Growing lavender from seeds at home. How to grow lavender from seed

For growing in pots more suitable varieties of narrow-leaved lavender. How to grow lavender at home in a pot, so that it pleases the eye, refreshes the air from February to November, do you really need to pay much attention to it?

How to grow lavender at home?

In order for the plant to feel comfortable and delight the owners with abundant flowering, it should be remembered that:

bush prefers well-lit sunny places;
need good drainage;
neutral or alkaline soil is recommended for maintenance;
the mode of watering should be moderate, the water should be separated, the temperature of the room;
overmoistening or drying up of the earth for landing is not allowed;
potassium supplements are added as fertilizer;
be sure to regularly cut plants;
all winter, the bush rests - for this time it is best to leave it in the basement.

How to propagate and grow beautiful lavender at home

Lavender can be propagated in several ways: sowing, cutting, dividing the bush (suitable for outdoor cultivation). What is the way to get shoots to choose, how to grow lavender at home in a pot and how to properly care for it?

Sowing

Before proceeding to sowing, the seeds should be subjected to stratification, that is, kept at low temperatures. It is necessary to prepare a special composition of the soil: take equal parts of peat and sand, a bit of shell. Normal ground is not necessary to add.

Seeds are placed at a depth of 3 cm. The container should be covered with foil, placed in the bottom row of the refrigerator for two weeks. You can also set the container on the balcony. Usually shoots appear already at 40 - 50 days, provided that the temperature is from +5 to +15 degrees.

Fertilizer to make a home need after germination for two months. You can use complex fertilizer. The solution is prepared at the rate of 2 g. Of the finished composition per liter. water.

Cuttings

Cuttings should be taken annually. Cut with a sharp knife. Then you should plant the stalk to a depth of 2 - 3 cm, cover with a jar. During germination the soil should not dry out and not be wet! Clean the jar after rooting the cutting. The container is placed on the south side. Top dressing to produce complex fertilizer.

Soil preparation

Capacity is best to take the clay, the size of 25 - 35 cm at the bottom of the layer is laid drainage. For this purpose, fine shards, pebbles, shells of nuts, sawdust are suitable. Do not close the drain hole of the pot!

The composition of the soil is as follows:

leaf ground - 3 parts;
one piece of sand with a little lime;
two parts of humus.

How to grow lavender at home in a pot and give it a healthy look

You will need to comply with the following landing requirements:

It is necessary to find a place where it will be light, but not hot. The temperature should not fall below 15 heat. The neighborhood with a rose has a beneficial effect on flowering and growth.
Watering young sprouts is carried out daily. Adult bushes are watered once a week, in the morning or in the evening. During the cool period, watering is done every 15 days, if required, humidify the air. Most importantly, do not flood the plant so that there is no stagnation of water.
From the end or mid-April, the bush can be brought out into the street for just an hour, and then increase this time so that the plant becomes hardened. Only after this procedure can it be left on the open balcony.
It is necessary to replant lavender in more spacious containers for the first five years annually.
After each flowering pruned.
Fertilizing should be done during flowering at the root.

When there is little experience or not enough time, you can use another option: purchase an already grown pot plant. And then do not be tormented by the question of how to grow lavender at home in a pot, but only to comply with the conditions for proper care.

To grow a beautiful plant requires desire, care and time, but all costs will pay off, since you will have your own natural pharmacy on the window. After all, decoctions, infusions and teas help to cope with some diseases, and the fragrances scare away insects (good for moths).

Planting and care of lavender (in brief)

Landing: sowing seeds in the ground - in October, sowing seeds for seedlings - in February or March, planting seedlings in the ground - in late May or early June.
Bloom: in the second half of summer.
Lighting: bright sunlight.
The soil: dry, drained, sandy or loamy, cpH 6.5-7.5.
Watering: regular and abundant, frequent in drought.
Top dressing: twice per season: in the spring - with a mineral complex with an increased nitrogen component, in the fall - with potassium-phosphorus fertilizers.
Hilling: In spring and autumn you need to spud old bushes high.
Trimming: inflorescences are cut off after flowering and branches are shortened in autumn. Upon reaching the age of ten, the bush is rejuvenated, cutting off all branches at a height of 5 cm from the ground.
Reproduction: seeds and vegetatively - layering, cuttings and dividing the bush.
Pests: cicadas (slobbering pennits), rainbow beetles and aphids.
Diseases: gray rot

Lavender flower - description

Lavender is a perennial evergreen shrub with a woody, fibrous root that extends 2 meters into depth, numerous shoots in the lower part, lumbering in the lower part, reaching a height of 60 cm, with opposite sedentary silvery-greenish linear leaves with soft pubescence and fragrant blue or blue and lilac flowers, with soft green and lilac flowers and fragrant blue or blue-lilac flowers. in interrupted spike inflorescences of 6-10 pieces in verticils. Inflorescences are formed on the tops of leafless stems. Lavender bloom begins in the second half of summer. Lavender is a great honey plant. Lavender seeds with proper storage are able to maintain their germination for many years.

