We have a Lavender plant in a pot in our garden, which is not very
attractive and rather untidy looking. Neither my wife or I are
gardening experts, and therefore do not know what to do to improve its
looks.

It is about 60 to 70cm tall, but the bottom half is basically wood
stem, with dead(ish) looking leaves. From that there are about a dozen
or so tall shoots growing straight up, with greener leaves in groups
of 3 or 4, every 5 to 10 cm. The top 10cm of each shoot currently has
mauve flowers.

Is there a way of promoting growth further down the bush, and what is
the best way to look after this thing?

Cheers and thanks in advance for any help.

On 5/8/07 13:04, in article
, "Stephen"
wrote:


We have a Lavender plant in a pot in our garden, which is not very
attractive and rather untidy looking. Neither my wife or I are
gardening experts, and therefore do not know what to do to improve its
looks.

It is about 60 to 70cm tall, but the bottom half is basically wood
stem, with dead(ish) looking leaves. From that there are about a dozen
or so tall shoots growing straight up, with greener leaves in groups
of 3 or 4, every 5 to 10 cm. The top 10cm of each shoot currently has
mauve flowers.

Is there a way of promoting growth further down the bush, and what is
the best way to look after this thing?

Cheers and thanks in advance for any help.


I'd start again with another one, frankly, especially as this is in a pot.
It's obviously quite old and hasn't been trimmed back after flowering to
encourage new, bushy growth. They do die out in the middle as they get
older and get woody but the trimming back helps to keep them in good shape
and can be done every 6 weeks or so, lightly, taking off the dead flowers
and then just slightly lower down the stems at the end of the summer for the
final trim. If it's going to be in a pot again, make sure it's well drained
by lifting the pot off the ground and don't over-water it in dry weather.
It's a mediterranean plant that grows on sharply draining soil in its
natural state and in full sun.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

On 5 Aug, 13:14, Sacha wrote:
On 5/8/07 13:04, in article
. com, "Stephen"



wrote:

We have a Lavender plant in a pot in our garden, which is not very
attractive and rather untidy looking. Neither my wife or I are
gardening experts, and therefore do not know what to do to improve its
looks.

It is about 60 to 70cm tall, but the bottom half is basically wood
stem, with dead(ish) looking leaves. From that there are about a dozen
or so tall shoots growing straight up, with greener leaves in groups
of 3 or 4, every 5 to 10 cm. The top 10cm of each shoot currently has
mauve flowers.

Is there a way of promoting growth further down the bush, and what is
the best way to look after this thing?

Cheers and thanks in advance for any help.

I'd start again with another one, frankly, especially as this is in a pot.
It's obviously quite old and hasn't been trimmed back after flowering to
encourage new, bushy growth. They do die out in the middle as they get
older and get woody but the trimming back helps to keep them in good shape
and can be done every 6 weeks or so, lightly, taking off the dead flowers
and then just slightly lower down the stems at the end of the summer for the
final trim. If it's going to be in a pot again, make sure it's well drained
by lifting the pot off the ground and don't over-water it in dry weather.
It's a mediterranean plant that grows on sharply draining soil in its
natural state and in full sun.
--
Sachahttp://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

Thanks Sacha. I'll have to see what my wife says. The plant was a gift
from someone close to my wife, and I don't know et how sentimental she
is about it.

So basically the woody part of the bush, never has new growth
sprouting from it?

The shoots growing up from the woody part can be trimmed every month
or so after flowering. When this is done, do the shoots branch at all,
and fill out the bush a little more?

The plant was a gift
from someone close to my wife, and I don't know et how sentimental she
is about it.


Why not propagate new plants from this one?

