On 5/8/07 15:34, in article
, "Stephen"
wrote:
snip


Thanks everyone, I shall give it a go, but maybe not today, its too
hot to even move a muscle outside at the moment!


Stephen, one of the reasons for using the rooting hormone is that it also
helps to prevent cuttings from 'damping off' and dying. That's the other
reason for asking you to keep the cuttings in a well-ventilated place. You
can put a polythene bag over the pot of cuttings to act as a mini greenhouse
but you must open it regularly to allow air to circulate. I've found the RHS
site which shows photos of what to do and how to use the rooting compound,
though they're using powder.
http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile...rycuttings.asp
My husband, Ray, uses the liquid because he's found it more effective with
harder to root things or things more prone to damping off. He's the expert
propagator at our place and he uses Cheshunt Compound, taking batch after
batch of cuttings of lavender and hundreds of other things. It may not be
essential but as it seems this plant is rather precious to your wife, you'd
probably want to give its cuttings the best start you can and take all
precautions. As the RHS site suggests, take plenty - more than you think
you'll need and if you're lucky and they all strike, you can have a whole
row of pots in a mini-hedge!
As Anne J has said, you may well be lucky and find that the plant will
regenerate if you cut it back, though it's a bit of a risk with lavenders
but plants can always surprise us! Take the cuttings first, though! If the
wood in the middle is dead, you can cut that out of course.
As to lavenders and the conditions they like, I planted a whole row under a
dining room window once and they didn't die but they did sulk. Then I moved
them to a double-skinned wall where they had loads of drainage under the
compost and they absolutely roared away. That was 9 years ago and they're
still going strong in that garden, even though I don't live there any more.
Quite agree about the heat - it's roasting here (South Devon) though a bit
of a breeze has started up, thank goodness.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'