Believe it or not, this pot of thyme is only 2 months old. Remember that given the right conditions, thyme is a weed? Well, this is how fast it can grow. When this pot started, there were 6 stem cuttings (5 inches) wholly buried in the soil. I left 4 to 6 leaves at the tips peeking out of the soil.
Here is a pot currently being rooted. It was started 3 weeks ago. The soil mix is 50% TREF and 50% perlite. Note that the pot is shallow and broad. This allows me to lay 5 inches of stems horizontally right across the pot. I usually place 6 stems in a diagonal, each on top of the other. The criss-cross each other at the centre of the pot circle. Then, I pour more soil mix over it, water copiously and keep in bright shade. No direct sunlight at this point, yes? Unlike already established thyme plants, which are drought resistant, these are not. So, you really have to keep the soil wet.
Note that more leaves (than the 4 to 6 I left at the stem tips) have actually grown and I may actually be able to move this out to direct sunlight. However, I am waiting for one more week to be more sure. As a rule, I leave them in bright shade for one month. Once moved out to direct sunlight, the pot will explode into a profusion of leaves.
Here is another pot that I rooted using air layering. For some reason, it has developed variegated maroon green leaves. Very pretty!
2 comments:
Hello there! I propagated my Oregano Thyme via root division and they looked fine.
My cuttings haven't worked out.
In my experience though, they grow very slowly. Any tips?
Cianoy, it's hard to give you advice because I dunno what your growing conditions are like in the Philippines...
Someone called il pirata gave great advice on thyme. It can be found in the GCS Forum under the section edibles... in the sub-section culinary herbs ... in the thread "died herbs... dying herbs", page 4 posy #75.
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