Lavender is a relative of such cultures as hyssop, basil, mint, lemon balm, motherwort, oregano, sage and rosemary. We will tell you how to grow lavender from seeds, what are the conditions for growing lavender in the open field, how lavender is planted and cared for in the open field, how to propagate lavender, how lavender winters in Moscow and give a lot of interesting and useful information about this garden plant.

Planting Lavender in the open ground

When to plant lavender in the ground

Planting lavender in the ground is carried out either by seeds in October, or by seedlings in late May. In order to grow lavender from seeds, seed should be purchased at the beginning of winter or autumn, because before sowing into the ground, seeds for increasing germination are stratified for 2 months at 5 ºC. Usually, seeds mixed with wet sand are stratified in the vegetable box of the refrigerator. Lavender seeds are sown for seedlings in February or March.

Lavender seedlings

While the seeds are in the fridge, prepare the sowing tank and the seed substrate by carefully mixing the two pieces of humus with one piece of coarse river sand. Sift the mixture - lavender seeds are very small, so the substrate should not contain any lumps - and calcine it in the oven at 110-130 ºC or spill it with bright pink potassium permanganate solution. Put the processed soil mixture into the growing tank with drainage holes on the drainage layer.

In the photo: Lavender blooming on the field.

At the very end of winter or early spring, sow lavender seeds on the surface of the substrate in a container, sprinkle them with a layer of sand 3 mm thick, sprinkle with warm water from the dispenser, cover to form the greenhouse effect with glass or plastic wrap and place in a bright, warm place. From time to time crops need to be aired, raising the cover. Germinate seeds at a temperature of 15-22 ºC.

How to care for lavender in the seedling period? As soon as the seedlings appear, you will have to arrange additional lighting for them so that the lavender seedlings do not stretch out. Remove the cover daily for some time so that the seedlings will get used to the temperature in the room, and as soon as they adapt to it, the film can be removed completely, and the seedlings can be seated so that the distance between them is at least 5 cm.

How to plant lavender in the ground

In late May, it is time to plant a lavender in the garden. Most often, lavender adorn alpine slides, used as a curb or planted on both sides of the paths. Lavender grows well under the bright sun. Do not plant it in wetlands or in areas with high groundwater levels, as lavender is very sensitive to excess moisture. The plant prefers a soil that is dry, sandy, but it also grows well on loamy soils with good drainage.

The optimum acidity for plants is 6.5-7.5 pH. Ground limestone will have to be added to the acidic soil. Before planting lavender, it is necessary to prepare a plot: dig up to a depth of at least 20 cm and loosen the soil well, bringing peat or compost under the digging.

How to plant a lavender? Planting lavender is done with a distance between seedlings of 80-90 cm, and between the bushes of tall lavender a distance of 120 cm is observed. The depth of the hole must be such that the root system of the seedling can easily fit into it. Before planting, the roots are pruned slightly, then they set the lavender bush in the hole and bury it, deepening the root neck by 4-6 cm. After planting, the lavender saplings are watered abundantly.

Pictured: Growing lavender in the garden

Subwinter seeding lavender

In areas with warm winters, it is better to sow the seeds of lavender directly into the ground. They do it in October, after they prepare the soil on the site, adding peat for digging, and if the soil is too wet, then fine gravel or sand is added to it to increase moisture and air permeability. Seeds are sown to a depth of 3-4 cm, slightly thickening after sowing the soil surface. If autumn is dry, water the crops, but not too heavy, and with the first snow, throw a small snowdrift on the site.

Care for lavender in the garden

Growing lavender

As soon as the first inflorescences appear on the lavender seedlings, it is desirable to remove them so that young plants, without wasting their power on flowering, can grow stronger and build up a powerful root system. The first year of lavender in the garden grows very slowly, so you need to deal with weeds that can stifle seedlings. How to grow lavender? What care does lavender require at the cottage? You will have to water the plant regularly and plentifully, and in extreme heat watering should become frequent. After watering or raining, it is necessary to loosen the ground between the bushes and weed the plot, but if you want to save time and effort, grumble the soil between the bushes with peat.

Old bushes in spring and autumn should be highly spud - this measure contributes to the formation of new shoots on old branches. In addition to these procedures, you will have to deal with lavender pruning and top dressing in the soil, preferring potash fertilizers, since manure and nitrogen fertilizers only contribute to the growth of greenery, but inhibit the flowering of lavender, for which, in fact, it is grown.

Pictured: Lavender field

Lavender pruning

Growing lavender will require you to conduct annual pruning. As soon as flowering is over, cut off the withered inflorescences, and in the fall shorten the branches, keeping the shape of the bush.

Do not allow lavender to be strongly pulled upwards, because in windy weather its bushes will fall and lose their decorative effect.

When the bush reaches the age of ten, it is advisable to rejuvenate it pruning, shortening all the branches to 5 cm. You can do the same with a young bush, if its flowering does not differ in pomp.

Reproduction lavender

Lavender propagates, in addition to the seed method, also by dividing the bush, layering and cuttings.