'Tear off' a healthy branch taking a 'heel' with it from the stem and stick
it in a pot. Only needs to be a small branch of say a couple of inches. Take
a dozen, some you win, some you don't :-)

Then you will have 'Son of Lavender' (Or daughter)

I did this years ago and made a long Lavender Hedge at my parent's Hotel
:-))

If "I" can do it, so can any idiot

Mike


--
The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association if you served in the Electrical Branch of the Royal Navy
Reunion Bournemouth August/September 2007
www.rneba.org.uk
"Navy Days" Portsmouth 25th - 27th July 2008. RN Shipmates will have a Stand

In article ,
"'Mike'" writes:
|
| Why not propagate new plants from this one?
|
| 'Tear off' a healthy branch taking a 'heel' with it from the stem and stick
| it in a pot. Only needs to be a small branch of say a couple of inches. Take
| a dozen, some you win, some you don't :-)

Almost all of the woody labiates (sage, rosemary, thyme, winter savory,
lavender etc.) are much better propagated than pruned into old wood.
In the sprawling cases, layering is the best approach, but it is
tricky with the upright ones,


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 5/8/07 13:47, in article
, "Stephen"
wrote:

On 5 Aug, 13:14, Sacha wrote:
On 5/8/07 13:04, in article
. com, "Stephen"



wrote:

We have a Lavender plant in a pot in our garden, which is not very
attractive and rather untidy looking. Neither my wife or I are
gardening experts, and therefore do not know what to do to improve its
looks.

It is about 60 to 70cm tall, but the bottom half is basically wood
stem, with dead(ish) looking leaves. From that there are about a dozen
or so tall shoots growing straight up, with greener leaves in groups
of 3 or 4, every 5 to 10 cm. The top 10cm of each shoot currently has
mauve flowers.

Is there a way of promoting growth further down the bush, and what is
the best way to look after this thing?

Cheers and thanks in advance for any help.

I'd start again with another one, frankly, especially as this is in a pot.
It's obviously quite old and hasn't been trimmed back after flowering to
encourage new, bushy growth. They do die out in the middle as they get
older and get woody but the trimming back helps to keep them in good shape
and can be done every 6 weeks or so, lightly, taking off the dead flowers
and then just slightly lower down the stems at the end of the summer for the
final trim. If it's going to be in a pot again, make sure it's well drained
by lifting the pot off the ground and don't over-water it in dry weather.
It's a mediterranean plant that grows on sharply draining soil in its
natural state and in full sun.
--
Sachahttp://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

Thanks Sacha. I'll have to see what my wife says. The plant was a gift
from someone close to my wife, and I don't know et how sentimental she
is about it.

In that case, you could try trimming it now and seeing if it makes any new
growth. If it doesn¹t, you could also try splitting it, re-planting the
bits and seeing if it will re-root. But whatever route you choose, I'd also
suggest taking cuttings from it now - i.e. non-flowering shoots about 2"-4"
long, dip them in some hormone rooting liquid and put cuttings into a
cutting compost. Keep them uncovered in a well-ventilated place and then,
when they've rooted, plant them up into pots and grow them on until they're
big enough to plant out.

So basically the woody part of the bush, never has new growth
sprouting from it?

Not the dead wood, no. But if the woody growth has some green shoots on it,
trim them all by about a third and wait a few weeks to see what's happening.

The shoots growing up from the woody part can be trimmed every month
or so after flowering. When this is done, do the shoots branch at all,
and fill out the bush a little more?

It encourages the plant to bush out. Some people don't allow young plants
to flower the first time they show signs of doing so, because they want to
encourage strong root and foliage growth. But when you trim back a
lavender, do it in small stages at a time - approximately a third.

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

On 5/8/07 14:44, in article , "Nick
Maclaren" wrote:

snip
Almost all of the woody labiates (sage, rosemary, thyme, winter savory,
lavender etc.) are much better propagated than pruned into old wood.
In the sprawling cases, layering is the best approach, but it is
tricky with the upright ones,

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

But whatever route you choose, I'd also
suggest taking cuttings from it now - i.e. non-flowering shoots about
2"-4"
long, dip them in some hormone rooting liquid and put cuttings into a
cutting compost. Keep them uncovered in a well-ventilated place and then,
when they've rooted, plant them up into pots and grow them on until
they're
big enough to plant out.


Like I said it really is easy and you don't even need to bother with this
rooting 'stuff' if you haven't got any :-))

Stick 'em in the soil/pot and they will grow.

