Gardening Advice & Tips for Irish Gardeners

Another week and another project for the garden, but this one is surely the most rewarding! Taking cuttings of plants is not only simple but it also saves you money and means you get more of the plants that you know grow well in your soil and look great in your garden.

Lavender can be a hit and miss plant in some gardens, with one variety struggling whilst another flowers profusely, if you find your having the same issues it would be best to only take cuttings from the variety that thrives and replant it throughout your garden. I myself have two varieties of lavender growing in borders, Lavandula agustifolia ‘Hidcote’ and Lavandula stoechas. The Former, English Lavender has thrived and puts on a great show each year. However the more tender French Lavender has struggled and although has the potential to be a beautiful Lavender it’s never going to achieve this in my garden. And so, I will only be taking cutting of my Lavandula agustiflolia this summer.

Softwood cuttings are cuttings taken during the growing season (from April to September), with cuttings of current season, fresh growth being used. This growth is recognisable by its light green colour and soft tissue. As a rule of thumb, a softwood cutting should be so fresh that if you were to try and bend it, it would snap and not bend. For Lavender these stems can  be found all around the plant and should be removed from the plant near ground level. Do not choose flowering stems and do not choose older woody stems.

Before making your cuttings you should first prepare the tray or container in which the cuttings will stay. Choose a 3 inch plastic pot and fill with:

• 1 part peat-free potting compost
• 1 part perlite or sharp sand
• 15gm superphosphate for every 10 litres of potting mixture
• Mix all well

Tap the side of the pot to ensure the potting mixture has settled in the pot, add more potting mixture to bring to the top of the pot. Moisten the compost with water and then prepare your cuttings.

To prepare your cuttings you first need to find the correct stems, choose 10cm long stems of current season growth that look strong and healthy. Note where the stem joins the plant’s main stem and pull the stem away so as to take a ‘heel’ from the main stem. A ‘heel’ is a short piece of bark that leaves with the cutting and leaves an open wound at the base of the cutting. This open wound will encourage the lavender to send hormones to grow faster and repair the damage caused. This will in turn increase the chances of the lavender cutting forming new roots.

Take about 4 or 5 additional cuttings, next prepare each cutting by removing 2/3 of the lower branches and pinch the tip or apical point from the top of each cutting.

Wet the base and dip into  rooting powder and then into the container of prepare compost. Place the 4 or 5 cuttings into one pot and position the pot in a bright and warm place.

To improve water retention in the pots and the plants you can place a clear plastic bag or cling film over the pots and plants. Place the pots on saucers and water the pots from beneath by pouring water into the saucer and allowing it to soak up into the compost mixture.

Keep a close eye on a cuttings for the next month and look out for fresh growth, if you notice any then it is likely that the cuttings have taken and you have greater a new plant for your garden. After 2 months from the date of making the cutting you can plant them out into the garden. Harden off before planting out and keep your plants protected from cold weather for the first winter.