How to Grow Herbs From Clippings

Fill a garden pot with a soil mixture of peat, perlite and vermiculite. Avoid soils mixed with fertilizer since most herbs actually grow better in poor soil. Once the pot is full, use your finger to make a small hole in the middle of the soil.

Select a healthy, well-established herb to take a cutting from during the late spring or summer. Thyme, rosemary and lavender are just a few of the herbs that will grow well using this method.

Use pruning shears to make a 30-degree angle cut of the stem. Remove 3 to 5 inches in length. Make the cut just below the node on the stem. An angle cut gives the stem a slight slant and produces a distinctive point at the stem's end.

Stick the end of the cutting in rooting powder. Rooting powder is a powdery substance containing plant hormones used to help a plant form roots. This product can typically be found for sale in gardening centers and nurseries.

Place the end of the cutting in the hole you created in the soil of the gardening pot. Pat the soil down around the stem until the plant stands firmly in place. Water until the soil is damp to the touch. Do not over-saturate.

Set the plant in the sun in front of a window. Maintain the herb as an indoor plant through the winter and transfer outdoors for growing in the spring.