How long does it take for Rosemary cuttings to root? – Amazing Herb Garden

When to take a Rosemary cuttings?
Although some sources say that spring and summer are ideal for rooting cuttings, I have been growing cuttings in autumn and winter as well. The cuttings, taken at the top of the stems,  will certainly be more fresh and softer in spring and summertime, which may result in faster root growth. However the time of the year for taking a rosemary cutting is not a determine success factor.
How to take a Rosemary cuttings?
All cuttings are take with a sharp knife or scissors, to make a clean straight cut. A clean cut will prevent eventual stem rot when the stem is put into water. The best spot to cut is right below a node, because this is the spot where the new roots will start growing first.
How long should the Rosemary cuttings ideally be?
My advice on this not too long at all. Experiments have shown that shorter and fresh cuttings had a higher chance of successful root growth than longer woody and brown cuttings.
So a rather small cutting of about 4 to 5 inches (+/- 10 cm) seems to be ideal. The idea that a longer plant, taking a longer cutting, would result in a faster rooting is not correct. The reason is probably that nodes of a longer cutting are older and also more dark woody, making it harder to grow roots from. At least it will take longer. The roots seem to sprout more easily from nodes on a softer green stem. I was successful too with even shorter cuttings of 2 to 3 inches.Shorter cuttings also have fewer needles and a shorter stem to support and feed, which may also contribute to a faster root growth.
Another way to determine how long the cutting can be is by looking at the colour and by testing the flexibility of the fresh stem you want to take a cutting from.
By taking the rosemary branch in your hand, you can feel that the top part really has a tender and flexible stem. This part of the stem is still young and hasn’t turned into a woody, stiffer stem. You will notice that the nodes in the flexible part are still soft and ideal to grow roots from in a relatively short timeframe. So as long as you take a cutting from the fresh flexible part of the stem you should have a big chance to root these cuttings.
The color of fresh rosemary shoots (and of the flexible part of the stem) is usually green (sometimes green-purple). This may help you to determine how long the cutting can be.
But again I am getting better results with short cuttings than with long ones.