Tips for Propagating Lavendar
While many varieties of lavender are sterile and cannot be propagated from seed, they are very easy to propagate from stem cuttings. You can take cuttings in the spring, before the plants start blooming, or in the fall after harvesting the flowers. The best time is the spring so that the plants have plenty of time to become established before the following winter.
Mix three parts peat moss with one part sand or vermiculite to make a mixture that will drain well. Dampen the soil and put in small pots that have drainage holes in the bottom.
Cut a three to five inch branch off a healthy mature plant. Take the cutting from the bottom of the plant and make sure you don't take the cutting from a woody stem.
Remove the bottom two leaves and dip the cutting in rooting hormone. Poke a small hole in the soil and put the cutting in the pot. Water well.
Keep the new plants moist for the first two weeks and then water when the soil starts to dry out. Avoid overwatering, as the most common cause of death of new lavender plants is too much water.
After six weeks, you can transplant your lavender into larger pots or into the ground. If you are planting in the ground, add sand, compost, or peat moss to the soil to make sure it drains well. Dig a hole and add a spoonful of bone meal or slow release fertilizer. Remove your cutting from its pot and sprinkle or pour some rooting hormone over the roots before planting.
Your transplanted cuttings will probably not bloom the first year but will begin to bloom profusely the following year.
