Salvia / lavender propogation

Is it okay to take a cutting from lower down the stem and cut off top? If I take the top 5 or 6 cm they are too wispy and die very quickly ( covered with polythene bag)
Thanks in advance .

 

I think you need non flowering stems, often best to take lavender cuttings of the new shoots after cutting back the flowers, you want what they call semi ripe cuttings, ones where the base isn't yet woody but is firm and not floppy.
I find tip cuttings, ones with the soft tip still attached, often root better than if you remove the growing point.
But that is just my thoughts generally about cuttings of most plants.

 

What I would suggest is to fill a big pot with proprietary cutting compost, or MPC with added grit or perlite, then stick your cuttings round the edge of it. No covers needed. Over the years, I've lost count of the cuttings of various plants that have taken when I just stuck them in at the edge of something else's pot because I didn't have time to fiddle about giving them individual pots. I've come to the conclusion that because the watering needs are less precise, they don't rot off.
Of course, it makes it 'interesting' when you need to pot them on individually, but a small price to pay!

 

@pete and @noisette47 I have the same question and that's why I watched this thread.

Am I right to assume that at some point these little new side shoots are long enough to be taken and propagated?
Thanks a lot in advance.

 

Yes I would think so, but try to catch them before flower buds start to form in the tip.

Cut off just below the bottom leaves and remove those two leaves and depending on the length of the cutting you might be able to remove another pair as well, but dont take them all off.
Sometimes I leave the higher leaves on but cut them in half.

I'm assuming you have a flower on the end of that main stem, if you wanted to get the side shoots growing faster you could just take the long stem out and then you would very quickly get two good cuttings.

 

Thanks a lot @pete. Will do so.

 

My best salvia cuttings happen when I accidentally break them (I'm always treading on plants) and then just shove the whole broken bit into the nearest available pot!