Lavender?

Hi everyone,
Thanks for your help with my coriander growing, it's coming along pretty nicely and just tasted delish in a stir fry this evening.
Quick question - I'd like to try growing lavender in my window box as I love the smell - any hints or tips? I'm a complete novice so anything helps!
Thanks, M

 

Hi Magsda
Lavender would look lovely in a window box.
They need full sun and the best soil for them would be John Innes number three in a well drained window box ( lots of holes and old crocks in the bottom - polestyrene pieces would reduce the weight.)
After flowering trim them back a little. In March trim them again quite hard this time but not into the old wood as they wont re grow. Dont overfeed them as that would encourage leaves and less flowers.
Hope this helps

 

Can anybody advise on taking cuttings from lavender that is about 5 yaers old and looks a bit bedragled and tired,is there a way of starting new plants.

 

Lavender get woody / leggy, so you pretty much have to adopt a practice of propagating and replacing to keep them trim. After flowering cut the flower stalks off and tidy up the bushes. Cutting back into the old wood is likely NOT to generate new growth, hence keeping the plants tidy and never letting them grow out of shape.

On a scale of 1-to-10 Lavender cuttings are pretty easy If you are a newcomer to taking cuttings you might like to try the pots of propagation gel (sterilised gel in pots covered and seals with tin foil). You prepare the cuttings, cut a small X in the tinfoil (two or three to a pot), and push the cutting in. Put in a plastic bag to keep the humidity high (or a propagator with a clear lid) and put on a windowsill which is bright, but not in direct sun.

 

Thanks kisten that should have answered it,what about using the powder stuff?.

 

Lavender is regarded as a short - lived perennial so you can expect that they become leggy with age.

I dont have alot of success with propagation of them, they are slow to grow to a decent size so i replace mine completely every few years. You can get replacements quite cheaply.

 

"what about using the powder stuff?"

Hormone rooting powder? Don't need any if you use the "gel 2 roots" type products

If you are going to do it "the standard way"! then my RHS Propagation book says:

Stem cuttings in late summer

Take shoots with all their current season growth, preferably non flowering stems [difficult with Lavender!!, so just shop the flower stalk off the top]

Make cut with sharp knife below a leaf node leaving a 4" cutting

Strip the leaves off the bottom half

Dip in rooting hormone (semi ripewood strength, 0.4 - 0.5 % IBA)

Use dibber to insert in prepared cold frame, inserting 2" deep. Leave 4" between each cutting and 4" between rows

Water with fungicide using a coa rse rose [What was the point of the swear-filter giving me "co****" for that :( ].

Seal cold frame and shade against scorching.

Water when necessary to prevent drying out.

Remove shading as soon as light intensity decreases. Insulate against frost (lay matting over cold frame)

harden off gradularly in the spring

Personally I would stick them in a pot of Perlite (preparing as above, with hormone rooting powder), but I would also try my aeroponic propagator because things that work in that are a breeze - but not everything works!

For Plan B I would recommend http://www.vanmeuwen.com/plant/73998

I bought 124 Lavender plug plants in the spring @ 14.5p each. I reckon they were propagated using tissue culture, they arrived about 1" high [all looking identical] and needed potting on within a day or two into 3" / 9cm pots. They are now in 5" pots and looking very healthy (I've lost probably half-a-dozen), with some just starting to flower (they are in my greenhouse as I'm trying to encourage them to put on as much growth as possible to be planted out in the Autumn). If you have the space and time you can probably sell the ones you don't need for a couple of quid each on ebay!

Next up will be the 3,000 rooted cuttings of Box for the Knot garden my beloved wife wants ...

 

I agree with Wilroda old fashion lavender doesn't look nice after a season or two mine got too leggy and fed-up looking so had to remove tham all although I did manage to take no end of cuttings.

As with most cuttings it's not as hard as one thinks just pick a non flowering, fresh growth part of the plant, remove the lower leaves and dip it in rooting powder and pop it into a pot as Kristen says .

I word of warning though after your first success's you appear to get the 'Cuttings Bug' and can end up with far too many plants than you first intended to have but I always think too many is far better than not enough and you can always give away the ones you don't need! Spread the love that's what I say!:D Hel.xxx.

 

Thankyou Hel and Kristen that has covered it completly and shows how well this forum works!!.

 

And thanks Wilroda - so are you suggesting I grow them from seed? Can you tell I'm new to this gardening malarky?!