As you said 'Neither my wife or I are gardening experts', fine, don't get
tooooooooooooo technical. This is nature not Kew Gardens stuff :-))

Like I also said, if I can do it, so can any idiot :-)

Mike


--
The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association if you served in the Electrical Branch of the Royal Navy
Reunion Bournemouth August/September 2007
www.rneba.org.uk
"Navy Days" Portsmouth 25th - 27th July 2008. RN Shipmates will have a Stand

On 5 Aug, 15:12, "'Mike'" wrote:
But whatever route you choose, I'd also
suggest taking cuttings from it now - i.e. non-flowering shoots about
2"-4"
long, dip them in some hormone rooting liquid and put cuttings into a
cutting compost. Keep them uncovered in a well-ventilated place and then,
when they've rooted, plant them up into pots and grow them on until
they're
big enough to plant out.

Like I said it really is easy and you don't even need to bother with this
rooting 'stuff' if you haven't got any :-))

Stick 'em in the soil/pot and they will grow.

As you said 'Neither my wife or I are gardening experts', fine, don't get
tooooooooooooo technical. This is nature not Kew Gardens stuff :-))

Like I also said, if I can do it, so can any idiot :-)

Mike

--
The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association if you served in the Electrical Branch of the Royal Navy
Reunion Bournemouth August/September 2007www.rneba.org.uk
"Navy Days" Portsmouth 25th - 27th July 2008. RN Shipmates will have a Stand


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

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.'

"Anne Jackson" wrote in message
...
The message from Stephen contains these words:

So basically the woody part of the bush, never has new growth
sprouting from it?

Not necessarily! Last year, as a result of some anonymous person
breaking off branches from my lavender hedge which was growing
through the fence, and tossing them into the garden, I hacked
the hedge down to just a few inches, meaning to dig it all out
in the spring, and plant a new hedge further back.

To my surprise this spring lots of new shoots emerged from the
old wood, which I had been led to believe wouldn't regenerate.

You could give it a try? If there are any viable shoots at
present, you could stick them into some sandy compost, and
hope that they will root, just as a back-up... ?

--
AnneJ



Couldn't layer the Lavender in our pots :-))

No room :-(

We increase ours, and sell them on when we have the Garden Open, by tearing
small branches off with a heel and sticking in a pot :-))

Mike

The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association if you served in the Electrical Branch of the Royal Navy
Reunion Bournemouth August/September 2007
www.rneba.org.uk
"Navy Days" Portsmouth 25th - 27th July 2008. RN Shipmates will have a Stand

On 5 Aug, 19:39, "'Mike'" wrote:
"Anne Jackson" wrote in message

...



The message from Stephen contains these words:

So basically the woody part of the bush, never has new growth
sprouting from it?

Not necessarily! Last year, as a result of some anonymous person
breaking off branches from my lavender hedge which was growing
through the fence, and tossing them into the garden, I hacked
the hedge down to just a few inches, meaning to dig it all out
in the spring, and plant a new hedge further back.

To my surprise this spring lots of new shoots emerged from the
old wood, which I had been led to believe wouldn't regenerate.

You could give it a try? If there are any viable shoots at
present, you could stick them into some sandy compost, and
hope that they will root, just as a back-up... ?

--
AnneJ

Couldn't layer the Lavender in our pots :-))

No room :-(

We increase ours, and sell them on when we have the Garden Open, by tearing
small branches off with a heel and sticking in a pot :-))

Mike

The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association if you served in the Electrical Branch of the Royal Navy
Reunion Bournemouth August/September 2007www.rneba.org.uk
"Navy Days" Portsmouth 25th - 27th July 2008. RN Shipmates will have a Stand

Can I be excused for asking what may be obvious to the res of you...

What do you mean by "heel"? I know you're definitely not referring to
your own feet!

"Stephen" wrote in message
oups.com...
On 5 Aug, 19:39, "'Mike'" wrote:
"Anne Jackson" wrote in message

...



The message from Stephen contains these words:

So basically the woody part of the bush, never has new growth
sprouting from it?

Not necessarily! Last year, as a result of some anonymous person
breaking off branches from my lavender hedge which was growing
through the fence, and tossing them into the garden, I hacked
the hedge down to just a few inches, meaning to dig it all out
in the spring, and plant a new hedge further back.

