With its delicate clouds of tiny white or pink flowers, the baby's breath adds an elegant and romantic touch to the garden or in a pot on your terrace. This plant, which thrives in dry, chalky soils, is also easy to grow as it requires little feeding and watering. Discover our tips for easy propagation.

A few words about baby's breath

Naturally found in mountainous and rocky areas from the Mediterranean Basin to the Caucasus and Asia, baby's breath prefers dry, well-draining soils, a sunny position and minimal watering. It is therefore a hardy and easy-going plant. It comes in around a hundred species, ranging from perennials to annuals, and from creeping plants like Gypsophila repens to tall varieties such as Gypsophila paniculata, which can reach heights from 10 cm to over 1 metre. Its tiny flowers come in white or pink shades.
Baby's breath can be propagated by seed or root cuttings.

Sowing baby's breath

Sowing is the most effective technique for propagating baby's breath. It can be done directly in the ground or in seed trays.

Direct sowing

  • Prepare the soil by removing weeds and adding sand or gravel if the soil is too heavy or not well-draining enough.
  • Sow the seeds in April or May in well-draining, light soil, even sandy or stony, in a sunny spot
  • Water sparingly, allowing the soil to dry out between waterings, as baby's breath dislikes moisture
  • Thin out young plants, spacing them 30 cm apart for creeping varieties and 1 metre for tall species.

Find all the steps for direct sowing in this article: Sowing seeds directly in the ground.

In seed trays

  • Line the bottom of a seed tray with a drainage layer of sand or clay pebbles
  • Fill with compost mixed half-and-half with sand
  • Firm the soil with a piece of wood
  • Sow the seeds in autumn in the tray, either broadcast or in rows
  • Cover with a thin layer of compost and firm down
  • Moisten the soil with a spray bottle
  • Place the tray in a nursery under a cold frame
  • Wait for germination, which usually takes around 3 weeks
  • Keep the compost moist by misting when it dries out
  • Thin out seedlings if necessary
  • Transplant seedlings into pots
  • Then plant them out in the ground in May in well-drained soil in full sun
  • Don't wait too long to transplant baby's breath as it has a taproot and dislikes being moved once established.

Discover all the steps for sowing in seed trays in this article: Sowing in seed trays.

Root cuttings

It is also possible to take root cuttings, with some care, as baby's breath has fragile roots. This technique is carried out during the plant's dormant period, from October to March, to minimise stress after root cutting.

  • In autumn or winter, gently loosen the soil around the plant and take isolated offsets from the edge of the clump to disturb the roots as little as possible.
  • Using clean, disinfected secateurs, cut sections of fleshy roots 3 to 10 cm long, ensuring you keep the rootlets.
  • Replant immediately in a perforated tray filled with a drainage layer at the bottom, then topped with a suitable well-draining substrate (half compost, half sand)
  • Water with a spray bottle
  • Place in a greenhouse or conservatory with light but no heating
  • Mist the substrate moderately to keep it moist
  • Seedlings will appear after a few weeks
  • Transplant into the ground the following spring

Discover all the steps for root cuttings in this article: What is a root cutting?.