Transplanting & Propagating

Looks like it’s really cooling down, just in time for Autumn Solstice.  And just in time to move that peppermint we’ve been eyeing all summer to its new spot in a raised bed.  We started the move last spring, but summer overtook us and we weren’t able to completely get all the plants to their new home.  Because summer is not typically a good time to re-position plants,  we had peppermint in two spots.  Early fall is a good time to  move and propagate plants. With cooler temperatures, rain and some sunny days, plants have a good chance to get a good root base started before they need to hibernate for the winter.

Maybe you’ve been wanting an extra thyme or some other valued herb.  Rather than looking for an actual plant, it is fairly easy to propagate from your mother plants. Here are some methods for propagating perennial herb plants that we have used and found successful.

Zataar marjoram that was dug up from the veggie garden and saved for future use, before first frost.

• Division:  Non-woody (herbaceous) plants such as marjoram, tarragon or anise hyssop can by dug up and the large clump carefully pulled apart into smaller clumps.  The smaller clumps then can be re-planted, watered thoroughly and mulched to protect the roots.  This is done when you want to enlarge a bed or if you are moving an entire bed to a new location. We have divided chives, tarragon and mints with good success.
  
  
• Layering:  This method works well for shrubby herbs such as thyme, rosemary and winter savory.  Chose a long flexible stem that will bend to the ground easily.  Mark the spot where new roots will set and carefully scrape away the bark from this small section.  Hold the branch to the ground and mound soil over it and hold in place with a rock.  Be sure the tip is not buried.  By late spring it should be rooted and ready to re-plant by carefully digging up the newly rooted branch and cutting it away from the original branch.  We have used this method to propagate rosemary and thyme.  We have also found it is best to let the plants grow another year before moving them into a new spot. This gives the plants time to put on enough growth to survive successfully.
  

Roman Chamomile dug up and divided - yielding small plantlets ready for new pots.

• Cuttings:  Many herb plants may be multiplied through cuttings.  Cuttings should be 3 to 6 inches long from new growth that has 3 or 4 nodes.  The cut should leave at least 1” of stem to the first node.  Set cuttings in a good rooting soil and keep warm and moist.  We have found this method works best in summer or in a greenhouse in fall/winter.  Erin has successfully propagated lemon verbena, thyme, winter savory and rosemary with cuttings.  We have found that this method may also require another year for plants to be fully ready.
  

So what about that peppermint?  One semi-sunny Saturday between storms, Erin moved some of the plants.  On another sunny afternoon, Eloyce moved the rest.  Since it is a mint we were moving, we used a shovel to dig deep around the plants and gently tugged the long roots intact to the surface.  Although this was a simple move and didn’t require propagating, we used some of the same techniques.  The peppermint we moved in the spring, grew tall, hardy and green and the plants we moved this fall do the same.

As you walk your gardens, take note of which plants seem to be thriving in their locations, and which might benefit from a new location.  Transplanting them during the fall gives them a head start on their new location come spring, when they will shoot up to the sun, ready for a new season of herbal bounty.