Three Ways to Propagate Herb Plants

Culinary and medicinal herbs are some of the most useful plants to have in your garden, but they take soooo long to grow from seed that most gardeners opt to buy their herb plants from nurseries. But even with professional grow equipment and staff, nurseries can’t really speed the process up much more than a home grower, and it shows in the retail price of herb plants. But if you’ve ever dreamed of propagating many herb plants from the few you already have, and saving some serious coin in the process, then read on. Use any or all of these time-tested methods to bypass the slothful process of growing herb plants from seed, and grow herb seedlings faster, from propagation.  

 Stem Cuttings

With a sterile blade, cut 4” sections of stem, taking up to three cuttings from a single, healthy stem, with no flowers. Prune off any leaves from the bottom half of the stem. Make the bottom cuts at a 45 degree angle to increase the rooting surface area, and dip it in an organic rooting agent, which increases root cell division. Gently push the angled end of each cutting about an inch deep into a wetted, soil-less grow media. You’ll increase your success rate by maintaining the ideal temperature and humidity around your new cuttings. A thermostat-controlled heat mat placed underneath them will help maintain the ideal soil temperature of around 80 degrees, and a plastic dome placed overhead will help keep a high humidity level while the cuttings begin to develop new roots. Compact florescent grow lights can also help new cuttings develop roots. Fluorescents produce a gentle light and very little heat, which means they can sit just a few inches above the plastic dome, and run for up to eighteen hours a day. Once the new cuttings develop roots, remove the plastic dome, and run a small fan to increase ventilation. Once they show new growth, your new herb seedlings will be ready to transplant.

Simple Layering

Layering works best with plants that have healthy, flexible stems. Begin by digging a small hole next to your donor herb plant, and amend the hole with organic compost. If the donor herb plant is growing in a pot, simply use another pot filled with organic soil placed right next to it.  Make a small slit in the bottom of a stem, and gently push the sliced section of stem down into the prepared soil. Secure the stem with a sod staple or similar item to keep it fixed securely in the soil. Water the buried section of stem as needed, and before long, new roots will grow. Once a strong new root system has developed, the rooted stem can be cut off from the donor plant, and transplanted.

Root Cuttings

Start by gently digging up the roots of the donor herb plant, and look for young, healthy roots about the diameter of a pencil. Avoid fibrous looking roots, and if you plan to keep the donor plant, leave the majority of its root system intact. Cut out segments of roots about 5” long, making a straight cut at the top end, and an angled cut at the bottom ; this way you’ll know which end is up. Dip the root segments in an organic rooting agent, and gently push the angled end down into a wetted, sterile grow media, until the top end is even with the soil surface. Carefully spread any thin rootlets out to the sides, and cover the root cutting with a thin layer of grow media. Once new leaves begin to grow from your root cuttings, they’re ready to transplant.