Lavender is a beautiful, fragrant clump with purple, white, and/or yellow flowers, depending on the variety. Most planters usually propagate lavender by cuttings, but this plant can also be propagated from seed. Growing lavender from seed isn't always successful and can take some time, but it's often cheaper than buying lavender cuttings or seeds, and you'll get equally bright flowers.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Making Sprouts from Lavendel Seeds
Step 1. Start making sprouts
Lavender seeds take some time to germinate and should be grown indoors to give them plenty of time to grow into mature plants in the warmer growing season.
Step 2. Plant the seeds in a process called “cold stratification”
In this process, the seeds should be placed in a sealed plastic bag filled with moist soil. Use loose soil specially formulated for growing seeds. Place a plastic bag filled with soil and seeds in the refrigerator and let sit for three weeks.
Step 3. Fill the container with ready-to-plant seeds
This container for ready-to-plant seeds should be shallow and have good drainage. You can use a plastic tray or a shallow wide container.
Step 4. Plant the seeds
Sprinkle the seeds over the soil.
- If you are using plastic nursery trays, plant one seed in each plot.
- If you are planting in a non-insulated container, allow 1 to 2.5 cm between the seeds.
Step 5. Cover the seeds with 1/3 cm of soil
A thin layer of soil will protect the seeds, but the seeds also need sunlight to germinate.
Step 6. Put the seeds in a warm place
You can use a heating tray, but anywhere else you can as long as the temperature is around 21°C.
Step 7. Water the seeds with a little water
Keep the planting medium moist, but not soggy, and water the seeds in the morning to allow the soil to dry before nightfall. Soil that is too moist and cold will allow mold to grow, and this fungus can damage seeds.
Step 8. Wait
Lavender seeds take about two weeks to a month to germinate.
Step 9. Place the germinated seeds in a place that gets lots of sun
Once the seeds have germinated, you should move the container to a place that gets direct sunlight. If there is no such place, place a fluorescent light over the sprouts and leave the sprouts in this artificial light for eight hours a day.
Method 2 of 3: Transfer
Step 1. Remove the lavender sprouts after a few pairs of leaves have sprouted
Wait until the leaves are really mature leaves. At this stage, the root system is too large to be placed in a shallow tray.
Step 2. Fill a large container with dry loose soil mixture
You no longer need special soil for seedlings, but the soil used this time should be light. Make a mixture of part soil, part peat, and part pearlite. Peat moss is already threatened with extinction, so it is better to use coir ash or rice husks. Do not use vermiculite (aluminum silicate) as it can contain asbestos, even if the label doesn't say so.
The pot for each plant should be at least 5 cm in diameter. Alternatively, you can also use a larger pot or tray without a divider. Leave a distance of about 5 cm from one lavender to the next
Step 3. Mix a small amount of fertilizer into the soil
Use a small amount of slow-release granular fertilizer containing balanced proportions of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
Step 4. Plant the lavender into the prepared pot
Make a small hole in the new planting medium, about as wide as where the lavender is currently located. Gently lift the lavender from the first container and place it into the new hole, moving it along with the surrounding soil to keep the plant firmly in place.
Step 5. Let the lavender grow
Lavender should reach a height of about 7 cm before being transferred to the last place, but each plant should still have one trunk. To get this high, it will take you about one to three months.
Step 6. Expose lavender to outdoor conditions gradually
Place the lavender container outdoors-in partial shade or partial sun-for a few hours each day. Do this step for a week, this is enough time to give the lavender time to adapt to the outdoor conditions.
Step 7. Choose a sunny location
Lavender plants will grow well in a lot of sun exposure. Shade, shaded areas tend to be more humid, and moist soil will attract mold that can damage plants.
Step 8. Prepare the garden soil
Dig up the soil with a shovel or digging fork to loosen it up and add the right dose of healthy compost. Compost has uneven particles, making the soil loose so roots are easy to develop.
Check the soil pH after you add compost. Soil pH should be between 6 and 8, and 6.5 to 7.5 is best. If the soil pH is too low, mix in agricultural lime. If it's too high, add a little litter (dirt or dead organic matter like leaves)
Step 9. Move lavender plants 30 to 60 cm apart from each other
Dig a hole as deep as the container where the plant is currently. Remove the lavender from the pot with a shovel and place it into the new hole.
Method 3 of 3: Daily Care
Step 1. Water lavender only when the soil is dry
Mature lavender is quite drought tolerant, but in the first year of growth, lavender needs regular watering. Usually normal weather conditions will suffice, but if you live in an area that is dry or not raining much, water the soil regularly. Allow the soil to dry before you water it again.
Step 2. Avoid chemicals
Herbicides, pesticides and even fertilizers can kill beneficial organisms that live in garden soil and help lavender grow. Do not fertilize at all after the lavender is planted in the soil. If you need pesticides, try an organic pesticide solution that doesn't contain chemicals and therefore won't have a negative effect.
Step 3. Trim the lavender
In the first year, lavender grows slowly and most of the plant's energy is channeled into root development and vegetation growth. You should help with this process by trimming the flower stalks when the top buds begin to bloom in the first growing season.
After the first year, trim the flower stalks after 1/3 of the blooms to help with further growth. Leave at least 1/3 of the new growth
Step 4. Spread the hay when the weather is cold
Keep the soil warm by sprinkling gravel or straw around the base of the plant, leaving about 15 cm of free space around the lavender stems for air circulation.
Tips
- You can also grow lavender from cuttings. Lavender grown from cuttings will usually grow faster and many gardeners agree that this is an easier way than growing lavender from seed.
- Lavender can be harvested after the first year for decorative flower arrangements, culinary uses, aromatherapy, or homeopathic remedies.