If you already have a lavender bush on your plot, or you managed to get someone's one-year woody plant escape, you may well get lavender from cuttings. Cut cuttings of 8-10 cm long from the shoot, plant them in a moist, loose soil, deepening the lower section by 2-3 cm, and cover with glass jars. Remove the banks can be, when the cuttings rooted.

In order to split lavender bush, you need to prepare for this. In the autumn, after flowering, a large bush is cut at a height of 10 cm and spud, filling the entire space between shoots with earth. In the spring hilling repeat. During the summer, the bush gives abundant growth. In the autumn, the bush can be dug up, divided into parts with well developed roots and shoots and seated.

For reproduction by layering In the spring, several shoots are folded over, placed in the grooves with a depth of 3-4 cm, fixed in this position, covered with soil and watered. All summer long the soil above the layering is kept in a wet state, and the following spring the rooted shoot is separated from the bush, divided into parts and transplanted to a permanent place.

Pests and diseases of lavender

Lavender in the open field is extremely resistant to diseases and pests, but she is not immune from the problems. Sometimes lavender can suffer from a waterfall, or a slobbery pennitsa, and a rainbow beetle, and from diseases of lavender can be affected by gray mold.

Pictured: how lavender blooms

Cicadas and rainbow beetles will have to be collected by hand, after which you should always change the layer of mulch on the plot. BUT gray rot, which usually appears in wet rainy summer or in case of chronic overmoistening of the soil with too frequent irrigations, cannot be cured, but the affected parts of lavender can be removed and burned so that the infection does not spread to all plants. And, of course, you need to review the mode of watering lavender.

Lavender in Moscow and Moscow region

With full confidence in success in the conditions of Moscow and the Moscow Region, only English lavender can be grown - narrow-leaved or medicinal. Planting and caring for lavender in the middle lane is carried out according to the same principles and almost at the same time as in warmer areas. Seeds are sown in the ground when surface frosts are gone - in the second half of May, and seedlings are planted in early June. Sowing seeds before winter is risky - they can freeze.

Lavender - care after flowering

Lavender in winter

If in your area the temperature in winter can fall below 25 ºC, you need to reliably protect the area with lavender from frost, but do not use fallen leaves as a heater, as lavender can decay under it in winter. It is best to cover the lavender bushes with spruce branches after the autumn pruning.

In the photo: Lavender field bloom

In areas with not so cold winters, narrow-leaved lavender is not covered.

Types and varieties of lavender

In the culture, only such types of lavender are grown as the narrow-leaved lavender (English) and French lavender, it is also broadleaf. But since there are other crops suitable for cultivation in lavender, we offer you a description of them. So:

Or lavender broadleaf (Lavandula latifolia) Hailing from Southwest Europe. It has a strong aroma and beauty of flowers of different shades of purple, pink, lilac, green, burgundy and white flowers. French lavender begins flowering earlier than other plant species — in April or May — and lasts until July, but at the end of summer the broadleaf lavender may bloom again. French lavender is not as cold-resistant as the English one, so it is grown mainly in warm areas.

The most popular type of this species is Lavandula stoechas pedunculata, or "butterfly" (Papillon), with flowers of the original form. The best-known lavender varieties are:

Yellow vale - variety with dark purple flowers, crimson bracts and yellow-green leaves;
Rigal Splendur - variety with dark purple flowers;
Rocky road - A new species with large purple-blue flowers, blooming in July;
Tiara - large blue flowers with cream bracts;
Helmsdale - variety with lilac-maroon flowers.

In the photo: Lavender French (Lavandula stoechas)

Or dutch lavender is a group of highly decorative hybrids between lavender English and other species of the genus. These are large plants with silvery narrow leaves and large oblong flowers on long peduncles bending under the weight of flowers. The flowering of lavender hybrid begins in July.

The most famous varieties of Dutch lavender:

Alba - variety with white flowers;
Arabian Knight - variety with flowers of dark blue or dark purple color;
Sawers - form with light lilac flowers;
Grosso - variety with large flowers of lilac-purple hue;
Richard Gray - compact bush with dark purple flowers.

In the photo: Lavender hybrid (Lavandula x intermedia)

Comes from the Mediterranean. It is a thermophilic compact plant with soft, rugged silver leaves and large fragrant flowers that open in July. The plant does not differ cold resistance. The most popular type of lavender jagged is Royal Crown - a plant with purple flowers.

In the photo: Lavender serrated (Lavandula dentata)

Or english lavender (Lavandula spicata), or lavender (Lavandula officinalis) comes from southern Europe. This is a perennial shrub with silver-green leaves and small bluish-purple flowers blooming in July or August. This is the most winter-hardy type of lavender. The most well-known species of narrow-leaved lavender is dolphin-like lavender, reaching a height of no more than 30 cm, but possessing very beautiful silver foliage. Widespread also Lavender Hidkokut, which is used mainly for low hedges.

