- Grow your own herbs
- Sowing herbs: timing and conditions
- Propagating herbs from cuttings
- Propagate herbs by division
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You can cook much more aromatically with herbs you have grown yourself. We show you how easy it is to propagate herbs yourself so that you can enjoy them all year round.
Home-grown herbs are among the most popular plants in the vegetable bed or on the windowsill. No wonder, after all, not only do they often taste much more intense than store-bought herbs - it's also child's play to grow herbs yourself, so that their cultivation is also suitable for beginners. Since many herbs can only be cultivated here for an annual period, many gardeners ask themselves after a few years whether they really need to buy seeds or whether they can't propagate herbs themselves. In fact, propagating herbs is not that difficult once you know how it works. You can find out about the different methods of growing and propagating herbs in our article.
Grow your own herbs
Regardless of whether it is a medicinal herb or a spice: in most cases, propagating herbs yourself is quick and easy. You are spoiled for choice as to which method to use to propagate the plants. The most well-known method is probably sowing herbs, but you can also propagate herbs by cuttings or divide the herbs. Which method you prefer to grow herbs often depends on the plant itself. We take a closer look at the three methods below and show what conditions have to be met in order to successfully propagate the herbs.
Sowing herbs: timing and conditions
An easy and convenient way to propagate herbs is by using seeds. In this way, any herbs can be grown at home. Another advantage: Seeds of every herb, often even different varieties, are available in well-stocked specialist shops. Still, some conditions must be known for the successful sowing of herbs.
- Time:
It is important to know when you should sow the herbs. If the sowing is to take place directly in the field, so isnot to do this before the beginning of May. Otherwise, the threat of late frosts during the Ice Saints could endanger and kill the tender seedlings. In the sheltered house on the warm windowsill, however, herbs can be sown from the end of February. From mid-May, the strengthened young plants can then be planted outdoors with a clear growth advantage or placed in pots in the garden. Herb seed packets usually come with very clear recommendations on when to sow the seed.
- Heat:
In order for the seeds to germinate, heat is usually required. For most herbs, the optimum temperature during germination is around 20°C. Lower temperatures do no harm per se. However, the following applies: The further the temperature is below the optimal germination temperature, the longer the germination process takes. Sowing the herbs in a raised bed or cold frame is a good way of providing herb seeds with the required germination temperatures outdoors. The conditions here are warmer than in the open bed, so the herbs germinate faster. You can find out which temperature the seed of the respective herb prefers in the instructions on the back of the seed packet.
- Light:
Light is also a crucial factor that can make the difference between success and failure when growing herbs from seeds. Some herbs such as basil (Ocimum basilicum) or oregano (Origanum vulgare) are so-called light germs. This means that the seeds of these species need light to germinate, so they should not be covered with a substrate layer. Other herbal seeds, on the other hand, require darkness to trigger the stimulus to germinate. Still other species don't care at all and so their seeds germinate in the dark as well as in the light.
- Moisture:
It is extremely problematic for seedlings to experience a lack of water during the germination process. It is therefore important to ensure that they are always kept evenly moist when cultivating the herbs. In general, therefore, a fine shower is used after sowing the herbs. In the case of dark germinators, a substrate layer can also protect the germinating seeds from drying out. This is not possible with light germs, which is why it has to be watered particularly regularly. It is important that a fine spray is always used so that the seed is not washed away.
Tip: Our Plantura herb growing set includes everything you need to successfully sow your own herbs: seeds for five different aromatic herbs, seed pots, substrate, plant labels, and a reusable mini greenhouse.
Propagating herbs from cuttings
A popular and quick way to propagate plants is by rooting cuttings. Of course, this is also possible with herbs - however, the herbs must develop herbaceous plant parts so that the propagation of cuttings can work with herbs. This is the case for the majority of herbs, so that the herbs can be propagated by cuttings without any problems.
Propagating herbs with cuttings: the right conditions
Even with cuttings, there are a few things to consider so that you can crown your gardening efforts with the successful cultivation of herbs:
- Time:
Spring or early summer is best for propagating herbs by cuttings. Then the mother plants, from which the cuttings are taken, have already formed new young shoots. You have found the best time when the shoots are green and soft and have not yet formed any flowers.
