Its small, delicate flowers and fresh herbal aroma make it a highlight in the Mediterranean garden: lavender. Anyone who is fascinated by the Mediterranean plant can prefer it themselves. Luckily, lavender can be propagated. We explain how pre-growing using seeds and cuttings in a glass of water is easy.
When is the right time to prefer lavender?
August is the right time to propagate the Mediterranean perennial through cuttings. You need the following accessories:
- one orseveral lavender plants(regardless of whether they are potted plants or outdoor plants)
- a sharp and clean knife
- a pair of sharp and clean secateurs
- Water glasses (1 glass per cutting)
- 10 cm cultivation pots (1 pot per cutting)
- Potting soil or garden soil and peat-free compost
- transparent polyethylene bag
Propagate lavender by cuttings in a glass of water
Directions:
- Choose young side shoots and cut off pieces about 10 to 15 cm long. The Mediterranean perennial sprouts best from this year's wood, so remove woody parts of the plant from the cuttings.
- Also remove the leaves at the bottom of the stem so that you can then place the cuttings in a glass of water. In this case it is important to cut off the lower leaves. Otherwise they will wilt in water and the plant will die.
- Optional: Promote root formation with natural means: For this purpose, you can cut willow branches into small pieces, put them in a glass and fill the glass with water. Let the willow branches steep overnight and the next morning you can strain the water and dip the cuttings into it.
- Cover the cuttings with the transparent bag. You should remove the bag every day for about 20 - 30 minutes and air the cuttings so that the soil does not become moldy and the moisture can escape.
- Place the glasses in a warm, sunny place in the room.
- Change the water every two to three days if it becomes cloudy.
- Leave the shoots in the water until they have developed several roots that are at least 6 cm long. The cuttings need between 2 and 3 weeks for this.
- During the rooting phase, you can gradually add coconut fiber to the water. This way you can later keep the stress when planting in potting soil to a minimum.
- Fill the growing pots with potting soil or a mixture of potting soil and peat-free compost.Water thoroughly. You should also water the young plants regularly in the next few weeks and months and never let the soil dry out.
- Plant the cuttings. It is best to spend the cold winter months in the winter garden, in a heated greenhouse or on the windowsill at home. During this period the plants will shoot up. If you regularly shorten the shoots to 15 - 20 cm, then the perennial will also grow in width.
- The early plants can then be planted in the garden in spring.
Propagated by cuttings in potting soil
Directions:
- Repeat step 1 from the instructions above: cut cuttings.
- Also remove the leaves at the bottom of the stem so that you can later plant the cuttings in potting soil.
- Optional: To speed up root formation, you can dip the interface of the cuttings in rooting hormones (powder, from the garden center).
- Fill the growing pots with potting soil or potting soil and peat-free compost.
- Place the cuttings individually in the cultivation pots, cover the pots with the plastic bag and place the plants in a sunny and warm place.
- Remove the plastic bag for 30 minutes every day. After 3 – 4 weeks you can cut off one corner of the bag.
- If the cuttings sprout again or the old shoots grow, you can remove the bags completely.
- Water the plant regularly; the soil should always be fresh to moist during the growth phase.
Multiply lavender: This is how you can grow the Mediterranean plant through seeds
Propagation from seeds is a little more complicated than propagation from cuttings. It's best to grow the seeds on the windowsill and then plant themYoung plants next springin pots or in flowerbeds. You need the following accessories:
- Seeds from the garden center
- seed tray
- potting soil
Directions:
- Fill the seed tray with potting soil.
- Place the seeds on the soil and cover with a thin layer of potting soil. The Mediterranean plant is a light germinator.
- Then cover the seeds with a plastic bag. Ventilate regularly to prevent rot from forming.
- In contrast to cuttings, which need a lot of water to form roots, seeds prefer slightly dry soil.
- The germination process can take weeks to months, so patience is required when growing.
- If the young plants reach a height of 6 – 7 cm and have at least 2 leaves, then you can use themplant in the garden.
