SWEET LAVENDER

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 127, 22 February 1941, Page 14

SWEET LAVENDER

Propagate Cuttings Now

To increase the stock of lavender, insert cullings Ibis month while the soil is warm ami moist. These can be obtained from the worn-out bushes. Where the cuttings are intended subsequently to form a hedge, select <traighl shoots of this year's zrowlh, about one fool long, and remove Hie foliaee from the bottom six inches of stem b\ [tuning it off. Sever the growths with a pair of sharp secateurs or an old razor blade, making the ent just below a joint. Lavender cuttings of this type root easily if 'insetted with the lower six inches below the soil. Where only a few bushes are needed, they can be dibbled into a piece of well-drained soil in a sunny situation, the holes being made with a blunt dibber. Drop about 1-ineh of sand in the bottom of the holes before 'inserting the cuttings. The base of each shoot should be pressed into the sand. Deep planting is essential, for it is from the dormant buds that the roots form, and later basal growths will spring. When a large mimber of plants are required and their shape is of no importance. almost any [portion of an old bush can be pulled off with a "heel'’ Io form a cutting. <’uttings of this type will make big bushes more rapidly than single, shoots.