23 July 2008

Do a Topiary

I am making some topiaries out of Lemon Verbena and thought I would share. It's really easy and takes about 5 minutes. The other herbs that do well as topiaries are thyme, bay laurel, rosemary, and lavender. These particular herbs have woody stems that support the shape.

Here is a Lemon Verbena topiary that I started a few years ago. I trimmed it and am using some of the trimmings to start new plants. I left 2 'antenna' to show how much I trimmed it back. Then.........................

I took a cutting and removed most of the lower leaves. The cutting above has not had the leaves removed yet. Make sure to save the leaves and make a cup of tea!

Next, dip the root end in water and then dip it in a rooting hormone. I always use a rooting hormone to start cuttings. I have a good success rate using it. Then......................

Stick it in a pot of soil and water it. How easy is that!!!!

Now be very, very, patient and let it grow.

When the plant is as tall as you want it to be then pinch off the top.

This will then grow into two branches. Then when those two branches grow long enough, pinch back and it will grow into four and on and on with the pinching and growing. It can take up to a year or so depending on the plant size.Here is another one I just started.

I need to stake the stems and I will use wooden skewers and raffia. Just stick in the skewer close to the stem and tie around it several places with raffia. Don't tie it super tight as the stem will still be growing.

1 comment:

  1. So cool! I never knew you could do that :-) Thanks for sharing your green thumb with those of us who don't have one at all!!!
    Thank you for entering the drawing on Aged Vintage Papier and your sweet compliments!
    Have a fabulous weeks!
    Amy

    ReplyDelete

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