Please help me!

[frostedviolets]

I ordered 6 lavender plants, they haven’t arrived and frankly, it’ll make no difference even if they do arrive now as they’ve been ‘despatched’ and presumably in transit for long they’ll be dead and brown if they do turn up.

I want to take cuttings off my one existing lavender plant but the last time I tried they all died!!

Please help me 😔

My existing lavender plant is small but healthy, every single stem on it has a developing flower bud.

Can I even use it to take some cuttings?

And how do I get the cuttings to ‘take’ and not die on me?

I don’t have any rooting powder, do I definitely need this?

I’d wait until your existing plant grows a bit more. Cuttings need to be taken from non flowering stems.

I have found that cuttings can grow roots in a jar of water.

The best time of year to take lavender cuttings is in about July - August.

You could prepare a big seed tray of gritty well-drained soil, then pile all the seed heads on top once they've ripened and see how many seedlings you get. I usually have no problem replenishing my lavender from self seedlings in the gravel. Yes, it's slow, but comparable time scale to cuttings.

I have only ever tried mint in water, that roots fantastically well.
Be amazing if I can do lavender the same way..

July to August!
Ugh, that’s ages away!
But, needs must, if I can’t get new lavender plants in the meantime I will try and take some cuttings again in July.

Is it English Lavender you have Mere or Lavendin?
I think that is what they are called...?
They look like Lavenders with a lovely strong scent but they are hybrids.
My mum had the most glorious, gorgeous Lavendins that self seeded amazingly well every year.

I have never noticed any of my English Lavenders (Little lady and now Dwarf Munstead) over the years to self seed though.

I always try a cutting or two in water, as well as some with rooting powder. Geraniums, Rosemary do well.
Also a non flowering stem from a carnation bouquet a couple of years ago rooted and has produced a flowering plants.

Hmm, have you ever tried ajuga reptans?
I have LOADS of rootless ajuga runners I need to chop back as they are outgrowing their allotted area and lying over the concrete

It's English lavender. I think they like a gritty, well drained soil for seeding - they germinate well in gravel.

I don't use rooting powder, since you're supposed to buy fresh every year, and I don't do enough cuttings to use up a tub in a year. Geraniums (pelargoniums) and rosemary root easily in soil, so does bay.

Bugle - could you slide a tray of soil underneath to entice roots? Peg the runners into the soil, then when you come to remove it, just cut the runners and the new plants already have roots. (officially called "layering" - "Air layering" is the samed, except you do it with a lump of soil encased in cling film round the branch in mid air - good way of reproducing figs).

Just a quick little update to say I haven’t been able to try the Ajuga yet as I’ve hurt my leg 🙁 but I have put some raspberry cuttings in water today!

I ordered some canes weeks ago and they arrived today healthy but the top halves badly damaged.

The bent canes had to be pruned off anyway so instead of just binning them I’ve put them in a jar of water, now let’s see if they root 🤞🏻

Update in a few weeks...

**cant do the ajuga because I have hurt my leg and can’t walk very far and can’t bend down to cut them in case that wasn’t clear