28 September 2015

How to Strike Lavender for Free Plants


My lavender is in full bloom, but I need more plants. I asked my father-in-law to raid the lavender garden and bring me a few cuttings - he brought me half the garden, I'm sure. Then Maureen kindly left some cuttings after the card making afternoon last week - my lavender needs, wants and dreams have been fulfilled!

I love lavender for it's beautiful scent but it also has wonderful medicinal properties and is such a hardy plant for the garden, needing very little water and loving full sun, just perfect for our north facing front garden.

I'm planning on harvesting the flowers to use in lavender water, sachets, soaps and to make flavoured sugar. I can't wait!

How to Strike Lavender Plants

Lavender is very easy to propagate, meaning you may never have to buy another plant if you follow these simple steps.

Step 1. Cut a stem of lavender about 10cm - 15cm (4 - 6 inches) long. Make sure it doesn't have any flowers on it and is still soft and flexible - you don't want any old, woody stems.

Step 2. Remove the leaves from the lower two-thirds of the stem. I do this by gently running my fingers down the stem - it's faster than pulling them off one-by-one.

Step 3. Plant the cutting into seed raising mix or a good quality potting mix or rich garden soil - whatever you have on hand. Make sure the container has good drainage. I use toilet roll planters as these can be put straight into the garden when the cutting is ready to be transplanted.

Step 4. Keep the cutting moist and in a sunny window. It will be ready to go into the garden in about 4 - 6 weeks. You'll see new growth, the sign it is ready to transplant. If you've used the toilet roll planters just dig a hole the depth of the roll and plant. Easy!

Keep the cuttings moist but not drowning in water their first summer in the garden so they establish a good, strong plant.

Expect to be cutting flowers from your free lavender plants next summer.

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for that article. I love Lavender too. So do the bees.

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  2. Cath i love Lavender to, i think its the best smell in the world, my girlfriend has a lavender farm on her property so now i'll be pinching some to strike myself, thankyou for that xoxo

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  3. Hi Cath,

    Thanks so much for posting that info...it's probably a bit late for me in Nova Scotia to do this for this year, but I will save the instructions and try rejuvenating my bed of lavender (which is getting really woody) next spring!

    Your posts continue to inspire me!

    Jen

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  4. Thank you so much for this information Cath. I am going to try this :)

    xTania

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