Have you ever wanted your own lavender plants without breaking the bank? Lavender are popular, aromatic garden plants that are easy to grow. They are also pleasant on the eyes, growing in masses of fragrant summer flowers in a variety of shades - including purple, pink, blue and white. Most of the time, these plants are happy in summery weather with drained, chalky or sandy soil.
According to the RHS, "they thrive in containers, herb and graven gardens, and sunnie balconies." While most people would plan a trip to the garden centre to add some lavender to their home, did you know that you can grow these plants for completely free? In a useful Instagram video shared by gardening expert Simon Akeroyd , he explains how you can get "free lavender plants" - and says the best time to "propagate" them is now. First, you need to find non-flowering young shoots that are woody at the base, according to the expert.
Once you strip the lower leaves, cut them near the base and pot them around the edges in gritty compost. After a few weeks, they should have formed roots. Then, you need to pot them individually and keep them well-watered.
By next year, they will have bloomed into beautiful lavender plants. The comments section was buzzing with discussion around the popular technique. One user wrote: "I saw this recently on Instagram and did exactly as you demonstrated.
I have around 75% sucess rate, who doesn't want free plants!" He then asked: "Will they over-winter okay in the garden or will they need bringing into the greenhouse?" In response, Simon wrote: "Lavender is fairly hardy so should be okay outdoors over winter. Unless you have one of the more tender types (such as French lavender) or live somewhere, extremely cold. My English lavender is fine outside in Devon over winter.
" Another user wrote: "Wish I'd seen this before I chucked my woody lavender out. Please could you tell us how we stop lavender from going woody? I'm rubbish at trimming things, I don't understand when should be done and when. Thank you.
" Simon advised: "Trim lavender regularly (once after flowering and then in spring). A close trim will keep your plant and less woody. More compact.
However, they will still eventually go leggy, in which case just take cuttings and repeat." A third user commented that they "somehow" couldn't "get the plants to keep going." They wrote: "I buy one and put it in the ground and inevitably it either dies or stays small.
What am I doing wrong?" While several users agreed, one wrote: "Mine were the same, I put mulch down this spring and my gardens exploded - the lavenders are huge.".
