If you’re bangin’ on wanting to propagate thyme from cuttings, you’re in luck, because this is fairly easy and you’ll end up with a healthy, happy thyme plant to use in your meals and enjoy this probably well before you eat it.
Thyme is a beautiful addition to so many meals and a necessary addition to a kitchen cupboard; you want to have it growing in your herb garden.
You can propagate thyme with many methods… but using water is certainly one of the easiest methods.
All you need is a healthy thyme cutting in water, then you just need something for the water, a small container that has a drainage hole and some good potting soil.
While using some rooting hormone could help make this job easier, securing strong roots. Using rooting hormone is not really a required thing to have for herb garden projects; it’s a personal preference.
Step 1 – Get a Cutting
It takes a long time to grow a full thyme plant from a cutting, be prepared to wait around a year before you are eating that thyme!
If this seems like too long, you could buy a plant from a garden center. If you don’t mind waiting, get a cutting and be off!
You want your cutting to be between four and six inches long to maximize the plant’s ability to have enough energy to root properly.
Early fall is typically you want to plant thyme cuttings, although you can take a cutting from a plant at any time during the growing season (spring to fall) so don’t wait if your enthusiastic.
From Experience: You can always take more cuttings later if the thyme doesn’t take.
Step 2 – Strip The Lower Stem
Before you put the cutting in water, you will want to remove any leaves that would be submerged in the water.
The bottom two inches of the stem should be ok.
If you don’t remove these leaves, the leaves will rot in the water, which will hinder the plant from rooting properly.
Removing these leaves makes room for the new roots to form and reduces the chances of the cutting rotting.
Step 3 – Apply Rooting Hormone (Optional)
If you’re using rooting hormone, now is when to apply it.
The hormone promotes root growth in the plants; it encourages the plants to grow new root systems, thus increasing your likelihood of being successful propagating thyme from stem cuttings.
All you need to do is dunk the end of the stem in the hormone, making sure that some of the hormone sticks to the stem.
This is a good and economical way to increase your plants chances of rooting.
Note that some rooting hormones are marketed only for ornamental plants, and some of them ask you to wait a year before consuming anything from the plant.
Look at the instructions that come with your hormone, make sure that you don’t consume your thyme until after the waiting period is past.
Some rooting hormones are ok for edibles and you may not have a waiting period, these are the safest to use.
Also note that if you want to propagate the thyme in water, as I recommend next, you may elect to not use rooting hormone.
Your choice, some say that the rooting hormone is not as effective, but you can decide for yourself, or you can experiment with both methods and see which will be most effective for thyme!
Step 4 – Put The Cutting In Water
Just stick your thyme cutting in a glass with fresh water and keep the two inches of bare stem below the average water level.
It’s best using a clear container, because that way you’ll be able to see the roots develop, but don’t worry, roots can take up to four weeks to start developing.
Hopefully, you will see some really thin, pale strands forming from the bare thyme stem.
You’ll need to refresh the water in your glass periodically to stop it from spoiling:
- Lift the cutting out from the water and set it on a clean surface.
- Now, dispose of the old water, rinse the glass, add fresh water and put the cutting back in the glass.
- Do this every couple of days because you wouldn’t want your cutting to rot.
- After roots have started to appear, just monitor them and wait for them to grow thicker and stronger.
Step 5 – Transplant Into Soil
Once your thyme plant’s roots are sufficiently strong enough to survive being transplanted, you have to get the plant into soil.
First, you will need a container with soil and drainage holes, prepare it, and then create a hole in the middle.
Plop the thyme cutting in the hole and fill it with soil, ensuring that there is very good soil-to-contact with the new root system.
This will getting the plant to start spreading its roots through the pot and to establish itself.
It can be a little tricky sometimes to transition cuttings propagated in water to soil, so be careful.
Once the cutting is set, water lightly enough to settle the soil around your roots, and then place your cutting in bright but indirect light until it starts to recover.
Step 6 – Let It Grow
Now, your thyme plant is ready to get growing.
It will strike its roots into the bottom of the soil, take up some nutrients from the soil and eventually build itself up.
If you want to have it for a while indoors while it is growing and get it good strength first, which is a good idea, then you need to harden it off when it is time (if you intend to plant it outside).
It can take a while, typically six to eight weeks, before you will see any visible growth.
The thyme will still be settling in and establishing its roots, and if you have done everything correctly, it should start to grow after a couple of months.
Works Well: If you are not going to go ahead and plant your thyme outside, then you will eventually need to prepare to move to a larger container once it is growing well.
Conclusion
You now know how to grow thyme from cuttings, and I hope you feel motivated to give it a go!
If it doesn’t go well the first time, don’t be discouraged, just try again; you’re not really losing anything.
You can also try rooting thyme directly in soil if you’re having difficulty getting a water cutting to take.