How long does it take for Rosemary cuttings to root?

I have conducted different experiments with growing Rosemary cuttings in the last months of my herb gardening.

In this article I will share my experiences, my tips and best practices about how to propagate Rosemary by growing cuttings into strong and healthy plants?

rosemary cuttings in water growing roots in glass bottle

1. Different methods for rooting rosemary cuttings

Let me start by answering the question in the title of this post: How long does it take for Rosemary cuttings to root?

After all the research in books and on the internet about this topic but especially based on my own experiments and results, I can basically conclude that it takes two to six weeks for Rosemary to root cuttings, depending on the method that is used.

Ok, you may say… this isn’t helping me… but continue reading, because there is more to it.

There are basically three methods to grow Rosemary cuttings:

in plain water (everyone’s first experiment)
in water combined with rooting hormones
in potting soil

And the period it takes for these cuttings to root seems to be completely determined by the method that was used for growing roots.

When I was researching the best method to propagate Rosemary cuttings, these were the questions that popped up in my mind:

Does it matter when I take a cutting?
How do I have to take a Rosemary cutting?
What method to take rosemary cuttings is best to root them successfully?
How long should the rosemary cutting ideally be?
Should I use rooting powder to grow rosemary cuttings?
And so on…

Let me know in the comments below what other questions would pop up in your head!

2. How to take rosemary cuttings

Ok, let’s start by answering these basic questions that are troubling a herb gardener’s mind when he or she is new to growing rosemary cuttings.

When to take a Rosemary cuttings?

Although some sources say that spring and summer are ideal for rooting cuttings, I have been growing cuttings in autumn and winter as well. The cuttings, taken at the top of the stems, will certainly be more fresh and softer in spring and summertime, which may result in faster root growth. However the time of the year for taking a rosemary cutting is not a determine success factor.

How to take a Rosemary cuttings?

All cuttings are take with a sharp knife or scissors, to make a clean straight cut. A clean cut will prevent eventual stem rot when the stem is put into water. The best spot to cut is right below a node, because this is the spot where the new roots will start growing first.

How long should the Rosemary cuttings ideally be?

My advice on this not too long at all. Experiments have shown that shorter and fresh cuttings had a higher chance of successful root growth than longer woody and brown cuttings.

So a rather small cutting of about 4 to 5 inches (+/- 10 cm) seems to be ideal. The idea that a longer plant, taking a longer cutting, would result in a faster rooting is not correct. The reason is probably that nodes of a longer cutting are older and also more dark woody, making it harder to grow roots from. At least it will take longer. The roots seem to sprout more easily from nodes on a softer green stem. I was successful too with even shorter cuttings of 2 to 3 inches.
Shorter cuttings also have fewer needles and a shorter stem to support and feed, which may also contribute to a faster root growth.

Another way to determine how long the cutting can be is by looking at the colour and by testing the flexibility of the fresh stem you want to take a cutting from.

By taking the rosemary branch in your hand, you can feel that the top part really has a tender and flexible stem. This part of the stem is still young and hasn’t turned into a woody, stiffer stem. You will notice that the nodes in the flexible part are still soft and ideal to grow roots from in a relatively short timeframe. So as long as you take a cutting from the fresh flexible part of the stem you should have a big chance to root these cuttings.

The color of fresh rosemary shoots (and of the flexible part of the stem) is usually green (sometimes green-purple). This may help you to determine how long the cutting can be.

But again I am getting better results with short cuttings than with long ones.

3. Preparing the rosemary cuttings and start the rooting process

Now that we have an ideal cutting, here are the steps I take before the can start to grow.

I want to make sure the stem is cut just below a node
Next I will remove all the lower needles, just like a do with leave cuttings. Only on the top of the cutting I will leave some needles. Make sure that there are no needles sitting in the water because this will cause rot and fungus in the water.
Then I place the cutting in clean water at room temperature. I like to use a glass bottle or container to follow up on the rooting.
Finally I put the cuttings in bright spot , preferably in a bright shady spot not in direct sunlight.
I will do a daily check on my new cuttings and refresh the water every one to two days.

4. Comparing rooting speed for different methods

As mentioned above, there are three methods to grow Rosemary cuttings and I will test and experiment with all three methods to determine which gives the best and fastest results: