Ten days ago I took some cuttings from a rosemary bush and put them in
a pint glass of water on my kitchen windowsill. I didn't add rooting
powder to the water as the pot I have says not to be used for edible
plants. According to the instructions (which I found on the web and
can no longer locate), in six weeks, the rosemary should have rooted
and be ready to put into soil.

It has since occurred to me that I don't really know what to look for
(spot the clueless newbie). I was vaguely expecting something that
looks like roots in a biology textbook. However, the ends of the
cuttings are becoming covered in a fine cotton wool-like substance. Is
this mould? Should I rinse it off? Should I give up on this batch and
take more cuttings?

Any advice that you can offer on making my cuttings successfully grow
would be great.

Thanks in advance,
Kerry

"Kerry" wrote in message
om...
Ten days ago I took some cuttings from a rosemary bush and put them in
a pint glass of water on my kitchen windowsill. I didn't add rooting
powder to the water as the pot I have says not to be used for edible
plants. According to the instructions (which I found on the web and
can no longer locate), in six weeks, the rosemary should have rooted
and be ready to put into soil.

It has since occurred to me that I don't really know what to look for
(spot the clueless newbie). I was vaguely expecting something that
looks like roots in a biology textbook. However, the ends of the
cuttings are becoming covered in a fine cotton wool-like substance. Is
this mould? Should I rinse it off? Should I give up on this batch and
take more cuttings?

Any advice that you can offer on making my cuttings successfully grow
would be great.
Thanks in advance,
Kerry

Hi Kerry
It's probably the wrong time of year and also the wrong method you are trying !

Have a look at :
http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_...ct_july_3_rose
mary.asp

Jenny

"JennyC" wrote in message
...

Have a look at :

http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_...ct_july_3_rose
mary.asp

That is lovely site Jenny.. thank you for sharing it

Ophelia

The message
from (Kerry) contains these words:

Ten days ago I took some cuttings from a rosemary bush and put them in
a pint glass of water on my kitchen windowsill. I didn't add rooting
powder to the water as the pot I have says not to be used for edible
plants. According to the instructions (which I found on the web and
can no longer locate), in six weeks, the rosemary should have rooted
and be ready to put into soil.

It has since occurred to me that I don't really know what to look for
(spot the clueless newbie). I was vaguely expecting something that
looks like roots in a biology textbook. However, the ends of the
cuttings are becoming covered in a fine cotton wool-like substance. Is
this mould? Should I rinse it off? Should I give up on this batch and
take more cuttings?

If it will wash off (I don't mean scrub off) they aren't roots.

You should have seen small white filaments growing out at right-angles
to start with. These may branch out and form lots more filaments to
resemble cotton wool, I don't know, I've never tried that with rosemary.
I just poke the cuttings into the ground and keep them shaded and well
watered.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

Kerry1/1/04 1:22

Ten days ago I took some cuttings from a rosemary bush and put them in
a pint glass of water on my kitchen windowsill. I didn't add rooting
powder to the water as the pot I have says not to be used for edible
plants. According to the instructions (which I found on the web and
can no longer locate), in six weeks, the rosemary should have rooted
and be ready to put into soil.

It has since occurred to me that I don't really know what to look for
(spot the clueless newbie). I was vaguely expecting something that
looks like roots in a biology textbook. However, the ends of the
cuttings are becoming covered in a fine cotton wool-like substance. Is
this mould? Should I rinse it off? Should I give up on this batch and
take more cuttings?


You have nothing to lose by waiting a little longer. That white fuzz just
might - might - turn into roots. Don't do anything to them, don't change
the water etc. Just sit on your hands.
Until I married my nurseryman husband, the most successful cuttings I ever
took were taken in total ignorance and a surprising number worked!

Now - do you have any African Violets in the house? If so, cut off a leaf
or three. Cover a glass of water with cling film and pierce a slit (or
three) in the film. Insert the leaf so that it's in the water, place glass
on a window sill. Wait. And wait. ;-) I've lost count of the times I've
done this and the times I've been convinced (all of them) that this wasn't
going to work THIS time.........

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the 'x' to email me)

It's probably the wrong time of year and also the wrong method you are trying !

Have a look at :
http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_...ct_july_3_rose
mary.asp

Thanks for that. The instructions are entirely different to the ones I read.

