Cuttings, fragrant

One thing that I do every autumn as the first freezing temperatures are forecast is take cuttings of plants with fragrant foliage. I keep them in a jar of water in the kitchen window, just to have them available for an occasional rub and sniff.

Sometimes I get a bonus and the cuttings actually root, but my main goal is not to produce new plants -- it's the fragrance! This year I preserved only two different plants from my own garden this way, but one from my mother's as well.

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Starting with the must-have every year: rosemary.

I took cuttings at two different times of this one, the first before the cold weather set in, and the second after we had already experienced freezing temperatures a few times. The second cuttings are not dying, but not rooting:

This doesn't surprise me, as the rosemary cuttings I took last winter (or was it during the growing season?) seemed to take forever to root, maybe a couple of months.

The first cutting though rooted so fast, and really needs to get into some soil:

My second must-have foliage fragrance is patchouli (Pogostemon cablin, isn't it?):

These cuttings were taken too late, once the plant was forming flower buds already. They still smell great, but I want more foliage, not blooms.

Only one of the two has formed roots, but I should plant it up and see what happens. Maybe I won't have to buy this one again in the spring!


Last up is Artemesia 'Tangerine':

This was a plant that I had in my garden and rooted a cutting and made a new plant to put into my mother's garden in the Chicago area. My plant has since died, as I believe a bamboo shaded it too much and it got smothered by some globe thistle. My mother's plant is thriving though, so I grabbed a cutting and since it has rooted...

...I should have it back in my garden again this year!

I don't consider this one's fragrance to be in the same class as either rosemary or patchouli, but it's a strange, strong aroma -- as most artemesias have -- that I don't know if I like. I'll let you know later this year after it's successfully growing and has more leaves that I can rub.

Do you have any favorite fragrant foliage that you preserve in the winter?

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