I planted some white lavender in my 'white garden' last year and trimed it back in the autumn. As I can never dispose of a potential cutting I tidied up about 8 shoots (semi-ripe, - thats when the bottom bit of the stem is more woody than green but still pliable, for you new to this stuff ), that had not yet flowered, about 3 inches or so, and put 4 around the edge of a 5" pot, and put them in the window of a cold room, out of sun over winter. i don't think it's the best time to take cuttings but i thought i could either compost them now or later and there is not much to look forward to in the coming months. About half of them took, i dont think i got the watering right, - I neglected to water and then soaked them,- but surprisingly got 3 plants potted up by January, lost 2 but 1 has survived!! So give it a go novices, expect to loose 90% of your cuttings so when you succeed with 50% you'll be proud of your skills and pass plants on to your friends.
Last year I simply popped a lot of lavender off-cuts into patches of bare soil in a corner of the garden, and now I have at least 50 small lavender plants. I simply took some healthy looking pieces 3-4 inches long from when I cut back the lavender bed. I think about 75% must have rooted. I simply couldn't be bothered with pots and compost etc and would probably have forgotten to water them anyway. The 'cuttings' rooted in two different types of soil - edge of rockery and damp and shady. Really easy.
I have grown quite a few lavender plants from seed this year. I followed a propagation tip I read, which was to put the seeds onto a piece of wetted kitchen paper in a container (I used a small square plastic box from Lakeland but anything would do) and put them in a cold (almost freezing but not quite) part of your fridge for at least 2 weeks, checking to make sure they remain moist. We have a second fridge in our cellar which is only opened about once a day, so this wasn't a problem. After the chilling period you sow the seeds in a tray of compost as normal. We had very good results from lavenders Munstead & Hidcote, but Elegance Sky had a lower germination rate and the seedlings seemed more susceptible to dieback etc. I still haven't mastered the propagation from cuttings method, but I daresay I shall keep persevering.
I actually tried this last year but didnt use a rooting hormone---following Monty's tips---& I now have 4 little plants growing happily in the garden AND flowering; hopefully they'll grow larger over time.
Suggest using the soft wood cutting technique, then leaving them around 8 weeks in a storageage type see thru box with a lid that you can check on regularly. Water moderately leave in a cool shady place outside, and then pull one gently and if you feel a resistance it may have rooted. The secret may be to take loads so that one or two can be sacrificed. Suggest gritty well driaining compost and do not overwater. Would be interested to hear any success.
I have JI compost 1,2,3 which one would you use and would you use pearlite to aid drainage also It’s advisable to change your bag or turn it inside out every now and again to help prevent mould/mildew is it advisable to use rooting powder or will this rot the rosemary/lavender?
..I would definitely add perlite, if you have it, to the JI.. personally I don't like JI on it's own, it's far too heavy... I use 2/3rd's horticultural grit to 1/3 rd JI for my cutting mix for Lavenders... mine have all rooted and I've just potted on, this time using half and half JI/Grit... also I don't cover my fresh cuttings with plastic bags, just leave outside in cool shady spot.. won't work with everything but Lavenders seem ok this way... cuttings taken in July...
Hi Adam, I look after a nursing home garden which has soon beautiful lavenders in. I have taken alot of seeds recently to try and grow some next spring, but I was also thinking of taking some cuttings this week ( September) , is it too late to take then how do I care for them over the winter.
Having read a bit more of your article i realise i am in the time span for taking the cutting, will read through the other posts to see if I can find an answer to my other question.
Posts
I planted some white lavender in my 'white garden' last year and trimed it back in the autumn. As I can never dispose of a potential cutting I tidied up about 8 shoots (semi-ripe, - thats when the bottom bit of the stem is more woody than green but still pliable, for you new to this stuff
), that had not yet flowered, about 3 inches or so, and put 4 around the edge of a 5" pot, and put them in the window of a cold room, out of sun over winter. i don't think it's the best time to take cuttings but i thought i could either compost them now or later and there is not much to look forward to in the coming months. About half of them took, i dont think i got the watering right, - I neglected to water and then soaked them,- but surprisingly got 3 plants potted up by January, lost 2 but 1 has survived!! So give it a go novices, expect to loose 90% of your cuttings so when you succeed with 50% you'll be proud of your skills and pass plants on to your friends.
Last year I simply popped a lot of lavender off-cuts into patches of bare soil in a corner of the garden, and now I have at least 50 small lavender plants. I simply took some healthy looking pieces 3-4 inches long from when I cut back the lavender bed. I think about 75% must have rooted. I simply couldn't be bothered with pots and compost etc and would probably have forgotten to water them anyway. The 'cuttings' rooted in two different types of soil - edge of rockery and damp and shady. Really easy.
I have grown quite a few lavender plants from seed this year. I followed a propagation tip I read, which was to put the seeds onto a piece of wetted kitchen paper in a container (I used a small square plastic box from Lakeland but anything would do) and put them in a cold (almost freezing but not quite) part of your fridge for at least 2 weeks, checking to make sure they remain moist. We have a second fridge in our cellar which is only opened about once a day, so this wasn't a problem. After the chilling period you sow the seeds in a tray of compost as normal. We had very good results from lavenders Munstead & Hidcote, but Elegance Sky had a lower germination rate and the seedlings seemed more susceptible to dieback etc. I still haven't mastered the propagation from cuttings method, but I daresay I shall keep persevering.
Suggest using the soft wood cutting technique, then leaving them around 8 weeks in a storageage type see thru box with a lid that you can check on regularly. Water moderately leave in a cool shady place outside, and then pull one gently and if you feel a resistance it may have rooted. The secret may be to take loads so that one or two can be sacrificed. Suggest gritty well driaining compost and do not overwater. Would be interested to hear any success.
I have JI compost 1,2,3 which one would you use and would you use pearlite to aid drainage also It’s advisable to change your bag or turn it inside out every now and again to help prevent mould/mildew is it advisable to use rooting powder or will this rot the rosemary/lavender?
James
..I would definitely add perlite, if you have it, to the JI.. personally I don't like JI on it's own, it's far too heavy... I use 2/3rd's horticultural grit to 1/3 rd JI for my cutting mix for Lavenders... mine have all rooted and I've just potted on, this time using half and half JI/Grit... also I don't cover my fresh cuttings with plastic bags, just leave outside in cool shady spot.. won't work with everything but Lavenders seem ok this way... cuttings taken in July...
In July wow that was a hot Month.
I've just made some compost up No1 Ji with 50/50 hsand but I will wait untill my perlite comes in the post I have 9lt coming from ebay
Having read a bit more of your article i realise i am in the time span for taking the cutting, will read through the other posts to see if I can find an answer to my other question.
.