First let's talk about propagation before we get into the question of can you propagate lavender cuttings in water.
What is Propagation
Propagation is a method of producing more plants from existing plants. And this is done by taking a clipping or cutting of one of your plants or taking a leaf from a succulent.
Once you have your cuttings clippings or leaves you the goal is to get them to root in one way or another. And I say one way or another is because there are many ways to get them to root.
The two most common ways to propagate
One is by taking the cutting and placing it in water and over time roots will start to grow. Once there are roots you can plant them in soil.
Another way is to take the cutting and plant that cutting in moist soil and if the plant is the right kind roots will begin to form and the plant will begin to grow.
No one propagation method will work for all plants. It really all depends on the plant type.
So now that propagation has been explained lets get back to our main question of can you propagate lavender cuttings in water.
The short answer is yes you can.
The longer answer.
Lavender can be propagated during all seasons.
Lavender can be propagated by taking new soft growth or older harder woody growth from existing plants.
The new soft growths are the new sprouts growing from the tops of the plants and hence the name they are soft and bendy. You will mainly only see this kind of growth during the spring.
You will want to avoid new soft growths that have any flowering blossoms.
The stems with blossoms are less likely to grow and be healthy. When flowers are growing on the stems all the plants energy is being used to grow that flower and there will be less energy for the plant to grow roots
The woody harder growth are the stems in the lavender plant that are older parts of the plant and would snap if you bend them.
The soft growth is easiest to propagate as it is new growth and roots will form quicker (this can only be done in the spring). However the longer term success rate is a little lower than if you propagate an older woody branch.
If you want to propagate after spring your only option will be to use the older wood parts of the plant and that is fine also it may just take a little longer for the roots to form, and once they do form the odds are very good it will continue to grow.
How to Grow Lavender from Cuttings in Water
Your first step is to find the branch or branches you want to propagate. Woody (old growth) or Soft (new growth). I would recommend getting 2 of each. That way you can do some of your own experimenting and see what works best.
You will want a good healthy straight branch one with no flower buds that you can cut off about 4 inches. You will want to use a sharp knife to cut with or sharp clippers. And you will want to cut at a 45 degree angle if possible. For the woody cut try to cut just below an area that has a little bump which shows that a leaf is about to form.
Strip all the leaves from the base of the branch to about 2 inches up so it has a stem without any leaves that you can work with.
Next find a glass and fill it with water. Put the lavender branches in the water so that the 2 inch stem where you stripped the leaves is dunked and sits in the water. Be sure to keep the 2 inches covered in water at all times at least until roots form.
Once roots form you have to make sure the roots remain under water to allow them to keep growing strong.
As mentioned earlier the roots for the Soft branches will form faster than the woody branches. They will usually form within 2-3 weeks. The woody branches can take up to 5 or so weeks.
Once there are a good root base – where you see many roots growing then it is time to transplant them into their final growing area.
Whether that be outside in the ground or in a new or existing planter. Make sure they get some sunlight and make sure to water them when the top 1 inch of the soil starts to dry.
So a Recap on the Questions – Can you propagate lavender cuttings in water?
- Yes you can!
- You can take new growth aka soft clippings or older growth aka woody clippings
- Don’t take any clippings that have flowers or budding flowers – the flowers zap the energy for new root growth
- Clip 4” branches – preferably pretty straight
- New growth soft clippings will sprout quicker
- Old growth hard woody clippings will take longer to root but are more reliable long term
- Whether soft or woody – remove leaves from bottom two inches
- Place clippings or cuttings into jar or vase so that the bottom two inches are submerged in water
- Rooting should take about 3-6 weeks
- Once you have a solid root core you can remove them from the water and plant them in soil
Please comment below if you have tried this and what kind of results you are getting.
