Imagine a world where you can fill your garden with free lavender: fresh-smelling, beautiful, and bouquet-ready. Now rejoice, because you already live in that world. Lavender is easier to propagate from cuttings than it is to grow from seed, so there’s no real limit to the number of new plants you can grow this way at no extra cost. Ideally these cuttings should grow in soil, not water, but either route is doable.

Regardless of whether you propagate lavender in soil or water, the initial steps are the same. You’ll need a healthy, mature plant for cuttings and a sharp pair of sterilized scissors or pruners. You can use either hardwood or softwood cuttings; softwood should be cut in the spring or summer, while hardwood should be cut in the fall or winter. It should have at least four leaf nodes, no flower buds, and be just a few inches long; hardwood should be a bit longer. Strip the lower leaves so the stem is bare. Then it’s time to make your decision.

While it’s possible to propagate in water, most gardeners find soil propagation to be the more reliable method for lavender. You can also use a soil-free potting mix for just-as-good results, using ingredients like peat moss, vermiculite, coarse sand, perlite, and compost.

There’s one key reason that soil propagation is preferable for growing luscious lavender. When the cuttings grow in soil rather than water, the resulting roots are stronger, which leads to healthier plants after transplanting them into a pot or garden. Propagation is rarely a 100% successful process, but soil propagation leads to higher success rates and more healthy plants. Some gardeners even plant hardwood lavender cuttings directly in garden beds in the spring with no issues.

The one con to propagating lavender in soil is that it takes longer than propagating in water. Softwood cuttings grow roots in water in just two weeks — four weeks for hardwood. In soil, that timeline increases to four to six weeks. You can speed the process along by using softwood cuttings and adding a growth hormone, though not all gardeners recommend this step because too much growth hormone can harm the cuttings. On the other hand, hardwood is less finicky about growing conditions and can be easier to work with.

Many gardeners prefer to use a soilless growing medium instead of soil, which can further promote strong, resilient root growth. A potting mix high in sand, for example, can reduce transplant stress because it’s more similar to the soil that the plant will be planted in later. Either way, keeping the growing medium moist and providing a consistent source of light is key. It can also be helpful to place a plastic bag loosely over the pot to increase humidity around the cuttings.

Propagating lavender in water isn’t without its benefits. It’s significantly faster than propagating in soil, especially if you use softwood cuttings. Water also makes it easy to see when roots have formed without disturbing the young plant. It requires no special tools — just a clean container and water, whereas soil propagation may require you to buy potting mix and a container.

However, once it comes time to transplant your cuttings, you may run into trouble. Cuttings that have rooted in water are less reliable; the roots are often weaker, and the plants may fail to thrive or develop stronger roots once in soil. Successfully propagating in water also requires regularly changing and refilling the water to ensure cleanliness.

Overall, soil or a soil-less potting mix is the best way to go for lavender cuttings. This makes sense when you consider that lavender is native to the Mediterranean; it’s adapted to dry conditions and is sensitive to overwatering and root rot, which are bigger risks in water propagation. If you’re up for an experiment or in a hurry, it could be worth a try, but if a garden full of lavender is your ultimate goal, save yourself the trouble and stick to soil propagation.