15 months ago we moved into our cottage in a small coastal town and had to start the garden from scratch in quite sandy soil. Some of the plants that seemed to grow best were the succulents (of course), the indigenous fynbos and the Lavendar and Rosemary! But we were also lucky to inherit some fruit trees - a lemon, a guava and a loquat tree!
The things we planted have all flourished and now that spring is approaching I’m once again motivated to see what else I can propagate to fill a few empty spots in the garden.
My kitchen window sill seems to have become my favourite spot for growing new plants from cuttings. It’s been a process of trial and error because I don’t always pay attention and tend to forget to check on my babies. I’ve realised which plants suit my haphazard sense for gardening and have had success with many succulents and now I’ve managed to root Rosemary successfully.
Rosemary success
I put 2 cuttings in water on the windowsill about 3-4 weeks ago and simply kept topping up the water as it evaporated and this morning I potted my first two Rosemary plants! They’re still on the windowsill, but now they’re in sweet pots to grow a little more before I move them to the garden.
PS. A friend gave me a tip that cuttings grow better in a dark container, not clear glass, and this did seem to make a difference with the Rosemary.
Lavendar & Jasmine trial
My next experiment is to root a Lavendar cutting and a Jasmine cutting!
I’ve tried something different. I got a few of these saw dust type pods that expand into soil like grains. They came with some seed packs that I ended up planting straight in a cup (I’ll show you shortly). So I decided to try them out with the cuttings and see if it works any faster than just water.
soil pods
I’m in the habit of reusing and recycling all my glass and ceramic jars and even old cups so my “pots” tend to be a bit unconventional. I’m attempting to root the Jasmine and Lavendar in small ceramic Bunny Egg Cups 😂.
I’ll check in again in a few weeks to see if they have rooted or not and just keep the soil damp in the meantime.
Lemon tree cutting
I’m quite excited about this one! I have always loved the idea of having fruit trees along our fence that can produce fruit for passers by to pick fruit. Our lemon tree is usually abounding in lemons so propagating another lemon tree (or two) would be brilliant!
I know it looks a bit droopy right now but give it time.
For now I’ve just put this cutting in water as I’ve read that Lemon trees are the easiest citrus tree to propagate in water or in soil. Most commercial lemon trees are grafted to increase their resistance to diseases so I guess my new tiny tree won’t have the same rootstock, but hopefully it will still produce the same fruit.
Flower seeds: Cosmos, Borage, African Daisies & Corn Flowers
These were all seeds I got as a random incentive for shopping at a local store. They’ve been sitting waiting for me to plant them so today was finally the day. They are all Summer Flowers so now is a great time to get them growing. I’ve planted 4 seeds in each soup mug and will transplant them once they’ve germinated and are ready for bigger pots (or straight to the garden).
I love that this is something that I can do with what’s already in my garden and doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg, just time and patience (well we will see if I manage to pay attention to these babies).
I’ll check in again in about a month with an update but in a couple weeks I will be planting the beautiful rosemary plants in the garden for sure!
I love the little reminders that I get of how fragrant the garden is every time my dogs come in smelling of rosemary and lavender (and that the snails don’t like them!)
Chat again soon.
