Propagation by Division: Basil and Thyme

Last week I decided that it's time to learn the art of plant propagation. I want my plants to survive the winter, but I don't have room in the apartment to bring them all inside. The most cost-effective solution is to separate pieces of them that will fit into smaller flower pots. That way, they can grow on the windowsill or shelving indoors.

There are several methods of reproducing plants, or shall I say propagating them. One of the easiest ways to do so is by the method of division. All this really means is that the main plant will be divided into separate pieces. Each piece to be removed should have a main stem and a good amount of roots attached.

Some experts recommend removing the entire plant and surrounding soil from the container when performing division. I'm dealing with a huge plastic bucket of dirt on a balcony, and I would rather not drop clumps of dirt onto somebody's car or somebody's head nine stories below me. Therefore, I shall try a shortcut and just dig my hands into the dirt and make sure the plant I'm separating stays attached to its roots. The other plants are going to die soon anyway, so I don't really care if I damage them.

The basil looks like it will be easy to divide, so I pull that out first.

This basil plant was growing next to a larger one. There was a bit of resistance while removing it, but as you can see, most of its roots remained attached to the stem. Now I'm going to set it aside while I work on the thyme.

The thyme plant consists stems that are very close together. In the photo below, there is a stem that seems to be more separate from the others, so I pull that aside with my thumb and prepare to separate it the same way that I did with the basil.

 The thyme was more difficult to separate since the roots were more closely entwined. I had to really dig in deep with my hands to pull the piece away from the parent plant, but it worked.

The final step is to take a pot of dirt, set the newly divided plants into it and cover the roots with a few more inches of soil. The divided plants should then take root in the new pot and grow normally.

 It has been 5 days since dividing the basil and thyme plants and they seem to have adapted well to their new home. It's been warm all week so they're still outside, but when I go away this weekend for Thanksgiving, this pot of herbs will be brought inside to stay until springtime.

Not all plants can be so easily propagated. Sometimes division is not possible. I have a rosemary plant that cannot be divided in this way. I will have to make some plant cuttings. The peppermint plant also posed some problems, so we'll talk about that too.

There is much to discuss next week. I'll see you again on Tuesday!