Of the varieties of English lavender most in demand in the culture:

Alba - a grade up to 50 cm high with white inflorescences;
Rosea - bush up to 40 cm tall with lilac-pink flowers;
Mansted - bush about 40 cm tall with flowers of a rich blue shade;
Fastcoat jint - compact plant up to 60 cm;
Quickcoat blue - compact bush up to 40 cm high with blue-violet inflorescences.

In the photo: narrow-leaved lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)

Properties of lavender - harm and benefit

The healing properties of lavender

All terrestrial parts of lavender contain essential oil, which consists of linalool, coumarins, ursolic acid, tannins, geraniol and borneol. Lavender oil has many useful properties and is widely used in the cosmetic industry and in medicine. Lavender oil treats burns and bruises.

Lavender is used to treat vascular diseases of the brain, paralysis and convulsions after a stroke, as well as to get rid of headaches, dizziness and drowsiness. It has a diuretic effect, relieves toothache. Tea with lavender can relieve stomach spasm and discomfort.

Lavender helps with melancholy, irritability, hysteria and neurasthenia, as well as with influenza, asthma, bronchitis, whooping cough, tuberculosis, enteritis, flatulence, atony of the gastrointestinal tract, worms, rheumatism, cystitis, amenorrhea, hypertension, fever and various rashes.

In the photo: Lavender - a useful medicinal plant.

Doctors note the remarkable effect of lavender infusion on the general mental state of a person and on his nervous system as a whole. It relieves stress and reduces the negative impact of adverse factors on the mind and mental state of a person, helps to restore strength and energy and stimulates mental activity.

Lavender greens are used for medicinal baths, and dry inflorescences are used as a remedy for moths when storing clothes and for flavoring rooms and linen.

Lavender - contraindications

It is not recommended to use lavender oil during pregnancy, especially in the first months, since lavender stimulates the contraction of the muscles of the uterus. Do not use oil and after an abortion, so as not to provoke bleeding. Lavender is contraindicated during the administration of preparations containing iron or iodine.

Intensive use of oil can cause depression and irritation of the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract.

Preparations on the basis of lavender have a powerful effect and can cause a strong allergic reaction in case of individual intolerance of the plant, therefore, before using them, be sure to consult your doctor.

Lavender is a sweet and delicate flower that adorns many gardens and summer cottages. In addition, the plant is also useful. And although this heat-loving flower, it feels quite well even in the conditions of our short, cool summer. We learn how to grow lavender from seeds at home, how to plant a plant, how to care for it.

Lavender enjoys well-deserved popularity among gardeners around the world, as well as among pharmacists, followers of traditional medicine, perfumers. Her homeland - the warm regions of the Mediterranean.

This is a perennial plant with evergreen properties. Externally, lavender is a shrub, strongly branched. In height reaches approximately 50-60 cm.

Health Benefits:

lavender has a beneficial effect on the nervous system, calms;
relieves insomnia;
useful as a prophylactic against diseases of the heart and blood vessels;
has a beneficial effect on articular tissue;
improves the functioning of the digestive tract;
eliminates inflammatory foci, has an antimicrobial effect.

In addition to the above, the plant has many other beneficial qualities.

External description

It is easy to find a lavender on a common flower bed: its characteristic shape and color are leaves, recognizable little flowers look cute, have a specific aroma. The foliage is not green, as usual, but a grayish-silver shade, flowers of small size and painted in blue-violet shades, often blue in color. Inflorescences resemble the shape of spikes.

Armat strong, rich, very pleasant. For insects, the smell is frightening: with the help of lavender, you can protect the area from mosquitoes and other nasal snares.

Lavender blooms in summer. Virtually all its varieties are thermophilic, and only one is able to endure our cold. This winter-hardy variety is propagated by cuttings and seeds: the article discusses the second option.

Types and varieties

Scientists discovered about 30 types of lavender, varieties, of course, much more. Let's get acquainted with the most popular varieties.

Toothed lavender

Small shrub, in the period of flowering completely covered with rather large spikes-inflorescences. Dissolving in July. The foliage is a beautiful toothed shape, silvery shade. Since the flower is very thermophilic, it is not suitable for open ground: the cultivation of dentate lavender is permissible only in home conditions.

Broadleaf

The second name is the spikelet. The plant boasts a particularly fragrant flowers. Each stem produces at least three inflorescences.

Narrow-leaved

This lavender is also called "English". The plant is especially loved by gardeners and landscape designers. It is this flower that is frost-resistant: it is therefore grown more often than others. It reaches a meter in height, has a characteristic-narrow leaflets and elongated inflorescences.

Dissolving in July. Flowers can be traditionally blue, as well as pink, white, lilac, purple. Aroma very gentle, pleasant.

Important: choose the narrow-leaved lavender if you plan to grow a flower in the garden as a perennial.

Growing conditions

We will find out how to choose a suitable place for a lavender on the plot, what conditions the plant needs.

Location and lighting

Lavender needs a lot of sunlight. In order for the shrub to bloom well, grow well and not be sick, it needs at least 8-10 light hours a day. It is important to provide space - the plant does not like cramping.

