A few weeks ago, I snipped some mint, lemon balm, rosemary and basil from my garden. I wanted a fragrant bouquet for the kitchen table. After a few days, I transferred the bouquet to individual bottles of water, (yes I still have a few bottles laying around even after this project) and put them in my (North-facing) kitchen window to root.
Rooting herbs in water is a great way to share plants with friends, and keep your own collection thriving without spending a lot of money. A few years ago, while living in an apartment with only one small 2 x 4-foot patch of dirt, I grew an impressive herb garden with a handful of clippings from my mother.
When making your cuttings, be sure you get as much of the stem as possible (I usually keep 3-5 inches of stem.) Also, check the water levels in your bottles. If you have them sitting in a bright and sunny window, a lot of water is going to evaporate, and your developing roots may shrivel. Keep the water clean, and as full as possible.
I tend to use recycled bottles, jars or glasses to root my herbs, but you can also pick up pretty rooting vases like the lovely red one I got for Christmas this year (pictured above- and available here:)
I have been most successful rooting the following herbs in water:
basil
mint
lemon balm
rosemary
sage
Once a large mass of roots has developed (after about 4+ weeks), you can transfer the plant to a pot of soil outside.
Not all herbs will begin rooting in water, but it never hurts to try if you’ve got a friend offering a few clippings! Happy gardening!!
Lovely! I collect old bottles. This is fantastic!
Oooh nice! After you root your herbs, you can use your bottles to water them
http://radmegan.blogspot.com/2011/02/coke-bottle-watering-globes.html
xxoo Thanks for reading Mal!
Am so happy I found your blog. This is a really neat idea. I have a quick question, do you add any rooting chemicals/ fertilizer to the water before you add the cuttings? and is it possible they could sink to the bottom of the bottle or is there something you do to make sure they float to the top?
Thank you so much! No, I don’t use any rootng hormones or anything. I’ve heard that these work well, but I’ve never tried them. And as long as your fresh herbs have leaves on them, they should stay at the top of your bottles just fine
Thank you for reading!
xoxo
I seen this lady at a fleamarket growing house plants in bottles I thought it was a great Idea so I clipped a vined house plant and bottled it. I really hope it works. I would realy like to plant a lot more like that. I like what you did.
Does the plant need to get a lot of sunlight? Also, should you cover a clear bottle with something like foil to protect the roots from getting burned? Lastly, should you change the water regularly to keep the plants from developing mold or getting mushy? Thank you for the info.