Kerry

In article , Kerry
writes
Ten days ago I took some cuttings from a rosemary bush and put them in
a pint glass of water on my kitchen windowsill. I didn't add rooting
powder to the water as the pot I have says not to be used for edible
plants. According to the instructions (which I found on the web and
can no longer locate), in six weeks, the rosemary should have rooted
and be ready to put into soil.

It has since occurred to me that I don't really know what to look for
(spot the clueless newbie). I was vaguely expecting something that
looks like roots in a biology textbook. However, the ends of the
cuttings are becoming covered in a fine cotton wool-like substance. Is
this mould? Should I rinse it off? Should I give up on this batch and
take more cuttings?

It takes a lot longer than 10 days, and they work better in almost any
other season than winter. I find more success with rooting in soil than
in water, and others say that the roots that form in water don't take
kindly to the transfer to soil. Others on the ng are better than me at
cuttings, but what I do as a simple way is to cut a number of twigs just
below a leaf, strip all leaves off the bottom two thirds, push them two-
thirds into a a flower pot of moist soil, put the whole lot into a large
plastic bag, tie the top, and forget about it. Every 6 weeks or so, I'll
remove any mouldy bits, and check the bottom of the pot. When I see
roots coming out of the bottom of the pot, it's time to replant. I don't
get 100 per cent success or anything like, but I usually get at least
two or three. I suppose it's the frog approach to propagation - start
off with lots, apply minimal care, and be happy that a few will make it
- as opposed to the human approach of start with one or two and lavish
lots of care an attention to guarantee that they both make it.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

If it will wash off (I don't mean scrub off) they aren't roots.
But if they are roots, will they damage easily?

You should have seen small white filaments growing out at right-angles
to start with. These may branch out and form lots more filaments to
resemble cotton wool, I don't know, I've never tried that with rosemary.
I just poke the cuttings into the ground and keep them shaded and well
watered.
Hmm, sounds like they might be the beginnings of roots then. Guess I
wait and see.

Thank you for the advice.

Kerry

You have nothing to lose by waiting a little longer. That white fuzz just
might - might - turn into roots. Don't do anything to them, don't change
the water etc. Just sit on your hands.
Until I married my nurseryman husband, the most successful cuttings I ever
took were taken in total ignorance and a surprising number worked!

(In my best Terry Pratchett voice) It's a million to one chance but it
just might happen?

Ok, now for patiently waiting ... sounds difficult

Now - do you have any African Violets in the house? If so, cut off a leaf
or three. Cover a glass of water with cling film and pierce a slit (or
three) in the film. Insert the leaf so that it's in the water, place glass
on a window sill. Wait. And wait. ;-) I've lost count of the times I've
done this and the times I've been convinced (all of them) that this wasn't
going to work THIS time.........

Sounds like a new project. Just need to find an African violet.

Thanks for the advice.

Kerry

"JennyC" wrote:

it's probably the wrong time of year and also the wrong method

I've often gotten rosemary cuttings to strike just by sticking them in damp
sterile potting mix* and watering from the bottom, even at the "wrong"
times. I've got one going right now in a pot, hopefully to become a
topiary.... too soon to see any new growth signaling success, but it hasn't
turned black and fallen over, which is usually a bad thing {:-).

*Don't know the John Innes equivalent, but here in the American colonies, I
start most everything in "Pro-Mix," which is a sterile mix of perlite, peat
moss, and magik incantations. Available cheaply enough compressed in a bit
plastic bag.... one lasts me a couple of years.


Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at www.albany.net/~gwoods
Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G

The message
from Sacha contains these words:

Now - do you have any African Violets in the house? If so, cut off a leaf
or three. Cover a glass of water with cling film and pierce a slit (or
three) in the film. Insert the leaf so that it's in the water, place glass
on a window sill. Wait. And wait. ;-) I've lost count of the times I've
done this and the times I've been convinced (all of them) that this wasn't
going to work THIS time.........

You can do that laying small pieces of leaf on damp potting compost, or
just burying a small part of the leaf section in damp compost.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

"Kay Easton" wrote in message
...
In article , Kerry
writes
Ten days ago I took some cuttings from a rosemary bush and put them in
a pint glass of water on my kitchen windowsill. I didn't add rooting
powder to the water as the pot I have says not to be used for edible
plants. According to the instructions (which I found on the web and
can no longer locate), in six weeks, the rosemary should have rooted
and be ready to put into soil.

