by Peggy Riccio
As a Virginia home gardener and herb enthusiast, I grow many of my culinary herbs from seed at the beginning of the summer and I purchase a few tropicals. I have my staples, simple names such as pineapple sage, lemongrass, lemon verbena, basil, dill, cilantro, and parsley. Of course, the garden is littered with the perennials: sage, lavender, rosemary, oregano, knot marjoram, thyme, germander, yarrow, chives, and lovage. All of them have stories; their useful properties have been known for generations.
Some of them also have stories that speak about a better trait, be it flavor, cold hardiness, or fragrance, but more specifically, the story is about the person who discovered that trait and introduced it to the market. Serendipity often played a major role but so did the craft of vegetative propagation (i.e., stem cuttings). In time, these “better” plants themselves became stories about the people who discovered them.
Some of the well-known stories involve better rosemary plants. The cold-hardy ‘Arp’ cultivar was discovered by Madalene Hill, who managed Hilltop Herb Farm in Texas. While visiting family in Arp, Texas, she noticed a robust rosemary plant blooming in January and took cuttings. Years later, Cyrus Hyde, owner of New Jersey herb nursery Well-Sweep Herb Farm, noticed a sport, a naturally occurring mutation, on one of his ‘Arp’ plants. He propagated the sport, which was more compact with greener foliage, and named it ‘Madelene Hill’. Today, ‘Arp’ and ‘Madelene Hill’, also known as ‘Hill Hardy’, are some of the most cold hardy rosemary plants on the market.
Theresa Mieseler, owner of Shady Acres Herb Farm in Minnesota, introduced ‘Shady Acres’ rosemary, known for its outstanding culinary properties. Of the plants she was growing, she noticed one that stood out with dark green leaves, an upright growth, and excellent fragrance. She propagated the plant via stem cuttings and sent a sample to a laboratory. The chemical analysis proved ‘Shady Acres’ to be exceptional for cooking because the foliage had a low percentage of camphor essential oil but high percentages of pine, rose, and rosemary notes.
Jim Westerfield, owner of an Illinois bed and breakfast, was an amateur breeder who loved mints. By cross pollinating mint varieties, he produced more than 50 hybrids with interesting names and flavors such as ‘Iced Hazelnut’,‘Jessie’s Sweet Pear’,‘Marshmallow Mint’, and ‘Cotton Candy’. It took Jim seven years to produce one of the only patented mints, ‘Hillary’s Sweet Lemon Mint’, named after Hillary Rodham Clinton. His mints live on through trademarks and patents and are only available at Richters in Canada and Fragrant Fields in Missouri.
Lately, others are seeing the value in herbs, especially fresh herbs. The pandemic caused an increase in gardening, a reason to cook from home, plus more time to watch cooking shows. With that came an increased interest in herbs. Baby boomers like me grew up with dried herbs in jars, but now millennials and Generation Z expect potted fresh herbs in the produce section.
Now, instead of serendipity playing a role, companies are intentionally breeding for “better” traits. Driving this is consumer demand of course, but in the world of culinary herbs, consumers can be just about anyone from field growers, hydroponic growers, grocery stores, nurseries, seed companies, gardeners, and non-gardeners who just want to buy a fresh basil plant for the kitchen counter. I talked with many seed companies, university researchers, and growers to learn what traits they were interested in and why. I learned who was focusing on certain herbs, which herbs have a lot of possibilities for our market, and new herb cultivars that will be available to the public. Join me in this behind-the-scenes look at efforts to improve your herb garden as well as expand your staples of plants.
Join Peggy Tuesday, June 21 at 1pm Eastern for her webinar: Breeding Better Herbs. Our webinars are free to The Herb Society of America members and $7.50 for guests. Become a member today, and enjoy all of our webinars for free along with access to the webinar library with over fifty program titles. To register, visit https://www.herbsociety.org/hsa-learn/herb-education/hsa-webinars/
Photo Credits: 1) There are many types of dill now since it is a very versatile herb that is also used in floral arrangements (Peggy Riccio); 2) Rosemary collection at the National Herb Garden (Christine Moore); 3) ‘Jim’s Candy Lime’ mint hybrid (Piper Zettel); 4) Basil is the top selling, most commercially important herb crop in this country that has been hard hit by downy mildew (Peggy Riccio)
Peggy Riccio is the owner of pegplant.com, an online resource for gardening in the Washington, DC, metro area; president of the Potomac Unit, Herb Society of America; regional director of GardenComm, a professional association of garden communicators; and is the blog administrator for the National Garden Clubs, Inc.
Plant propagation is just a fancy word for making more plants from what you have. I love to propagate the plants in my garden. To me, it is magical that an entire shrub can be created from cutting six inches off the stem. Taking stem cuttings is an easy way to make more shrubs to fill in gaps in the garden or to share plants with gardening friends. 
I cut from the tip of the stem, about 5-6 inches down, ensuring that there are several nodes. The node is the point where additional stems/branches arise but also the point in which there is a higher chance of root stimulation. I first cut above the node on the shrub and then make a second cut on the stem, just under the last node. I remove the bottom leaves and insert the cutting into water, then a commercially prepared rooting hormone, and then in the pre-moistened potting mix, about one-inch deep, in a small plastic pot or container. The cut end of the stem is just dipped into the rooting hormone – only the end needs it. 
After a few weeks, I check rooting progress by opening the bags and gently pulling the cuttings to see if there is resistance. If the cuttings have rooted, I start to open the bags a little bit, a few hours a day, still in the shade. If I open the bags and the plants wilt very quickly, I know they have not produced enough roots yet. Successful rooters will keep their color in the leaves; unsuccessful plants will fade or collapse. I always cut more than I need, because there will be some that will not “take.” It is a numbers game, much like growing from seed.
When you propagate by stem cuttings, you must always use clean materials to prevent a fungal infection. It is best to use clean plastic containers with drainage holes. Sterilize them with a 10% bleach solution of one part bleach and nine parts water, rinse, and let dry. Sterilize cutting tools, pruning shears, or garden snips with rubbing alcohol before you make the cuts. 
Join HSA Member, Mary Maran on February 25th from 2pm – 2:30pm EST for, “The Basics of Propagating Pelargoniums and Other Plants.” Mary will share her propagation techniques so you can make more of the plants you already have or obtain a cutting from a friend’s plant and grow your own plant from it. Propagation by cuttings allows the grower to increase the number of plants in their collection while ensuring the characteristics of the “new” plant remain true to the parent plant. Some plants are just easier to replicate with cuttings, such as bay, scented geraniums, lavender, rosemary, and many others. 
Cuttings can be taken at any time of the year but ideally when the plant is in its growing season. In its most basic form, plant cutting is simply cutting a stem of a plant at an angle, dipping it into rooting hormone, and then inserting it in potted rooting media which is kept damp until roots grow, about a month. Sounds simple enough; however, this rudimentary method has a success rate of between 40-60%. During this interactive webinar Mary will share her tips and tricks to increase your success rate to well over 80%.
About Mary Maran: Mary is a long-time member of The Herb Society of America. She started her membership as a member of the Long Island Unit and in later years moved to Pennsylvania where she is an active member of the Philadelphia Unit. Mary is an avid grower of pelargoniums. For years she has donated specimens from her diverse and superb collection to numerous plant sales including the Long Island Unit’s Annual Symposium and the Horticultural Alliance of the Hampton’s Annual Garden Fair.
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