It doesn't take long before you fall in love with the lavender heath. It just looks too beautiful with its red leaves and bell-shaped flowers. The good news: Even for beginners, it's not a big challenge to propagate them!
How can you successfully propagate lavender heather?
Lavender heather can be easily propagated by cuttings or planters. Take cuttings after flowering, remove lower leaves, place in potting soil and keep moist. Lowers are placed in a furrow in spring, covered with soil and separated and planted in autumn.
Combine cutting work with taking cuttings: propagation of cuttings
Cutting the lavender heather is recommended every year to encourage the plant to form many flower buds. It turns out to be well tolerated by cutting and, in not uncommon cases, cuttings are produced that are ideal for cuttings.
The lavender heather is cut immediately after flowering. To obtain cuttings, you need shoots that are not too fresh and not too woody. Those that are starting to become woody and are already slightly brown are ideal. Cut them off or break them off. Breaking off has proven to be beneficial for subsequent rooting.
So it continues:
- remove lower leaves
- Leave 3 to 4 top leaves
- Place half of the cutting in potting soil
- Moisten the soil and keep it moist
- As soon as new leaves have appeared, repot if necessary
When the cutting is rooted
Now the cutting can take off. Normally the first roots will form after 8 to 12 weeks. If you cut the cuttings in the summer, it can theoretically be planted outdoors in the fall. The location should be sunny to partially shaded. An acidic, permeable, humus-rich and slightly moist substrate is optimal. Rhododendron soil (€20.00 at Amazon) is also excellent!
Lowering: Without much effort
A second method with which the shadow bell is very easy to propagate is the lowering method. Wear gardening gloves! The lavender heather is poisonous and contains skin-irritating ingredients.
Procedure:
- in spring between February and March
- Dig a 10 to 20 cm deep furrow in the soil
- bend down one-year-old or two-year-old shoot
- place in the furrow, cover with soil so that the tip sticks out 30 cm
- weight with wire, hook or stone
- Keep soil moist
- separate in autumn and plant in another location
Tip
The lavender heather is hardy. However, the young cuttings should be allowed to overwinter in a protected place for the first winter, for example on the balcony.