It has since occurred to me that I don't really know what to look for
(spot the clueless newbie). I was vaguely expecting something that
looks like roots in a biology textbook. However, the ends of the
cuttings are becoming covered in a fine cotton wool-like substance. Is
this mould? Should I rinse it off? Should I give up on this batch and
take more cuttings?

It takes a lot longer than 10 days, and they work better in almost any
other season than winter. I find more success with rooting in soil than
in water, and others say that the roots that form in water don't take
kindly to the transfer to soil. Others on the ng are better than me at
cuttings, but what I do as a simple way is to cut a number of twigs just
below a leaf, strip all leaves off the bottom two thirds, push them two-
thirds into a a flower pot of moist soil, put the whole lot into a large
plastic bag, tie the top, and forget about it. Every 6 weeks or so, I'll
remove any mouldy bits, and check the bottom of the pot. When I see
roots coming out of the bottom of the pot, it's time to replant. I don't
get 100 per cent success or anything like, but I usually get at least
two or three. I suppose it's the frog approach to propagation - start
off with lots, apply minimal care, and be happy that a few will make it
- as opposed to the human approach of start with one or two and lavish
lots of care an attention to guarantee that they both make it.

That's a nice no-fuss way for an amateur to propagate, when rooting
efficiency is not at a premium.
But do you really use soil (garden soil) as distinct from potting compost?

Franz

"Rusty Hinge" wrote in message
...
The message
from (Kerry) contains these words:

Ten days ago I took some cuttings from a rosemary bush and put them in
a pint glass of water on my kitchen windowsill. I didn't add rooting
powder to the water as the pot I have says not to be used for edible
plants. According to the instructions (which I found on the web and
can no longer locate), in six weeks, the rosemary should have rooted
and be ready to put into soil.

It has since occurred to me that I don't really know what to look for
(spot the clueless newbie). I was vaguely expecting something that
looks like roots in a biology textbook. However, the ends of the
cuttings are becoming covered in a fine cotton wool-like substance. Is
this mould? Should I rinse it off? Should I give up on this batch and
take more cuttings?

If it will wash off (I don't mean scrub off) they aren't roots.

You should have seen small white filaments growing out at right-angles
to start with. These may branch out and form lots more filaments to
resemble cotton wool, I don't know, I've never tried that with rosemary.
I just poke the cuttings into the ground and keep them shaded and well
watered.

Putting small cuttings directly into the soil and inverting jam jars over
them is quite successful

Franz

"Sacha" wrote in message
.. .
Kerry1/1/04 1:22



Ten days ago I took some cuttings from a rosemary bush and put them in
a pint glass of water on my kitchen windowsill. I didn't add rooting
powder to the water as the pot I have says not to be used for edible
plants. According to the instructions (which I found on the web and
can no longer locate), in six weeks, the rosemary should have rooted
and be ready to put into soil.

It has since occurred to me that I don't really know what to look for
(spot the clueless newbie). I was vaguely expecting something that
looks like roots in a biology textbook. However, the ends of the
cuttings are becoming covered in a fine cotton wool-like substance. Is
this mould? Should I rinse it off? Should I give up on this batch and
take more cuttings?


You have nothing to lose by waiting a little longer. That white fuzz just
might - might - turn into roots. Don't do anything to them, don't change
the water etc. Just sit on your hands.
Until I married my nurseryman husband, the most successful cuttings I ever
took were taken in total ignorance and a surprising number worked!

Now - do you have any African Violets in the house? If so, cut off a
leaf
or three. Cover a glass of water with cling film and pierce a slit (or
three) in the film. Insert the leaf so that it's in the water, place
glass
on a window sill. Wait. And wait. ;-) I've lost count of the times I've
done this and the times I've been convinced (all of them) that this wasn't
going to work THIS time.........

Do you find it essential to have a piece of heel or not? I once read that
although they will root from any part of the leaf, new top growth only comes
from the axil.

Franz

Franz Heymann1/1/04 10:10

snip
Do you find it essential to have a piece of heel or not? I once read that
although they will root from any part of the leaf, new top growth only comes
from the axil.

You've just proved my point. I've never heard that and have never observed
it. And I've never had a failure.

--

Sacha
(remove the 'x' to email me)