- Moisture:
The be-all and end-all when propagating by cuttings is to create high humidity. Cuttings do not have roots with which to make up for the water loss that occurs through the leaves. If the humidity in the area is high, the evaporation of water from the leaves is reduced and less water has to be supplied. Small mini greenhouses for the windowsill are best suited for growing herbs at home. But make sure that you air covered cuttings regularly, otherwise mold can form.
The soil should also be really wet during the rooting phase. When the first new leaves form, it is very likely that roots have already formed at the lower end. From this point on, the earth is only kept moist.
- Warmth and light:
In order for the cuttings to form new roots quickly, they need light and warmth. A bright place without direct sunlight is well suited for growing cuttings. Temperatures around 20 °C have a positive effect, especially in the root area. In specialist shopsthere are special heating mats on which you can place your mini greenhouses to grow the cuttings.
- Loose growing soil:
It is not for nothing that both professional commercial nurseries and experienced hobby gardeners use a special growing soil for rooting cuttings. You can mix this yourself from nutrient-poor, fine potting soil and a third of sand or perlite. In addition to the lack of nutrients, it is crucial that the growing substrate is loose and contains enough air, otherwise the cutting could easily be attacked by rotting organisms with the plentiful water supply.
Cultivation with special mixtures for this purpose is child's play. Crucially, this soil is minimally fertilized, which encourages the cuttings to develop strong roots.
- Plant hormones:
Some herbs such as thyme or rosemary have difficulty rooting on cuttings. Whether roots are formed at the cutting point depends on the release of two plant hormones - auxin and cytokinin - in the right proportion. In difficult cases, plant hormones in powder form can help. The preparation is simply painted at the cutting point of the cutting. Root fix is one such preparation well known to many gardeners.
Features" of optimal herb cuttings
Herb propagation from cuttings is not very promising if you cut the cuttings incorrectly. That's why you have to know exactly how to proceed and according to which criteria you select the material for the propagation of herbs by cuttings:
- Only cut young shoots that are as little woody as possible.
- Use only cuttings without flowers or flower buds.
- Herbs are best propagated from top cuttings, but sections without a tip can also form roots.
- If possible, do not store the cuttings, stick them directly.
- The size of cuttings should be two to three pairs of leaves or a maximum of 5 to 10 cm.
- Cut the cuttings long and diagonally with a sharp knife.
- Remove all leaves except for the top pair of leaves, cut the leaves in half on plants with large leaves.
- Insert the cuttings as deeply as possible and press down firmly.
Propagate herbs by division
If you already have a plant in your own garden that you would like to propagate, this can sometimes be done by dividing it. The following herbs can be excellently propagated by division,because they constantly propagate themselves by rooting offshoots, so separately viable clones of the mother plant can be obtained simply by separating these shoots.
Examples of herbs that are good to share:
- Chives (Allium schoenoprasum)
- Mint (Mentha)
- Sage(Salvia officinalis)
- Oregano and Marjoram (Origanum vulgare/Origanum majorana)
- Cinquefoil (Potentilla reptans)
- Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris)
- Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)
- … and all other herbs that form roots on side shoots
To divide a flat-growing plant like marjoram, simply pierce it with a sharp spade and remove the part to be separated from the mother plant. In the case of bushy herbs such as sage, individual rooted shoots are separated from the rest of the mother plant with rose shears. After dividing, the natural offshoots of the mother plant can be planted out in the bed. Alternatively, you can plant the herbs in a pot with fresh substrate. In any case, however, it must be watered well afterwards so that the substrate or the loosened soil in the bed settles well and the water can be absorbed by the roots of the divided plant.
Tip: Some herbs such as peppermint and chives have a higher nutrient requirement and should also be fertilized. Our Plantura organic universal fertilizer with long-term effect is a sustainable and effective choice.
By the way: Planting the freshly propagated herbs in a herb spiral has many advantages, because here the different location preferences of the aromatic plants can be satisfied. You can find out how to properly plant the herb spiral in our article.