Lavender cuttings in Winter
It is the end of November and we find ourselves taking lavender cuttings, not just any lavender but the strongest in terms of essential oil Lavandin Grosso and Super, and Lavander Agustifolia B7. Not just one or two, we have an order for 1,500 lavender, maybe twice over. It is the first time we have ever done such numbers as we do not sell that sort of quantity on our markets stands of anything but tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, parsley and coriander.
How to take Lavender cuttings in Winter
Winter is far from an ideal time to take Lavender cuttings. My favourite moment is Spring when the Lavender is starting bursting with energy. The green tip cuttings taken then take two weeks to start rooting and grow rapidly. once up potted. Summer and Autumn cuttings are more hardwood heel cuttings and take three to four weeks to root. Cutting taken then are then popped into the polytunnel and potted up in Spring the year after. Winter cuttings are difficult, simply because the lavender is dormant. So the key is fooling the cuttings that Spring is just around the corner. You start with hardwood heal cuttings. Take off all but the top leaves, we pop ours into Orgasyl soil which contains organic rooting hormones. I rake flat a bed of horse manure in the consistently sunniest spot of the polytunnel, I then lay a pallet over the manure. The cutting pots get popped into boxes, watered and then the boxes are covered with cling film. I guess a tunnel within the poly tunnel would work as well. I’ll not tell lies, the success rate is much lower than Spring cuttings, around 50% rather than 80-90% in Spring. But client needs must. Just cross your fingers.
The reason we have such a large order is that our friends Manu and Christophe from La Cabane du Berger feel it is time to renew their lavender fields. Growing lavender for essential oil is slightly different than growing it in your garden, the plants productive life is between six and eight years, while garden plants, if pruned well will continue to flower for ten years or more. this also accounts for the varieties, Lavandin Grosso and Super are crosses of agustifolia and aspic lavender, is, in terms of essential oil yield one of the highest. French lavender, ironically what the French called English lavender, Dentata, has an essential oil yield of around 0.2% of flower weight, where as the three varieties we are working with give 1.6 to 1.8, quite a substantial difference.
