  I believe that cuttings prefer to be in a small pot at the edge rather than in the middle.

[BigPaddy]

I have propogated rosemary a few times. it is pretty easy as it really seems to want to live.

I usually do pots with compost grit and sand added to aid drainage and reduce the nutrition. I have used rooting hormone and not on other occassions, I dont think you need it. Removing lots of leaves is good. Oh and the cutting I think is called semi-hardwood. That is dont just get the soft growing bit get some of the slightly woody part. I have also covered the pot with a plastic bag and not. I think with a bag means I can be lazy with watering, without works too. I love rosemary and it is easy to get loads of cuttings off a good plant so no worries if it doesn't work - do it again.

Paddy

[Salmo]

Best done in July when the new wood is ripened a little more i.e. semi hardwood. Pull one of this years growth off at the main stem with a heel attached. Tidy up and straggly bits and stick it in a sandy mix.

[DD.]

Surely the easiest and most guaranteed way is to layer it.

Peg a bit (or bits) down in the soil or a plant pot, then basically forget about it!

[canwickplot]

Well, went to the plot last night and the three cuttings I did the day before were showing strong signs of death 

Not sure what the layering procedure is, so if you could expand on that I'd appreciate it, but I will wait until July and try taking longer cuttings from the woody parts of the plant. Mine were only 2" long you see, with no woodiness to them at all!

Also, my compost was rather soil retentive. Sand sounds like a good idea.

[SG6]

Layering: Simplest form is to take a long shoot , bend it until the stem is in contact with the ground the peg the stem to the ground and cover with soil, and possibly a bit of plastic. Then leave it.
The idea being that the stem in contact will form roots and start to grow as a separate plant.
When roots fom you can cut the new plant off from the parent and relocate it.

There is also air layering:
Locate a shoot on the plant.
Strip off some leaves from the lower section.
Then by any means that you find simplest wrap a soil mixture round the stripped section contained in a plastic wrapping. Clear plastic so you can see through it.
(Bit like a Christmas cracker)
Again the ided being that the covered section will form roots while on the parent and when it does you cut the new rooted section off and plant where-ever.

[canwickplot]

OK, gotcha. While still attached to the main plant, you mean. Sounds like quite an easy way to do it actually, and if it doesn't work I shouldn't lose a perfectly good plant stem.

Everyone's a winner 

[SG6]

The idea is mainly that as the stem forms roots it still has the normal food supply from the parent plant and is still alive itself so there isn't a race on between it dying and roots forming.

I think that some people strip a little of the bark from the stem but not sure it is necessary.

Works well on rosemary as I recall so have fun.