The sea lavender is a hardy plant that requires little maintenance. If you want more of it in your garden, you can easily propagate the plant. There are two ways to do this.
The sea lavender (limonium) has many advantages. The plants are robust and easy to care for. They also thrive in rather inhospitable locations and impress with their pretty flowers. The propagation does not pose a major hurdle for the hobby gardener either. There are several ways to propagate sea lavender.
In the following you will find out how you should proceed and what needs to be considered when caring for and cultivating the young plants.
Propagation by seed - explained step by step
❶ Gaining seeds
❷ Overwintering seeds
❸ Preparing seeds
❹ Covering the seed pot
❺ Keeping the seed pot bright and warm
❻ Germination wait
❖ Step 1:
If you already own a sea lavender, you don't have to buy the seeds, you can easily win them yourself. Leave the flowers on the plant until they dry up in midsummer. Then the seeds can be removed.
» Tip: Usually only one seed can be obtained from the fruit of the sea lavender.
❖ Step 2:
The seeds must now survive the winter. For this purpose, they are kept cool and dry in an airtight container. In March you can start cultivating the seedlings. For this, choose a suitable, flat plant bowl or several plant pots. Before planting, the seeds should swell for about ten hours.
» Tip: Soaking the seeds in chamomile tea promotes germination.
❖ Step 3:
The planters are filled with potting soil. Then the seeds are distributed on the substrate and covered thinly with soil. To speed up germination, you can cover the planters with a glass or plastic wrap cover.
» Tip: Air the planters regularly to prevent mold from forming.
❖ Step 4:
You can now place the planters at room temperature. idealis a semi-shady place at the flower window. Keep the seeds slightly moist. The substrate should not dry out. Watering works best with the help of a plant sprayer. Under favorable site conditions, the first cotyledons can appear after just one week. After 14 days at the latest you will see the first green and thus get certainty about the success of your cultivation.
❖ Step 5:
When the seedling gets its first pairs of leaves, the space in the planter is definitely too small. Select the strongest plants and place them in separate plant pots. The substrate should consist of a peat-sand mixture and be as nutrient-poor as possible. The young plants eagerly form roots and grow up quickly. The separate plant pots remain at the flower window.
What happens to the young plants?
You continue to cultivate the young plants as usual. From mid-May, when no more frosts are to be expected, the plants can move outdoors. You have the choice of planting the sea lavender outdoors or in a bucket.
- Tips for planting outdoors
First choose a suitable location. The sea lavender does not have to be planted in full sun, but still needs at least five to six hours of sunshine a day. The plants make few demands on the soil. A dry and sandy soil is ideal. Too moist and heavy soil would damage the young plants and quickly lead to root rot. The plants also do not tolerate over-fertilized soil.» Tip: The sea lavender requires little liquid. However, young plants should be watered regularly. You can also use tap water for this, as the plants appreciate calcareous soil. - Tips for planting in containers
The planter needs sufficient drainage holes on the bottom of the container so that the liquid does not accumulate in the planter and waterlogging occurs. Choose the planter deep enough, because the sea lavender forms a taproot that digs deep into the ground. Plants need regular watering in pots. During the growing season you can feed the young plants with compost or horn shavings as an organic fertilizer.
Sow seeds directly - is that possible?
The seeds do not necessarily have to be grown indoors, as just described. You can also try direct sowing.
» Tip: Pre-bred plants are stronger and have a head start in growth.
Choose thatappropriate location and free the soil from weeds, stones or roots. The soil is loosened up well and then leveled with a rake. Now make a furrow a few centimeters deep, where you will later put the seed. The soil is then leveled again and you carefully water the seeds.
Now wait for germination and prick out the seedlings on the spot. Only the strongest plants are cultivated further.
» Tip: In a cottage garden, for example, it also looks pretty if you don't sow the seeds accurately, but spread them out.
Propagation by root cuttings - explained step by step
❶ Dig up plant
❷ Cut off root
❸ Plant cuttings
❹ Wait for germination
❖ Step 1:
If you already have a large sea lavender, it will not harm the plant if you propagate it with root cuttings. For this you have to take the sea lavender completely out of the ground in spring. The adult mother plant has a well-developed root system. You can now cut off a maximum of one third of this. You should put the mother plant back in the ground and water it immediately, because this intervention naturally means stress for the plant.
❖ Step 2:
Now cut the separated piece of root into individual parts. Each segment should be between five and four inches long. When separating from the mother plant, remember the side that faced the plant. This now has a straight cutting edge. The opposite side is cut at an angle. This is where the new roots will be formed later.
» Tip: Mark the direction of the individual segments.
❖ Step 3:
Now plant pots can be filled with potting soil. Each root cutting gets its own plant pot. There it is potted with the diagonally cut edge down. Spread a thin layer of sand over the substrate.
Warning: Do not water the root cuttings at this stage of propagation.
❖ Step 4:
The planters are set up cool, at around 15 degrees. Now you need some patience. Only when the first shoots appear is the sea lavender lightly watered. Once the plants have reached a height of about ten centimetres, they can be planted outdoors or in containers, as already described.
Can sea lavender also be propagated by division?
Many hobby gardenersfavor this method of propagation. The plant is dug up, divided with a sharp spade and you have two independent mature plants, which can be immediately replanted and cultivated separately.
However, this method of propagation is not recommended for sea lavender. There is a great risk that the plant will not cope with this method.