Imagine a world where you can
stitch your garden with complimentary lavender
: It boasts a refreshing scent, beauty, and is ready for bouquets. Rejoice, as you’re already part of this world. Propagating lavender through cuttings is simpler than growing it from seeds, which means you can create numerous new plants without additional expenses. While ideally these cuttings should be rooted in soil rather than water, both methods work effectively.
Whether you choose to grow lavender in soil or water, the beginning stages remain identical. Start with a robust, fully-grown plant for taking cuttings along with some sanitized, clean shears or clippers. Both hardwood and softwood cuttings work well—softwood should ideally be taken during spring or early summer whereas hardwood ones are best collected from autumn through winter. Ensure each cutting contains a minimum of four leaf nodes without any flowers developing yet, keeping them around several inches long where hardwood types might require being slightly elongated. Remove the bottom set of leaves until only an exposed part remains free of foliage on the stem. Afterward comes making your choice.
While it’s possible to
propagate in water
, most gardeners find soil propagation to be the more reliable method for lavender. You can also use a soil-free potting mix for just-as-good results, using ingredients like peat moss, vermiculite, coarse sand, perlite, and compost.
Read more:
The Plant You Might Want to Include in Your Garden for Richer Soil
Pros And Cons Of Propagating In Soil
There’s one key reason that soil propagation is preferable for
growing luscious lavender
When cuttings develop in soil instead of water, they produce sturdier roots, leading to healthier plants post-transplant into pots or gardens. While propagation doesn’t always succeed completely, using soil for this process increases both the success rate and overall healthiness of the plants. In fact, some gardeners successfully place hardwood lavender cuttings directly into garden beds during spring without encountering problems.
One drawback of propagating lavender in soil compared to water is the extended time required. Cuttings placed in water develop roots within two weeks for softwood types and around four weeks for hardwood ones. Conversely, when grown in soil, these timelines extend to four to six weeks. To expedite the process, you could use softwood cuttings and apply a rooting hormone; however, some gardening experts advise against this due to potential damage from excessive hormones. Additionally, hardwood varieties tend to be more forgiving regarding their cultivation environment and might thus prove simpler to handle overall.
A lot of gardeners opt for a soil-free growing medium rather than traditional dirt as it encourages robust and sturdy root development. For instance, using a planting mixture rich in sand may lessen the shock during transplantation since it closely mimics the type of earth where the plant will eventually reside. Regardless of your choice, ensuring the cultivation substrate remains damp along with offering steady lighting is crucial. Additionally, draping a loose plastic cover over the container can boost moisture levels surrounding the young plants.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Water Rooting
Spreading lavender using water has several advantages. This method is considerably quicker compared to growing from soil, particularly with softwood cuttings. Observing root development becomes simpler as well since the process takes place in clear view without risking damage to the new plant. Additionally, this technique demands minimal equipment—simply a sanitized receptacle filled with water; conversely, cultivating through soil might necessitate purchasing both substrate and an appropriate vessel.
Nevertheless, when it’s time to transfer your cuttings, you might encounter difficulties. Water-rooted cuttings tend to be more problematic as their root systems are usually not as strong, which can lead to poor growth or inadequate development of robust roots after being planted in soil. Additionally, successfully growing them in water demands frequent replacement and replenishment of the water to maintain hygiene.
Overall, soil or a soil-less potting mix is the best way to go for lavender cuttings. This makes sense when you consider that lavender is native to the Mediterranean; it’s adapted to dry conditions and is sensitive to overwatering and root rot, which are bigger risks in water propagation. If you’re up for an experiment or in a hurry, it could be worth a try, but if a garden full of lavender is your ultimate goal, save yourself the trouble and stick to soil propagation.
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