Most people have a favourite herb/plant in their garden. Once it gets to a certain size, you may want to propagate it by taking cuttings for more plants for your self or to give to your friends and family. Simply cut off a few young shoots of the plant, typically 8-10cm in length for herbs and place in moist soil, sand or vermiculite until new roots appear. If you want to propagate it using cuttings and natural methods, try using some willow branches to create a natural root stimulator.

Willows are fast-growing trees that are found primarily in the northern hemisphere in moist soils. It is their bark that contains natural growth hormones that you can extract using water to speed up the growth of new cuttings. Look for young first year twigs or stems. They should have green or yellow bark as opposed to older branches that have more of a brown or grey bark. Remove the leves and cut the stems into short pieces around 1-2″ in length.
Place branches in a jar and cover with water (either boiling water or room temprature) and leave overnight or up to a few days if using room temperature water. Strain and keep jar in fridge for up to two months. To improve propagation, place cuttings in a jar of willow water (like arranging cut flowers) for a few hours or water the cuttings with willow water 2-3 times to speed up rooting. This works especially well on more woody herbs like rosemary, sage and lavender!
Do you have any other tips for improving propagation through cuttings? Let us know in the comments.
Cover Image by Ed Yourdon, used under its Creative Commons license.
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