How to Plant Lavender in Late Summer & Fall

Overview

Lavender is valued for both its fragrance, (even the foliage is fragrant), and its beautiful purple color. Lavender can be used to add elegance to a rock garden, adorn a terra-cotta pot for a spectacular bloom show, or fill in a raised herb bed. More recently, it has become popular as a low water use plant (Sunset). The scented blooms are wonderful for sachets in the dresser drawers or in clothes pockets to deter moths. Lavender also makes excellent dried flowers. To increase your lavender crop, cuttings can be taken and planted indoors in late summer or fall to be planted the following spring.

Step 1

Cut off about a 5-inch piece of stem with a pair of sharp garden shears. Cut on the diagonal just below a leaf junction. Jagged, rough cuts leave plants susceptible to bacterial and other diseases.

Step 2

Remove the flowers and lower leaves from the cutting.

Step 3

Dip the bare bottom end of the cutting in rooting compound and insert into a hole, made with a pencil, in the damp growing medium, made from equal parts of sand and peat moss. Pack the growing medium firmly against the base of the cutting.

Step 4

Place a glass or plastic jar over the cutting and mist frequently to increase humidity. Place in a well lighted area where it will still get adequate shade.

Step 5

Remove the jar when new growth is apparent and grow indoors for the winter. Transplant your lavender to the garden in late spring.