Rue is an herb plant that you probably won't don't hear about very often because its rarely used in most Western recipes. However, it has a very distinctive aroma that I associate exclusively with Chinese green bean sweet soup, so it is a must in my household (since we're big on that particular dessert soup). The plant itself is a hardy perennial with lovely greyish green lobed leaves, and it forms bright yellow clusters of tiny blooms when flowering.It is a very easy plant to propagate. One plant is more than enough for us since our Rue plant is very big and bushy now after many years of growth. However, fellow green bean sweet soup lovers often wish to have a Rue plant of their own, so we like to share ours by cuttings.
Here's how you can do it too.
On a healthy Rue plant, find a young green stem with at least 3-5 leaf nodes. Do not choose old, woody stems.
Cut under a leaf node. The roots will grow out from the node and base.
Keep your cuttings fresh in water while you work. I am starting to find this to be quite important, especially as the weather gets warmer.
Trim off all the lower leaves, leaving just the top two sets.
In sterile potting soil, make a deep hole with a pencil or a dibber. Insert a cutting into the hole.
Use your pencil or dibber to push soil towards the cutting so that it is buried.
Water the cuttings very generously. Place the cuttings into a bright location with indirect sunlight. Ensure that the cuttings do not dry out. While they do not have roots, they cannot obtain much moisture from the soil so they will lose moisture from the leaves quickly. The plants should take root in about 4 weeks.Happy Gardening!
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