Growing new plants from old is one of the most satisfying achievements for most gardeners. I'm going to show you 2 simple ways to grow perennial herbs.
One of the easiest and most successful methods is by dividing existing plants, like mint, lemon balm, oregano, bergamot and many others.
First, decide which plant you'd like to propagate and give it a good trim, removing as much as half of it's height. Water it and leave it for a week or so to recover.
When you're ready to start, prepare some pots by half filling them with a good organic potting mix.
Some gardeners like to dig out a whole plant and break or cut it into several sections, each with plenty of roots attached. Then plant in a pot and fill with potting mix. That's fine but I find it easier to gently pull out a stem from the base of a plant, making sure that some roots remain attached. 100 to 150mm lengths are about right. Then place it into one of the half filled pots and top it up with potting mix. Give it a good soak and place it in a sheltered spot out of direct sunlight.
When your cutting/division starts to grow strongly, you know you've been successful.
The second method is slightly more difficult but is usually very successful with woody plants like lavender, rosemary and sage. Start by filling some pots with potting mix.
Find a healthy looking, non-flowering side shoot, about 100 to 150mm long. Gently pull it from the main stem. The part that joined the parent plant will be heel shaped at the bottom. Trim any untidy, straggly bits from the heel if necessary. Remove the leaves from the bottom 2/3 of the cutting.
With a pencil, dibble a hole in the potting mix deep enough to fit ½ to 2/3 of the cutting. Drop the cutting into the hole and firm the potting mix around it. Give it a good soak and place it in a sheltered spot out of direct sunlight. This type of cutting may take weeks or sometimes months to show signs of growth, depending on the time of year you took the cutting. Be patient, and make sure you keep the potting mix moist.
I find that spring and autumn are the best time to take cuttings.
You now know 2 really good methods of growing new plants from old. Herbs are great but also try these methods with other perennial plants.