How to grow lavender from seeds: the secrets of germination and subtleties of sowing
Lilac lavender fields resemble a huge cloud from afar. This delicate evergreen shrub is easy to grow in your summer cottage. Round bushes with bright inflorescences-spikelets feel good even in a pot on the windowsill. To purchase them, many growers buy ready-made young plants in the store or exchange cuttings. However, if you want to have a rare variety and not repeat the neighbors, it is quite possible to get lavender from seeds. It is not a problem to purchase seeds - there are quite a lot of them, but it is also important to know how to grow lavender from seeds.
Seed reproduction for many novice gardeners often ends in failure. Seeds simply do not germinate or germinate in small quantities. The point is that it is not enough just to soak and sow them. Lavender, although it retains its germination capacity for up to 5 years, but the seeds germinate only if they are preliminary stratified. Today we will tell you how to do this.
Subtleties of preparing seeds for sowing
Seeds lavender, like other crops, require preliminary treatment before sowing. It consists in a long (and this is the key word) cooling procedure. To do this, at least 1.5 months before sowing, they must be placed in the refrigerator, but not in the freezer. The seeds are best mixed with sand in a container with a lid or in a zip bag. It is easy to determine the date of the procedure. If planting for seedlings is planned at the end of February, seeds should be placed for stratification in mid-December.
This procedure can be avoided by sowing seeds in open ground in the fall. This will cool them naturally during the winter.
How to grow lavender from seeds: ways
As it has already become clear, you can get beautiful plants in two ways:
- Sowing in open ground. Seeds are sown on the garden bed in May or at the end of October.
- Through growing seedlings. In this case, sowing begins in mid-February using wide containers. Seeds need to be laid out rarely, so that the plants have a place to grow powerful roots.
In both cases, seed-grown lavender will bloom only in the second year of life. But it is better not to let it bloom completely, cutting off the inflorescences after the first flowers bloom. They also do the same for the next flowering season, but already waiting for more than half of the inflorescences to open. This will make the plants more robust. In subsequent years, you can already give lavender freedom without touching the buds.