Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Indoor plants

How to easily propagate store-bought herbs

Stacey Nguyen
By

The next time you head to your grocery store or farmers market to buy herbs, consider the fact that you may virtually never need to buy them again. That’s right, you can pretty much propagate any herb forever—with the help of some soil, water, and light, of course! This idea might seem revelatory, but it’s really all simple propagation techniques! Whether you grab a potted herb or a fresh sprig, we’re breaking down how you can turn your supermarket haul into an endless supply of garnish.

Basil plant

Growing potted herbs from the supermarket

Dividing your potted herb

In the produce section of most supermarkets, you’ll find potted herbs, such as basil and parsley, alongside fresh ones. While these plants at the supermarket look pretty much ready to go, it’s a good idea to divide them into three or four separate plants because they tend to be densely packed. While doing so might take extra effort, splitting up your potted grocery store herbs will give them room to grow healthy, robust leaves. All you have to do is squeeze the side of the plastic pot to pop your plant out. Then, take a sterile knife or pair of scissors to divide the roots. Set your plant into new planters with drainage holes, covering them up with a well-draining potting mix.

Planting your potted herb in a larger planter

Alternatively, you can loosen up the roots and plant the supermarket herb into a large planter with a drainage hole. Even if you go with this route, you can still trim the roots ever-so-slightly so that they can effectively deliver water and nutrients to the rest of your plant. Again, settle your herb into a well-draining potting mix.

Related

Caring for potted herbs

However you go about situating your supermarket potted herb, water and feed it as you would any other container-bound plant. Herbs appreciate adequate moisture, so water your plant when the top one or two inches feel dry to the touch. To give it a boost, use a diluted, organic liquid fertilizer every other week throughout the growing season. Want the best growth possible? Leave your herb by a sunny windowsill in a warm area of your home. Here’s the most important step: pinch your plant back as soon as it starts pushing out new leaves! Pruning will encourage bushier growth, and you’ll be able to enjoy your herbs as delicious culinary garnish when you do it—that’s a win-win!

Cut herbs

Growing supermarket herbs from cuttings

With herbs, you don’t even need to buy a potted plant. You can actually propagate herbs that you find in the produce section of your grocery store or farmers market. It’s that simple. With that said, not every herb will take to propagating. As you may have already guessed, the fresher your herb, the better its chances of survival will be—yellowing and blackening leaves won’t work.

How to propagate herb sprigs

When you have your herbs ready to go, start the propagation process by pinching off the last two to three inches of leaves at the bottom of your herb. (Make sure to leave a few tufts of leaves at the top so your plant can photosynthesize!) Take a clean pair of scissors and trim the stem at the bottom at a 45-degree angle—this cut will increase the surface area for another node to grow roots. After you’ve prepared your herb cuttings, drop them into a clear cup with clean water and leave them in a warm, bright corner of your home. Don’t forget to change the water every few days—algae may grow in your cup if you don’t. In two weeks, you should start seeing roots form in the water.

How to transplant your cuttings

Technically speaking, you can leave your herb in the water, but it might not grow as vigorously unless you transplant it into nutrient-rich soil. For planting herbs as houseplants, take the cuttings and bring them into a new planter with a drainage hole. Essentially, the care instructions here will be the same as tending after a potted plant that you find at the supermarket: Give your herbs plenty of bright light, water them when the top few inches of their soil dry out, and prune them often.

For annuals such as basil, dill, and lemongrass, you only have one growing season. But fret not. What you can do is take cuttings as your herbs grow throughout the year. You can also wait until your herb bolts and grab seeds to replant again come next spring. After you buy one herb, you really don’t need to buy more of it—the magic of propagation allows you to keep creating new plants!

Propagating herbs from your grocery store haul really is that easy. Grabbing a potted herb will require slightly less time and effort on your part, but starting from a fresh herb sprig isn’t all that difficult. Add your herb cutting to water, let it grow roots, and stick it into a potting mix.

Voilà: You’ve got fresh herbs for days on end!

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Why calathea plants are perfect for your home office (and how to care for them)
How to grow a calathea to spruce up your home office
Cayla Leonard
By Cayla Leonard
November 1, 2022
A potted calathea makoyana on a blue background

A home office is a great place to get work done, but it doesn’t necessarily make your work easier. Creating an environment that helps you focus on work is tricky, but one thing that can help is adding a plant. Bringing just a little bit of the outdoors in can create a calm, relaxing atmosphere that’s more conducive to work. If you’re looking for a fantastic plant to add to your home office, then look no further than a calathea. These stunning plants are an excellent choice, and we’re about to tell you why. Here's how to care for calathea plants.

What are calathea plants, and why are they good office plants?
Calathea is a genus of plants known for their unique variegated leaves. These plants are also sometimes called prayer plants, because of the way certain varieties of calatheas move their leaves. Calatheas are very similar to the goeppertia; so similar, in fact, that many species of goeppertia were previously misidentified as calathea!

Read more
How much water do your houseplants need? Here’s a guide to houseplant water needs
Tips for giving your houseplants the right amount of water
Kiera Baron
By Kiera Baron
October 26, 2022
A person watering their houseplant

Tending to houseplants can be quite different from tending to garden beds. If you aren’t used to any form of container growing, you may be wondering, “How much water does a plant need to grow?” Since plants outside are also exposed to weather conditions and other environmental factors, they have slightly different care needs than plants grown indoors. Read on to learn more about houseplant water needs.

How often should you water your houseplants?
Your plant’s water requirements will vary depending on the type of plant it is, so it’s important to research each plant you have to make sure you’re giving it the best care possible. Although no two plants are the same, there are some general things to keep in mind no matter the type of plant. Unlike outdoor gardening, it’s wise not to water on a specific schedule. Instead, check your plants every day or two to see how they’re doing. You’ll find that different plants will need to be watered on different days, and some may not need to be watered every week.

Read more
Wondering how much light orchids need? We have your answers
Here's how to decide where to place your orchid in your home
Kiera Baron
By Kiera Baron
October 15, 2022
Pink orchid blooms

Orchids are unique flowering houseplants that are highly sought after by indoor gardeners for their delicate blooms and arching stems. There are roughly 30,000 different species of orchids, but each one can be characterized by the three-petal blooms that grow from the branches; however, they can be a bit tricky to get to bloom. Some people only experience the foliage, and although orchids water well; plant owners may not remember how important proper lighting is to get flowers to grow. Orchid light needs are a bit bigger than most, so let’s get into it.

How much light does an orchid need indoors?
Orchids thrive on strong lighting indoors, which means you need to find a space that isn’t dark for a majority of the day. Because orchids value such strong light levels, it’s important to make sure they have a consistent amount each day when grown indoors. You want to pick a location that has the same amount of day and night, day in and day out, aside from the gradual change of the seasons and the unpredictable cloudy days.
What kind of light does an orchid require?
So what kind of light is strong light? It’s bright, full sunlight; however, orchids don’t like a lot of heat, so you want to avoid areas that get direct afternoon sun (think all the windows in your home that shine the brightest come lunchtime — those are bad for orchids). At a minimum, you want your orchid to get 5 to 6 hours of sunlight per day, but you may still want to avoid directly placing your orchid on windowsills so that the intense light can’t burn the leaves.
Do orchids do well in low light?
Unfortunately, no. An orchid kept in low lighting won’t thrive, and you may start to see the leaves darken and wilt over time because they aren’t receiving enough sun to keep the plant’s energy levels up. If your orchid is in a lower light environment, it’s best to either move it to where it can receive more sunlight or buy a grow light to keep it under so that it can get what it needs.

Read more