Woody old lavender and cuttings

wssla00

Hiya!

When I moved in I noticed a very unkempt lavender plant in a huge non movable planter in my garden (a bit like a raised bed) the problem is it hasn't been pruned well ever judging by the poor state of the woody trunk.

So my plan of action is to remove the old plant and replace it with new plants to make it a low level bush of lavender rather than a haggered old bush. What i'm wondering though is can I create new plants from the small amount of green new foliage on the old plant or would it be better to buy new plants for the purpose. Also, if I can make new plants from the cuttings, how do I do it? I have never done it before.

Thanks in advance!

laurel7172

Yes, pull off small bits of lavender back to the nearest woody bit (leave a small heel), dip the end in rooting powder if you have some, and plant them five or six to a pot of compost.

The old lavender may regenerate prettily if you cut it back more or less to ground level. Or it may not, but if you have rooted cuttings it won't matter.

Kay_Peel

There is another method. It's called Mound Layering.

In early Spring you build a mound of free draining, sandy earth to completely cover the woody base and bottom stems, just leaving the growing tips showing. By autumn, the new shoots should have roots attached to them. To be honest, I've only tried this once and it was a long time ago but I remember getting about 5 or 6 stocky new plants from it.

wssla00

Cheers guys I am gonna have a go! If anything it's worth a go before I plump to buying new plants!

savemoney

useful site how to take cuttings

http://www.letsgogardening.co.uk/Information/Cuttings.htm

hethmar

I cut down hard three large woody potted lavenders a few months back, didnt expect them to survive actually - they are now huge and covered in new shoots and about to flower.