Temperature and humidity

The plant is thermophilic, so plant it better from the south side. If the heat is not enough, as well as light, lavender is unlikely to please abundant flowering. Humidity is preferably slightly above average. In the heat, the flower bed can be sprayed to make the microclimate more favorable.

Priming

Dense soil plant does not fit: lavender needs fertile and loose soil. It should be added to the ground organic - the plant will respond to fertilizing gratefully. Soil acidity should be moderate.

When to plant

If lavender is grown from seed with the preliminary preparation of seedlings, the seeds are planted in the substrate in late February and early March. The choice of this time period is due to the fact that by the time of disembarking on the garden the sprouts will already be strong enough, will harden and soon bloom. In cool regions, it is necessary to choose exactly rassadny cultivation.

Too late to plant seeds on seedlings is not worth it: the plants will not have time to sufficiently get stronger in this case. Early disembarking is also not welcome: lavender usually outgrows in this case and, after being placed on a bed, weakens, languishes, takes root for a long time. In addition, in the first winter, it can freeze out.

If we are talking about southern latitudes, you can plant the seeds in the ground immediately. It is possible to produce sowing both before winter and in spring. If the planting is autumn, then it is made at the end of October, if spring, then in May.

Outdoor cultivation

Seeds when landing right on the bed, try not to dig deep into the ground. If sowing is done in the fall, the bed should be mulched: this measure will protect the seeds from freezing. During the winter, the seeds will undergo stratification in a natural way, and only the strongest and hardened ones will spring in the spring. For the quality of the plants, then you can not worry.

If sowing is done in spring, the seeds must be artificially stratified. Usually perform the procedure, placing the seeds for some time (several weeks) in the refrigerator.

How to get seedlings

We learn how to plant lavender seeds in seedlings.

Priming

Sowing seeds is recommended in the ground nutritious and friable. Ideal to buy a ready-made soil mixture: suitable as a universal substrate, and specialized seedlings. For safety, we recommend extending the soil with manganese solution before sowing or calcining in the oven.

Container

Prefer container rather voluminous, wide, but shallow. It is possible to make disembarkation both in plastic containers, and in boxes, bowls. In cassettes seedlings lavender is not grown. The maximum container depth is 7 cm.

Stratification

Under natural conditions, the seeds of lavender, having poured out on earth in the fall, undergo a natural stratification during the winter: they are moistened and hardened. Under domestic conditions, seeds also need to be stratified in order to awaken and activate their vital forces.

Seeds collected in the fall, placed in containers with moistened sand. Keep containers in winter in the refrigerator, placing them in the vegetable department. At least two months should last stratification. During this procedure, the rind of the seeds will thin out, and the sprout inside will harden and get stronger. Thus, lavender will acquire good immunity.

Tip: periodically get the container out of the fridge and air it. The sand inside also needs regular moistening.

Sowing

When planting lavender seeds in a common container, keep in mind that the roots of seedlings will grow very powerful and branched. Under the ground, they can interlace, which then makes it difficult to transplant plants into open ground. To avoid problems, plant seeds away from each other.

Procedure

The containers are filled with the prepared loose substrate. Ramming the ground is not necessary.
The soil should be leveled and sprayed on top with water from a spray bottle.
Seeds are planted on one thing at a distance of one and a half to two centimeters from each other.
From above, the seed is sprinkled with a 2-3 mm layer of soil.
The container is covered with transparent polyethylene or glass, cleaned in a well-lit place.

Seedling care

In order for the seedlings of lavender to actively develop and not rotten, it needs to provide two basic conditions:

bright and long-lasting lighting;
the temperature is not hot in the range of + 15-21 degrees.

Until the sprouts from the ground have appeared, the soil moisture should be moderate, but stable. Water the earth by spraying. Shelter daily remove for airing. You can not re-moisturize the seeds, because in this case they can not climb or rot directly in the ground.

The first shoots appear a couple of weeks after the sowing is completed, but the friendly greens will be observed only in a month. Lavender springs for a long time.

Rearing

When shoots appear, the covering material must be completely removed. Ground moisture is maintained in the same way and also regularly.

Put the container with the sprouts of lavender on the most brightly lit place in the apartment: preferably on the southern window-sill. If the light is low due to the location of the apartment or the cloudy weather, provide the plants with additional artificial lighting.

Dive

The procedure is performed when the seedlings acquire a pair of leaves (not cotyledons!). By the time of the procedure, except for the first two leaves, the development of the third and fourth should begin.

The pick should be done carefully: each sprout is transplanted into a separate small cup. It is usually tolerated by plants quite easily. Pick up picking cups with a diameter of 5-6 cm, if you use a common large capacity, leave the same distance between the plants.

The seedling moves to a new “place of residence” with the preservation of the old earthy coma. This precaution will protect the plant roots from injury. After transplanting the soil around the plants carefully crush - this will accelerate rooting.

As for the soil in which the seedlings are placed after the dive, it should be light, consist of peat and sand. You can use the mixture for indoor plants, but dilute it with perlite or clean river sand.

