I got mine to sprout inside last year. Heres what i did: Spread germination mix in a shallow container,sprinked the seed over the mix, and did not cover the seed up. Then i used a spray bottle to mist the seed and covered the top of the container with a piece of clear plastic to keep in moisture and humidity. Place them in a window where they will get plenty of sun, or under grow lights if you have them, and keep evenly moist. The temps I had inside where probably around 68 to 70 degrees. I didn't get them all to germinate this way, but i would say about half did. Good Luck!!! Sarah

Hey Kiddy - Is the lavender still with leaves? If so, I'd say it'll come back. If space is limited then basically anything w/ holes can be a pot, so get fresh soil, put some holes in the bottom and layer it with coffee filters or something that will let water through. It should (1) be bigger (wider and deeper) than your current cup and (2) ideally something you intend to keep it in for a year or more (especially given your affinity, or lack thereof, for repotting, obviously, haha). So if you're talking about a Dannon yogurt cup size, then consider a large sour cream tub, or even one of Cool Whip -- you get the idea. 1. Fill the new tub w/ fresh potting soil. The filter should keep the soil in the cup without drifting out. 2. Move the soil to the sides of the new pot to create a hole in which to place your lavender. 3. Water the lavender enough to soften it, and then squeeze the yogurt cup all around to loosen it. Then turn it over and loosely guide the plant out of the cup. It should slide out with little effort; do not pull at the plant or stress it out. 4. I would guess that this thing is root bound -- meaning it will have roots all the way around the soil with little to no soil left. Take a knife and slice off the bottom 30-40% of the roots and then take your fingers and break apart the roots -- much like you would break apart braids in your hair after it's been braided all day. Do it gently but definitely break apart the roots leaving the top 20-30% of the root ball intact. (You don't want to damage the plant.) 5. Now that you have uncurled as much as you're going to, take scissors and give it a trim to just make it uniform without long roots dangling. Snip, snip, snip. 6. Place what you have left into the new hole of the new pot and ensure it fits nicely. If your makeshift hole in the soil is too deep, take it back out and let more soil drop into it and if it's too low, fill it up with more soil; the idea is that when you place your plant down in its trimmed state and fill in the remainder of your pot, you will have room to water without overflowing the soil and won't have to push down or tug up your plant to make flush with the soil. 7. Take extra potting soil and fill in the new pot to make your plant completely snug and LIGHTLY tap down the soil. You want to leave air and room to breathe in there, but do tap down a bit to remove big gaps. 8. OPTIONAL: Trim the top 20-25% of the stems and leaves with scissors. I always prune a bit when I repot, but some might say not to do so. 9. Water thoroughly ensuring that water drips out of the holes in the bottom of the tub. Let it completely drain in a sink or cup - and when it stops dripping, place back in the window. Wherever you have had it is best given that even with serious lack of attention, the thing is still there and alive! As far as your rosemary goes -- if you see green, then it's not completely dead. If you rooted it last summer and it's still green, I promise you it has rooted; I've found rosemary that will root, will do so under a month at most. :-) What is curious is that it hasn't grown at all, according to your description. Dead rosemary plants look -- quite dead, as you can see. (Not mine, but I've been there when one pot got lost behind many, many others.) I'd repeat the same exact steps as above and repot it into something a tad larger but do check the roots; I would doubt it is root bound given the lack of growth. In any case, put it in a new home with new soil and see how it fares. While you are raising this particular cutting indoors -- if it didn't die on you, one would think you'd have some growth on it. And however you have been watering it and caring for it apparently kept these plants alive all of this time, so I'd recommend keeping to that schedule! :-)

Lavender is a slow grower especially the first year from seed...don't expect much difference by the end of the season maybe another 3-4" max. Pinch the growing point of the lavenders off (on the main stem) to promote branching. Get introduced outside ASAP beginning with dappled light to full sun within a week. Last year I planted mine out in March at about 2-3" tall and not a problem...this year they are BIG, beautiful and blooming :) Vera

Sleeper, here's my experience with lavender and rosemary in St Louis. Indoors they do not do well, get spindly and mildewed. The worst part is they seem to make it thru the winter and then succumb to mildew in late winter when it's too cold to put them out, but your hopes were high. This happened several years in a row. Outdoors lavender does well here (we get down to -3F for a few days most years). We may be a bit warmer than you-- this has been zone 6 winters most years recently. Needs the hottest sun you have to make beautiful blooms and scent. Check out somewhere like High Country Gardens for some types hardy to zone 5. Make sure they are not wet in winter. Rosemary I had luck with for 3 or four years planted under the eaves (shelter from rain in winter) and against the house wall for warmth. This was a cold hardy type and got very large. A re-landscaping project tore it out, and I haven't been able to replace it. Two years ago I bought a cold-hardy type from High Country Gardens and planted it out in the open. It did all right the first winter, but I think it died this (very nasty cold) winter. HCG has two cold-hardy types (they're in Colorado). These should do okay in normal zone 5 winters, especially if you can replicate the up against the house trick that worked so well for me. You might have to replace each time there's a really nasty winter. Rosemary have to be dry in winter. Good luck.