Rosemary & Heartnut Tree Cuttings Started!

Before I work in my garden, I always cleanse, release and ask Goddess to guide my hands and my heart to benefit my projects. Today's project was to start some cuttings for both my Rosemary and the Heartnut tree that started itself in an inconvenient area. Rosemary is pretty straightforward  but the Heartnut is another experiment, so here's hoping it goes well!

My Rosemary grows at the entrance to the house. Rosemary is well known for its cleansing and purifying characteristics. It is used for protection, exorcism  healing, to aid sleep, to increase mental & intellectual powers and to bring love. It is one of the oldest incense, and when burned it helps to rid a place of negative energy and is especially useful prior to performing magick. 

Rosemary has medicinal properties too! It helps to aid the digestion of fat and helps with migraines. You can make a tea to use as a mouthwash for bad breath. It is also said to be useful for eczema, wounds and sores. Rosemary is useful in relieving symptoms of the common cold and when smokes along with coltsfoot, it is said to relieve asthma and other lung conditions. NEVER exceed more than one cup a day when used as a tea or you'll put yourself at risk of fatal poisoning.

The Heartnut tree is native to Japan and is a relative of the walnut tree. They have no listed magickal uses but are yummy and good for you!!! I really hope I can get the cuttings to go. If not, I am sure there will be more baby trees this year again. This time, I'll keep my open for them so I can dig and relocate them before they are too well established!

How to do softwood cuttings (from http://www.freeplants.com/soft%20of%20decid.htm):

Preparing a softwood cutting is easy. Just clip a cutting about 4" in length from the parent plant. Take only tip cuttings. In other words, just take one cutting from each branch, the top four inches of each branch. This is the newest growth. Strip the leaves off the lower two thirds of the cutting, leaving just a stem and a few leaves at the top.

When propagating softwood cuttings, wounding the cutting slightly can help the rooting process. You can wound the cutting by scraping the side of the stem lightly from the bottom of the cutting up 1/2".

It is always beneficial to treat your cuttings with a liquid or a powder rooting compound just prior to sticking them. Rooting compounds are available at most garden centers and do help to stimulate root development. It really doesn't matter whether you use a liquid or a powder. There are different strengths available in the powder formulas. Hardwood cuttings require a stronger formula than softwood cuttings.

Most liquid rooting compounds are sold in concentrate form and must be diluted with water. I like the liquid because all you have to do is adjust the amount of water you add depending on whether you are propagating softwood or hardwood cuttings. There are instructions on the package.