We learn how to sow lavender seedlings on the garden bed.

Training

The procedure for preparing seedlings of lavender to disembark the garden is reduced to hardening. To prevent the plants from reacting negatively to staying in the open field, they should start cooking about a week before the procedure.

For this, containers with seedlings are carried out daily to fresh air. It should start at one o'clock, with each day increasing the time of “air baths”.

Landing

Lavender, obtained from the seeds, will bloom not in the current season, but only in the next. In general, in the first year of its life, the plant does not demonstrate a rapid pace of development. Initially, lavender builds up a powerful root system, and only then comes the turn of the vegetative, aboveground parts. However, having grown roots, in the second year of the plant’s life it develops very rapidly and blooms beautifully for a long time.

The holes on the seedlings dug at a distance of 30-40 cm each other. The depth of such a fossa should be 30 cm, about the same in diameter. Plants are carefully placed in the grooves prepared for them, sprinkled on top of the earth, slightly compacted for early rooting.

How to care

Find out what kind of care lavender for the successful growth and development is needed.

Watering

Moistening the soil in the garden with growing lavender should be abundant. Water the land regularly, without forgetting the procedure. Especially, in the first year after landing.

But it is necessary to carry out the moistening procedure only during dry time. If it rains, wet and cool, it will be right to abandon the next watering.

Top dressing

Like most other ornamental garden plants, lavender also needs additional nutrition. Young plants should be fed after planting and rooting with mineral solutions. The application is carried out once a week.

In the second year, be sure to feed the lavender when it blooms: this will ensure the duration of the ornamental period.

Weeding, mulching

After planting, the soil is mulched, and then just maintain the layer already formed in the “working” state. Protect the soil from weeds should be mandatory. Especially in the first year, when the plants are still weak.

Pruning

If lavender begins to bloom in the first year, it is recommended to trim the inflorescences or cut them off. In the first year of life, it is important for the plant to focus on the roots, and not on the vegetative part.

Wintering

In its first winter, lavender should be protected from frost in the form of a high layer of mulch, consisting of dry foliage or coniferous twigs.

We learned how to grow lavender from seed. The procedure, as you can see, is quite standard, simple. Remember that the flower grown from seed plant will begin to bloom only next year, so do not be alarmed by the absence of inflorescences this summer.

Growing lavender from seeds at home is usually not difficult. The plant is popular among housewives. This type of flower has not only a beautiful appearance, but also many useful properties that can cure a number of diseases.

Description of lavender

This is one of the most famous plants, which is in special demand all over the world. Lavender is the birthplace of the Mediterranean coast, but despite this, it is well developed at home. The flower belongs to group of perennial, evergreen plants. It is presented in the form of a shrub with numerous shoots. In nature, it can grow up to 60 centimeters tall.

Useful properties of the plant:

restores the nervous system;
normalizes sleep;
is a good tool for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases;
improves the functioning of the digestive tract;
has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties;
relieves muscle fatigue;
improves joint function;
restores natural skin color;
helps to improve the condition of the hair.

The lack of light can lead to the stretching of seedlings, which will negatively affect their further development. Therefore, in cloudy weather, it is recommended to install a lamp near the pot.

Discover lavender among many other plant species is easy. This can be done by leaves, buds and smell. Plates have a grayish-silver shade. Lavender flowers are small. They can be both blue and purple hue. All are collected in spike inflorescences.

A distinctive feature of this plant is its rich aroma. The strong smell of lavender can repel insects. Therefore, it is often grown near private houses and in the country.

The flowering of this unique plant can be observed in the summer. There are several types of lavender, but only one of them tolerates frosts. To grow a winter-hardy variety, it should be remembered that this can be done with cuttings and grains. Especially popular is the second option. This method is easy to grow rare varieties that are difficult to obtain in the form of seedlings.

How to grow lavender at home?

It is easy to settle at home or on the site fragrant and incredibly beautiful flowers. Before you grow a lavender from seeds, you should prepare them correctly. Buying grain is best in a specialty store. In order for them to grow well, special attention should be paid to the time of their collection. It is best to buy the seeds of the previous year.

Seed preparation

Growing lavender at home should start from seed stratification. This procedure is necessary in order to increase the germination of grains at times. Start training should be from the winter or even the end of autumn. To do this, you need to take the wet sand and combine it with the seeds.
Transfer the mixture to a small container and put it in the fridge on the bottom shelf. Keep in this condition for two months. The longer they will be in the cold, the better. This will have a positive effect on the rate of their germination and the speed of development of seedlings.

Sowing seeds for seedlings

After this time, you can start planting seeds. Substrate for lavender need to choose nutritious. You can buy it in the store or cook it yourself.

For this you need to connect:

part of the sand (better than the river);
two parts of humus;
three pieces of garden ground.

Before planting lavender seeds at home, the resulting substrate must be well sifted. It should not have garbage and large lumps. If this is not done, then the small grains may simply not rise.

