Lavender Care
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Planting In The Garden
Planting is best in early May when the soil is warming and the risk of frost is minimal, and early September when soil is warm from summer.
Choose the site wisely. Most lavenders do not like moving and replanting. A sunny, well drained spot is ideal. Grow a single specimen or as a cluster of plants in the border.
When growing lavender as a hedge, it is best to stick to one type of lavender; the effect will be stunning. Use any of the L. angustifolia cultivars for smaller gardens, or L. x intermedia for larger areas requiring grander planting. (L. stoechas is not suitable for hedging due to it being prone to frost damage in the UK).
Use a well balanced compost and horticultural grit when planting, and a yearly application of compost and pot ash will benefit the lavenders by keeping them healthy. If this is not possible, they will grow happily for a while, but without added fertilizer older plants will show signs of nutritional stress if the soil is poor.
Planting In Pots
Most lavenders will thrive in containers, and look fabulous. You can use any lavender, but L. x intermedia is the least suitable because of its eventual size. Growing lavenders in pots has the added advantage of moving them about the garden as desired, and to enable the move of tender varieties to their winter site. There are some stunning pots on the market today, and lavenders can look spectacular in them.
Start with a small container, and gradually increase the container size over the season, rather than potting one plant into an oversized container, as the roots would become waterlogged. And do not plant several small plants in one large container as the plants will soon exhaust the compost and will become pot bound. L. stoechas in particular has very fibrous roots and will need to be repotted at least once, possibly twice or more in a season.
Every lavender deserves its own pot.
Use a well-draining potting mixture with added horticultural grit, controlled-release fertilizer, ensuring good drainage at the base of the container.
Watering
Mature lavenders are drought-tolerant, but young plants can quickly desiccate from lack of watering, and die where dry winds are also prevalent. Good irrigation or adequate rainfall is important to establish new plants and minimize stress. Be careful how you water though: sprinklers may cause a bush to split open in the centre and increase the risk of bacterial and fungal infections. Trickle irrigation is a better choice, but if you do not have this, use a watering can and water the compost, avoiding the leaves. You may water from below by standing the pot in water for a short time, but do not leave it standing in water for long periods to avoid root rot.
Overwatering causes too lush a growth, making plants incapable of holding a compact form, and the stems will sprawl. The plant will also be susceptible to fungal and bacterial diseases. Added to that, any water not taken up by the plant will increase levels of humidity, which lavenders do not tolerate.
Lavenders need very little watering from November to February – they may even be left for the leaves to droop before watering is needed. Never water foliage in winter when light levels are low and air is cool and moist, due to the risk of fungal problems.
Hardy Lavender Care Tips
- Lavenders require light, well-drained, neutral to alkaline soil. They will thrive in very poor, stony and gritty soil and sandy loam. Grow on well-drained mounds if you have wetter, clay-based soil.
- They need a sunny spot, and a south-facing slope is ideal.
- They can withstand wind and seaside salty air.
- In a wet climate, they prefer a more exposed site which allows for good air movement around the plants. This also applies to hot climates where plants need wider spacing to ensure unrestricted air flow, to prevent fungal disease which can occur in enclosed areas with still moist air.
Pruning
Pruning promotes vigorous and healthy growth, and therefore a well-pruned lavender will cope better with adverse weather, pests and diseases. It also creates a compact plant which is aesthetically pleasing. The harder lavenders are pruned, the longer they will live. Prune every year to ensure the plant will have lots of small shoots down much of the stem, as it is from these shoots that the plant will regenerate. Pruning should start when young plants are still in their pots.
Warning – do not prune back to old wood where there are no shoots, or the plant will certainly die.
Pruning Hardy and Frost Hardy Lavenders
With a young lavender in a 9cm pot, remove flowers until the plant reaches 10cm high, otherwise all the plant’s energy will go into flower making, and not growth. This pruning should be done in spring when buds appear above the foliage. Plants will then bud out considerably and later flowers can be left to bloom.
With established plants, lavenders flower once a year with occasional flowering later. L. angustifolia cultivars should be pruned immediately after flowering, usually mid-August. Prune back to small shoots on each stem. Remove two thirds of the bush and prune back to 20 cms for vigorous growth and good habit. They will then overwinter in leafy hummocks rather than a bald spiky mass of sticks. You can be severe with L. x intermedia!
If summer pruning is missed, prune early in the spring after the worst of the weather is over, but before the plant starts active growth. Prune back to small shoots on the stem. This will leave the plant a mass of stems but as the shoots grow, the plant will be reclothed. These lavenders can be expected to last 20 years if this regime is followed.
Pests and Diseases
Lavender is very hardy and healthy if grown in light well-drained soil with adequate air movement so the impact of disease is minimal in these conditions. Aphids can invade plants in spring, summer and autumn, they cause mottling on L. stoechas cultivars.
Fungal diseases can set in due to root rot, caused by inadequate drainage and cold, damp, humid air when overwintering under glass. Symptoms include greying and loss of foliage and die back.
Reach Us
Address
Fulletby, Lincolnshire
carrie@thelavenderpot.co.uk