The second summer rolls, I can’t get enough of lavender. This gorgeous ornament is a staple in your garden, filling the air with a sweet fragrance and attracting your favorite pollinators. Get more of this purple perennial and learn how to breed lavender cuttings from your garden today.
Why do you want more lavender? So why don’t you? It has the most enjoyable fragrance loved by aromatherapy. It is known for its relaxing and calming properties and can help relieve stress and insomnia.
Beyond aromatherapy, there is also the delicate floral floral flavor I worship in cooking. Believe it or not, some people propagate lavender for cooking purposes.
The plants themselves are also a joy in the garden. It’s extremely hardy, drought-resistant, making it a dreamy, low-maintenance plant. The bees worship lavender and I am always happy to invite more into my garden. And to close it off, they are deer and rabbit resistant. Buya!
If you’re already here, I’m sure you don’t need to convince you how great lavender is. But I will never miss an opportunity to gush about one of my favorite plants. So, without further ado, here’s everything you need to know about how to breed lavender.
I’ll cover this post…
Expert Tips for Propagating Lavender
Take cuttings only from healthy conifer stems. Coniferous stems are lighter in colour and are newer growths that are more flexible than older hardwood stems. Usually, cuttings are taken without flowers or buds during the summer when the plants are growing actively. Immediately place the cut into a damp paper towel or water. Remove the 2-inch bottom leaves and place in 2-inch deep or in water. Lavender grows easily in the water, but its implantation rate is lower than that grown in the soil. Moisten the cuttings to keep them warm and out of direct sunlight somewhere.
How to propagate lavender from cuttings
If you want lavender, you can easily get an entire garden full of herbs from a single plant. The best way to propagate lavender is to photograph cuttings of the stem. The first step to successful cutting of lavender is to make the right choice.
To get the best possible yield, simply select cuttings from the healthy portion of the plant free of pests and diseases. I like to choose side shots from areas with lots of leaves so you can’t miss them.
Coniferous and hardwood trees are visible in lavender plants. I would like to trim only the coniferous trees. It is light in colour and is more flexible than hardwoods. This is a newer growth and makes it easier to root.
Take your cutting
Grab a sharp knife, disinfect it with soapy water, then disinfect it with friction alcohol. Cut out the stems of coniferous trees that have no flowers or buds. The cutting should be 3-4 inches long.
Once cut, immediately wrap in a damp paper towel or place in a bucket or a glass of water. Chill the lavender until you are ready to plant it. Ideally, this amputation should be planted within 24 hours of taking it.
Plant lavender cuttings
When you are ready to plant the cuts in the soil, remove all leaves from the bottom of the stem 2 inches. You’ll also want to rub the skin off one stem at the bottom of the 2-inch stem.
The cut can be placed directly into the soil or first soaked in the root hormones, like willow water. However, lavender roots are very easy so don’t worry if you don’t have the hormones you have.
Poke your fingers, chopsticks, or pencils in the 2-inch deep soil. Put the stems in and stuff the surrounding soil to ensure that the plants stand straight.
Lavender Cutting Care
To make a mini green house for cutting lavender, carefully place the zip top bag over the cutting. Place the cut into a warm area outside of direct sunlight. Moisten the cutting, but release condensation from the bag every few days to prevent the leaves from getting soaked.
Once new growth occurs, remove the bag to reduce humidity. Allow the soil to dry completely between watering. It can also be fertilized at this stage to promote faster growth.
With complete, new leaves, the lavender is ready for transplant. Take it to a new permanent home!
Frequently Asked Questions about Breeding Lavender
You probably noticed that in my lavender propagation instructions I mentioned cutting directly into the soil. However, this is not the only way to eradicate lavender cutting.
Lavender actually makes water easier to propagate. However, the success rate for implanting a cutting is much lower. So if you want to try propagating lavender in water, keep this in mind!
For cutting lavender, if there are a considerable roots about an inch long, you can place cuttings in the soil.
The best time to breed lavender is when it is active and when the plant is not currently flowering. If you retire too much in the summer or fall, your plants may become dormant, so you may not have roots.
Cut cuttings on a cool, clean morning. Thus, lavender plants are not subject to further stress from heat.
Lavender cuttings should be photographed during active growth seasons during flowering. This usually occurs between July and August.
When it comes to breeding lavender, patience is hard! Luckily, lavender’s roots are very simple. You can wait 2-4 weeks for the conifer cuttings to take root.
Cuttings on old hardwoods take longer. I usually avoid spreading and pruning on lavender plants unless the lavender plants are very uncontrollable.
Place lavender cuttings out of direct sunlight as cuttings are delicate and can burn if there is too much sun. Make sure you are protected from the afternoon sun. However, we want to keep it warm, so south facing windows are a great option.
That’s everything you need to know about how to propagate lavender! Please let me know in the comments under my plans to raise a new lavender baby.
What to do with lavender?
You have lots of new plants babies, so you may wonder what to do with it all. First, harvest the lavender properly. After that, the sky is at its limit! Here are some suggestions:
With a city girl who learned to garden, it changed everything. Author, artist, master gardener. A better life through plants.