It is also necessary to disinfect the soil. For this, the substrate should be carefully shed with a solution of potassium permanganate or steamed.

Sow the seeds of lavender on the seedlings should be in a container with good drainage. This is necessary in order to prevent rotting of the root system. After a pebble or broken brick is laid, the substrate can be poured. Grains are placed evenly and sparsely. Top with a thin layer of sand and pour all over with warm water.

For quick germination of grains, the container should be covered with glass or polyethylene.

The first shoots will appear in 25 days. If after a month the seeds do not germinate, then the vessel should be placed on a cold day for 21 days. This time will be enough to see shoots on the surface. After the appearance of seedlings, put the pot on the window.

So that young plants do not receive stress from the unusual temperature, you should not immediately remove the mini-greenhouse. This should be done gradually.

As soon as the seedlings begin to grow rapidly in the room, you can begin to transplant it into separate flowerpots.
The procedure must be carried out very carefully, as the root system of lavender is very delicate and fragile. The first time watering should be done every day, little by little. The liquid should be used only well separated, and preferably boiled.

Plant care in a flowerpot

To grow a beautiful lavender from seed at home, you need to follow some rules. Compliance with the recommendations will help to achieve the desired result.

Place to grow. This type of plant prefers good lighting. Therefore, flowerpots with lavender should be kept on the western and eastern windows. That the bush was healthy and plentifully blossomed, it has to be lit from 8 to 10 hours a day. If in the summer period of the year these indicators are easy to observe, in the winter it is the opposite.

In warm weather, lavender pots can be placed on the terrace, loggia or in the garden. It is necessary to accustom plants to new conditions gradually. In the first days, the pot on the street should be kept no more than two hours.

Air humidity. The flower is not very demanding of these indicators, but still you should not experiment with it. The room in which lavender grows must be aired daily. In winter, when the house has a heating system, the pot should be kept away from batteries and other appliances. If there is no such possibility, then the bush should be sprayed daily with separated water.

Irrigation. Lavender is the plant that loves wet soil. Irrigate the flower should be at room temperature liquid. In this case, the water should be well separated.

In the summer months, watering is carried out once a day, and in winter - once every three days. But in order not to harm the bush, you should check the condition of the top layer of soil before each procedure. If it is not dry, then watering should be postponed.

Top dressing. Lavender, like most plants, needs. Young bushes should be fed for 10 days with complex drugs.
This should be done every seven days. Also make the mixture should be in the flowering period.

To lavender pleased long-term flowering, it is recommended to use nitrogen preparations.

When growing a flower you need to ensure that it has enough light. Otherwise, the bush will start dropping leaves.

Knowing how to plant lavender seeds at home, you can grow a beautiful and healthy plant. If everything is done correctly, the bush will be fluffy, and the flowering will be abundant and colorful.

Video about the intricacies of growing lavender

Lavender is a plant belonging to the Department of Angiosperms, which has a wonderful aroma and color. For this essential-oil culture, belonging to the category of evergreen shrubs, is characterized by the presence of rather narrow leaves of gray-green gamma and spike inflorescences.

Depending on the cultivated variety, lavender can bloom in purple, blue, purple, pink and white, with numerous shades.

sung in many verses and songs. The smell emitted by it becomes indispensable for the sensation of bees and butterflies. Lavender is a good honey plant, as well as a great decorator of the surrounding landscape.
It is completely unpretentious in the care, almost not subject to the damaging effects of pests and endures drought.

Modern breeders have regionalized so many varieties of lavender that now it can be grown not only by residents of temperate and warm climatic zones, but also by amateurs living in cold climates.

The fact is that not only in the conditions of open ground and warm climate, but also in the pottery way, where the climate is quite harsh. It should only follow certain rules, and then you can fully enjoy its wonderful aroma. By the way, the lavender plant has been growing for ten years.

Growing lavender seeds is considered costly and one of the most reliable methods. You can buy its seeds in any specialized flower shop. For cultivation is to use only those varieties that are zoned by breeders for the climatic conditions of the area.

Lavender belongs to the genus yasnotkovyh and differs a large variety of species, as well as artificially obtained hybrids.

The homeland of this wonderful plant is warm India, as well as the Canary Islands. It is their attractive climatic conditions that contributed to the creation by nature of these exotic plants. According to the climatic conditions of the homeland of lavender, gardeners judge the creation of conditions for its favorable growth.

It is very simple to grow lavender from a seed:

Acquired seeds before planting need to harden a little. Dry seeds need more.
Then the seeds are placed in cold conditions, such as a refrigerator, for a period of one month. Such a procedure is necessary to create a state of compulsory peace, during which they will have time to "relax" a little and prepare for germination.
After taking the seeds from the fridge, you need to mix them with a small amount of river sand. After mixing the seeds of lavender and sand, you need to sprinkle them a little with water, thus creating a way to moisturize them. In this form, the seeds must be kept for about a month. Thus, it is necessary to acquire the seeds of lavender in advance, so that they can pass before the sowing obligatory preparatory activities, which take place within two months.

