Buy One Herb, Grow 100 New Herbs from Cuttings

Propagating a plant is just a fancy way of saying you're making more plants. If you have one herb you love, you can turn it into a lifetime supply of that herb. You'll never have to buy another plant again. I'm not exaggerating in the least. You can make plants for your children and then teach them these simple steps so that your grandchildren will have free herbs one day.

Now, you can propagate herbs in a glass of water—that's actually the easiest way if you're just getting started. That being said, using soil as your medium instead of water typically results in hardier plants. They'll take longer to root, but they'll make the transition to a container or your garden space more successfully than herbs rooted in water.

Here's how to turn one herb plant from the store into hundreds, if not thousands, of plants using soil as your medium.

The Best Herbs to Propagate in Soil

The best herbs for this propagation method are those in the Lamiaceae plant family, otherwise known as the mint plant family.

Herbs in this family include:

• Mint
• Oregano
• Thyme
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Basil
• Lavender
• Marjoram
• Summer savory
• Winter savory

Supplies to Propagate Herbs in Soil

Here are the supplies you'll need:

• pruners (I prefer needle-nose pruners for this task because they let me get right where I want to cut)
• large terracotta pot or container with drainage holes
• soil
• consistent water source*
• dibber (or pencil or chopstick)

Note:

For the water source, I recommend using an oya because the herb cuttings will need to stay consistently moist to form new roots. An oya is a permeable pot that you fill with water. The soil around the oya will absorb water as needed, so your cuttings will only ever have as much water as they need. That means you don't have to worry about over- or under-watering your cuttings.

This is an ancient way of watering the garden, but trust me—it'll serve your baby herb plants well in the days to come.

(If you don't want to buy an oya, you can make your own. You can also use your oya in your vegetable garden once you're done propagating herbs.)

Set Up the Rooting Container

If you're using an oya, make sure the pot or container you choose is large enough to fit the oya plus a row or two of cuttings around it. Place the oya in the center of your container. Fill it with water.

Fill your container with some soil. I used a mix of topsoil and compost, but you can also just use potting soil. If your soil is thick and clay-heavy, you'll want to mix it with some coarse sand. I typically mix sand into my soil mix when I'm growing herbs anyway to improve drainage.

Take Herb Cuttings

When you're rooting stems in soil, it's best to focus on soft cuttings found on the tip of each stem. These are flexible and more primed for growth (as opposed to the hard cuttings found near the base of the plant).

Use a clean pair of pruners to take cuttings. Move around the plant looking for soft stems that are at least 4 to 5 inches long. Cut just above a leaf node (where the stem has sent out a pair of leaves).

We cut just above a leaf node because this is the point where plants are ready to regrow. When you return to your herb plants in a couple of weeks, you'll notice that two new stems have emerged where you took each cutting. That's why pruning, harvesting, and taking lots of cuttings to propagate actually encourage your plants to grow bushier.

You'll want to plant your cuttings as soon as possible after taking them.

Prepare Herb Cuttings

To get your cuttings ready, first strip the leaves from the bottom third of each stem. We don't want these leaves going into the soil, where they would degrade, leading to mold or mildew. Removing them also allows the plant to focus more energy on root formation.

Then, trim the bottom of each cutting at a 45° angle. This allows them to absorb as much water as possible from the soil.

All right, it's time to plant these cuttings so they can get busy growing roots!

Place Cuttings in Soil

Once you've got your cuttings trimmed, it's time to place them in the pot. The idea is to bury a good portion of the stem so that it can produce new roots from the sides.

Use a dibber (or a pencil or chopstick) to create nice, wide holes about 2 to 3 inches deep every couple of inches throughout your pot. Don't worry too much about spacing for now because these cuttings will stay small while the stems focus on growing roots. They just need enough room to take up water and push out new roots. I've actually found the fuller I plant the cuttings, the better since exposed soil dries out faster than soil covered by plants.

Place one stem in each hole, taking care to disturb the stem as little as possible.

If you're using an oya, consider placing the best-looking cuttings closest to the water source. These will likely produce roots first and then turn into the strongest plants.

Tend Your Cuttings

Your goal is to never let the soil around your cuttings dry out. Keep it consistently moist but not soaking. This is really easy with the oya. Just check it every couple of days and refill as needed. As long as it's filled, your herb stems will be able to absorb as much water as they need from the soil.

Place your container in an area that receives filtered light rather than bright light and that is somewhat protected from wind. You can even root your herbs indoors if that means you'll be better about checking on them frequently.

It'll take about 3 to 4 weeks for your cuttings to create roots. As soon as you see new growth on your cuttings (which could take another 3 to 4 weeks), you can transplant them to a new container or your garden. Give extra rooted cuttings to friends, family members, and neighbors!

Propagation of Herbs Made Easy!

That's how easy it is to turn each herb plant you buy into 100 more. Once you root all your favorite herbs, you may never find yourself buying herbs from the plant store again (unless you just really like buying plants).