Easily Propagate Parsley For A Fuller Herb Garden With This Easy Method

Parsley is a popular culinary herb that is widely used for both flavor and garnishing in cooking. You may wonder if it is easy to grow. After all, there was once a time when people believed that only witches and pregnant women could grow parsley. Luckily, parsley is actually quite simple to grow, and it's one of those delicious herbs you can easily propagate from cuttings. All you need is a plant from which you can take your cuttings.

Parsley is a herbaceous plant, and it forms a dense rosette of leafy stems, which are about 12 to 18 inches tall, are soft and green, and can serve as potential cuttings. Just choose a few tender cuttings of the fresh growth, ideally in spring or early summer. Also, make sure you choose a parsley plant that is not blooming. In flowering plants, a lot of the energy is diverted to reproduction, and they might not have enough reserves to sustain vegetative propagation when cut from the parent plant.

Start by picking a healthy plant, as healthy stock increases the success rate of asexual propagation methods like cuttings. Also, make sure that you use an actively growing shoot because juvenile tissues often take root better than older, more mature stems. Once you've made the selection, take a disinfected and sharp knife or pruners to take cuttings from the parent plant. This reduces the chances of infection and crushing the stem when taking cuttings. Using dirty tools is a mistake too many people make when propagating plants. 

Make sure the cuttings are about 4 to 6 inches long and are cut below the lowermost node where leaf stalks emerge. Next, remove the leaves from the lower half of each cutting. This will help reduce water loss and expose more nodes that can then come in contact with the rooting medium. Just don't remove all the leaves. A few leaves on a stem cutting are needed to help with photosynthesis and support new root growth.

Lastly, if you can, dip the basal end of the cuttings in a rooting hormone. This will help speed up root growth and improve the chances of success. Then, bury the cuttings in a sterile, low-nutrient medium with good drainage while making sure that the leafy tip remains above the surface.

When propagating parsley from cuttings, it usually takes about seven days for tiny, hair-like roots to emerge. During that time, make sure to maintain a high-humidity environment around the new plants. You can do this by covering the pot with a clear plastic wrap or bag. This is just one of the smart ways to use plastic wrap for gardens and plants in your home. Also, keep the cuttings in bright, indirect light at temperatures around 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.  Keep the medium consistently moist as the new plants take root, but don't let it get soggy or waterlogged. 

Once the new leaves emerge and parsley cuttings have taken root properly, you can replant them in the intended site. Lastly, if needed, fertilize parsley once every four to six weeks if you're growing it indoors, or once every three to four weeks if growing it outdoors. Keep in mind that since parsley is a biennial plant, it is going to flower in its second season, even when grown from cuttings. So make a plan to repeat propagation for a continuous supply and a fuller herb garden.