If you plan to grow lavender in a potted way, then for this you need:

Prepare a special pot. It should be equipped with small drainage holes and filled with plant-friendly drainage.
To create a favorable drainage layer, the bottom of the cooked pot is lined with a small amount of pebbles or gravel.
It is necessary to ensure that the holes in the bottom of the pot are always open for air penetration and removal of excess moisture. By the way, it is worth considering the fact that the lavender plant is very sensitive to moisture and does not tolerate stagnant liquid in a pot.
When preparing the soil for planting it is best to take a sandy-peat base, which has a slight alkalinity.
To improve the composition of the soil in it add pre-pounded shells of eggs that can alkalize the mixture.
Seed material should be planted with a small amount of sand, thus creating conditions for the penetration of oxygen to them.

In the open ground you need to choose a site in which there is a sufficient amount of sunlight. Unpretentious lavender can grow in a dark place, but in this case you should not expect early and abundant flowering from the plant. The amount of moisture in the selected soil is also very important for lavender. But re-moisten the selected place for planting is not worth it, as the plant may die.

In no case can not be planted lavender in wetlands with a high level of groundwater.

In cases of lack of a good dry place for planting, a small drainage layer should be constructed for the culture. Lavender loves to grow on soils with little alkalinity. To create such conditions in advance, a small amount of lime or ash from the burning of woody plants can be added to the soil. To improve the penetration of air to the roots of lavender, you can make a little bit of compost in the soil, in addition, this event will allow you to saturate the soil with macro-and micro-elements necessary for growth.

Lavender broadleaf and cultivated species of this genus. But with the cultivation of narrow-leaved lavender should be a little puff, because it is afraid of cold and frost, and can also die from an overabundance of moisture or vyhryvaniya.

Growing Tips:

It is best to sow small seeds of lavender for cultivation in the open field somewhere in October.
Amateur gardeners, when planted, place the prepared seeds into the soil to a depth of no more than four millimeters, and at the same time they slightly condense the upper soil horizon.
In dry weather, the sown seeds are additionally watered, but this watering should not be very abundant.
When planting the prepared seeds, sprinkle them over the ground with a small thickness of soil.
Capacity with planted seeds should be marked in a bright, but slightly cool place. To accelerate the emergence of shoots, the soil surface can be covered with a transparent film. Seeds of lavender are characterized by rather weak germination, so it is worth spending more time waiting for the emergence of seedlings.
When the plant reaches the lavender growth phase, which has six pairs of leaves, it is necessary to pluck the top of the plant in order to increase its bushiness.
Lavender is important for regular watering, preferably up to two times a day: in the morning and in the evening. In this case, it is worth spraying the leaves themselves, washing away the dust from them and improving gas exchange.
The amount of light is also necessary for the intensity of the process of photosynthesis and the acceleration of the formation of flowers. But a direct hit on plants of direct rays can cause leaf burn, so watch the angle of sunlight falling on the plants.

The lavender plant of the first year of life looks rather inconspicuous, because during it it tries to increase its root system. The following year, the plant is gaining green mass, bush and begins to bloom. Regular airing is favorable for its growth, but drafts can damage the health of lavender, so you need to avoid them.

Lavender plants of one year of life should be cut a little to a height of fifteen centimeters above the soil surface. Such an event contributes to giving lavender a beautiful and thick form. The procedure for transplanting lavender must be done in the early spring or autumn months, so that it can gain strength and settle down in a new place.

Activities for the care of lavender should include the mandatory fertilization of plants with potash fertilizers. Nitrogenous fertilizers are also good for her. But the use of organic manure is not entirely favorable for the growth of this culture. Manure dressing stimulates only the build-up of green mass on lavender, and not flowers, for which plants are so beloved by many residents of our country.

Watering lavender:

It is necessary to produce watering of lavender in cases when the soil near its roots becomes dry.
Pouring lavender is also not worth it, because it can lead to reproduction on the roots of putrefactive bacteria and the decay of the rhizome itself.
With insufficient lavender hydration, flowering plants will also be less abundant.
Water for irrigation should be at room temperature.

To hilling and mulching. These activities should be carried out in the spring and autumn months. For the plant is important and periodic cutting, which significantly prolongs its life. Prune the plant best after it stops blooming. At the end of each season, you need to shorten the stalks of lavender.

Among the diseases affecting the culture of lavender, gray rot is dangerous. If the gardener notices on the lavender bushes a manifestation of this disease, then he immediately removes the affected parts, followed by burning.

In the structure of gray rot, pennit larvae can settle, which give an unpleasant look to lavender by the formation of white foam protecting them from predators. If a saliva-like foam is found on lavender, it is necessary to wash it off with a stream of water.

To save the plant during the winter period from freezing, it is necessary to warm its above-ground parts. For these purposes, suitable old warm clothes or special covering materials. Before wintering, lavender plants are slightly trimmed and covered with coniferous branches. Covering plants with plastic bags is not desirable.

More information about lavender can be found in the video.