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| Winter Lavender Cutting |
Happy new year! And welcome to the experimental zone! How did I spend the
first few days of 2017? Impulsively snipping away at lavender in my
winter beds hoping to get an early start on the growing season. I know
what you are thinking. I was thinking the same thing too. Winter is not the time to take lavender cuttings. But the first few days of the year here in Northeastern Pennsylvania melted into a more spring-like rain, and so I trudged out to my lavender wall, brushed away the lingering slush, and gathered up some surprisingly green lavender cuttings. Why? For the same reason the bear went over the mountain. To see what I could see. No amount of Googling provided me with a logical explanation as to why I
could not take a winter cutting so long as the cut was green and showed
promise, so I've decided to experiment and see what comes of it.
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| Honey Rooting Hormone Experiment |
At the same time, I wanted to lay to rest the issue of using honey as a rooting hormone for plants like lavender. Have I used honey as a rooting hormone before? Yes. But I never marked the plants and had completely forgotten what was what come spring. So I've taken these winter lavender cuttings and split the tray in half with one half receiving the honey mixture (2 cups boiled water cooled to under 100 degrees, then mixed with 1 Tablespoon raw unfiltered honey), and the other half receiving no treatment at all. I'll come back to this experiment again in another few weeks to show you how things are progressing.
Will this work with banana trees? Will the fruit be sweeter?
ReplyDeleteThere's only one way to find out, Felix. You'll have to trudge out to your banana grove to see what you could see. :-)
DeleteHave you used honey as a rooting horomone for any other plants successfully?
ReplyDeleteHi Kayla. I've only ever used it for lavender. The plants survived, but because they got mixed with other lavender plants that had no treatment, I wasn't able to tell if using honey had a significant effect on the plants' growth, health, or long-term viability. Some of those plants died off in one season while others are still thriving.
ReplyDelete