To my surprise this spring lots of new shoots emerged from the
old wood, which I had been led to believe wouldn't regenerate.

You could give it a try? If there are any viable shoots at
present, you could stick them into some sandy compost, and
hope that they will root, just as a back-up... ?

--
AnneJ

Couldn't layer the Lavender in our pots :-))

No room :-(

We increase ours, and sell them on when we have the Garden Open, by
tearing
small branches off with a heel and sticking in a pot :-))

Mike

The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association if you served in the Electrical Branch of the Royal
Navy
Reunion Bournemouth August/September 2007www.rneba.org.uk
"Navy Days" Portsmouth 25th - 27th July 2008. RN Shipmates will have a
Stand

Can I be excused for asking what may be obvious to the res of you...

What do you mean by "heel"? I know you're definitely not referring to
your own feet!


When you get a small branch going onto the main branch/stem, as you pull it
way from that stem, it tears down a little and you get a small amount of the
main branch/stem. We are talking a very small amount, maybe half an inch or
so and when you look at it sideways, it looks like a boot with the bit you
want as the upright and the bit of the main branch/stem as the foot and with
a 'heel' there :-))

Hope that helps.

Go and try it on something else and see what I mean :-))

Only a small bit, not a tree trunk!!!

Mike


--
The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association if you served in the Electrical Branch of the Royal Navy
Reunion Bournemouth August/September 2007
www.rneba.org.uk
"Navy Days" Portsmouth 25th - 27th July 2008. RN Shipmates will have a Stand

"'Mike'" wrote in message
...



"Stephen" wrote in message
oups.com...
On 5 Aug, 19:39, "'Mike'" wrote:
"Anne Jackson" wrote in message

...



The message from Stephen contains these words:

So basically the woody part of the bush, never has new growth
sprouting from it?

Not necessarily! Last year, as a result of some anonymous person
breaking off branches from my lavender hedge which was growing
through the fence, and tossing them into the garden, I hacked
the hedge down to just a few inches, meaning to dig it all out
in the spring, and plant a new hedge further back.

To my surprise this spring lots of new shoots emerged from the
old wood, which I had been led to believe wouldn't regenerate.

You could give it a try? If there are any viable shoots at
present, you could stick them into some sandy compost, and
hope that they will root, just as a back-up... ?

--
AnneJ

Couldn't layer the Lavender in our pots :-))

No room :-(

We increase ours, and sell them on when we have the Garden Open, by
tearing
small branches off with a heel and sticking in a pot :-))

Mike

The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association if you served in the Electrical Branch of the Royal
Navy
Reunion Bournemouth August/September 2007www.rneba.org.uk
"Navy Days" Portsmouth 25th - 27th July 2008. RN Shipmates will have a
Stand

Can I be excused for asking what may be obvious to the res of you...

What do you mean by "heel"? I know you're definitely not referring to
your own feet!


When you get a small branch going onto the main branch/stem, as you pull
it way from that stem, it tears down a little and you get a small amount
of the main branch/stem. We are talking a very small amount, maybe half an
inch or so and when you look at it sideways, it looks like a boot with the
bit you want as the upright and the bit of the main branch/stem as the
foot and with a 'heel' there :-))

Hope that helps.

Go and try it on something else and see what I mean :-))

Only a small bit, not a tree trunk!!!

Mike


Go and take a peak at the following link. The 'heel' is the whitish bit
pointing down :-))

http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublicatio...2/pnw0152.html

Mike

--
The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association if you served in the Electrical Branch of the Royal Navy
Reunion Bournemouth August/September 2007
www.rneba.org.uk
"Navy Days" Portsmouth 25th - 27th July 2008. RN Shipmates will have a Stand

In message .com,
Stephen writes

What do you mean by "heel"? I know you're definitely not referring to
your own feet!

A heel cutting consists of a (short) side-shoot together with a small
piece of the adjoining side of the parent shoot. There's plenty of stuff
on heel cuttings on the web, if you wish more detail.

A heel cutting is often what you get if you try to break off a
side-shoot manually, rather than using secaturs or a knife.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley