Sequim , Washington is the self - proclaimed Lavender Capitol of North America . Its modest , dry climate urinate it the perfect smear to develop hundreds of varieties of this fragrant and coloured perennial . Small growers are taking vantage of the upsurge in popularity of lavender to set up successful marketplace garden .
Planting and Growing Lavender
Lavender grows just in well - drain arenaceous loam , but it can grow in less fat gravelly ground . Your plant need excellent drainage in parliamentary law quash root rot . You will , however , need to water untested plants at least until they establish themselves
Except in cold clime ( where leap planting is better ) , it ’s right to implant lavender in the downfall , which pay the plants time to institute good solution systems before the hot summertime . The spacing between plants depends on the varieties and how the crop will be used – typically from one to three feet apart .
Lavender is not a clayey feeder , so it may not call for any more nutrients than a unspoiled ground will provide . The only way to fuck for sure if extra nutrient are require , particularly nitrogen , is to do a soil test . Too much plant food will reduce both the yield and quality of the craw .
Mulching help control weeds , but if it ’s too inscrutable it could keep the land too wet and promote root word putrefaction . Sequim growers use oyster shell , which control weeds and reflect spark up to the flora , encouraging emergence .
Lavender plant necessitate pruning , starting soon after they are implant . murder the flower stem and topmost bud for the first year or two after engraft . After that , cut back about one - third of the grey-haired leaf stem every yr after inflorescence . Use clear and knifelike cutting instrument to serve foreclose the spreadhead of disease .
Lavender Pests and Diseases
Spread by aphids , Alfalfa Mosaic Virus ( AMV ) is a common lavender disease . It wo n’t kill the plants , but it will reduce yields . Bright chicken temporary hookup come out on foliage and shoots , which may become twisted . The unspoiled manner to define AMV is to remove infested plant and burn them forthwith .
As refer earlier , root bunk can damage lavender grow in crocked soils . plant in well - debilitate soil is the honorable way to forbid etymon rot .
Harvesting Lavender
begin harvesting lavender when the flower become intense in color . Harvest betimes in the morning after the dew has dry out . harvest lavender has many utilization ; you’re able to make refreshful or dry arrangements or wreaths , or process it to employ in grievous bodily harm , candles , and cosmetics .
Lavender Propagation
generation by cutting results in consistent plants , and is the most common commercial method .
Common Questions and Answers About Lavender
by Erin Marissa Russell
Can I cut lavender back to the ground?
Under certain portion , some plants ( like unfolding perennials ) benefit from being edit all the way back to the ground , but lavender is not one of those plants . You ’ll need to rationalise English lavender annually to keep it from get floppy with lots of bedraggled woody growth . However , you should n’t be removing more than between a third and one-half of the lavender plant ’s foliage in any individual pruning school term . Prune just after flower have faded , in other to center summer . Some gardener prefer to dress twice a twelvemonth , also cut their lavender back as spring start out .
Can I root lavender in water?
Yes , one way to propagate lavender is to root a cutting in piddle . Though this method acting is less body of work than other ways to propagate , some gardeners experience a lower success pace with cutting root in water supply than with cuttings planted straight in soil . Whichever you choose , there are a few guidelines to follow when you ’re taking a cut to propagate young lavender industrial plant .
Use tools that have been sterilized with one teaspoonful of bleach diluted in two cups of water system . Choose branches that have n’t yet flowered from a mature , well - established lavender plant when you ’re take a press clipping . The cutting should have three to five leaf nodes and also have several inch of verdure at the top . Cut cleanly , as near to the base of the stem as you may . If your cutting is flowering at the tip , trim off the flowering area . Strip the bottom three to five sets of leaves from the cutting . New rootage will emerge from the bit where you ’ve removed foliage . The longer the cutting you depart with , the more root word you ’ll be able to strip of foliage and plant . And with add open domain under the ground , the chance increases that your lavender cutting will produce a solid , healthy root system . Now your cuttings are quick to either be place in a container of water or planted with some soil so they can root . If you choose to propagate in water , watch for the base system to develop . Once it does ( in about three to six week ) , you ’re ready to plant your cutting .
Before planting , treat the bottom ending of your lavender cutting with rooting hormone . Fill the container you ’ll use with a seed starting mixture or well - drainng potting soil contain perlite and vermiculite . Poke a cakehole in the dirt with your digit to place the cutting into , then firm the soil around the press clipping with your hands to keep it in place . Bury as much of the carving as you ’ve denude of leaves . For the next several week as your lavender spring up tooth root , you might consider misting it on occasion or shore a shaping bag upside down over the container where it grows to create a mini nursery force , increase humidity , and keep stain moist .
Can I split a lavender plant?
Lavender plants can not be propagated by splitting or division because it is a woody shrub . Splitting will wipe out the lavender industrial plant . you’re able to propagate lavender by amass its seeds or by choose a cutting and rooting it in grime or water , or if your lavender flora has overgrown its bound , you’re able to prune in early fountain or after its blooms have faded .
Can lavender be grown indoors?
Yes , lavender can be grown indoors as a houseplant . Find your lavender a spot away from any potation and near a Confederacy - facing window where it will get plenty of sunlight — at least eight hours per day . Your lilac plant life will in all probability be too tumid to sit on a windowsill , so you may use a small table , flora stand , or stool to raise the lavender up to catch more rays .
check that your lavender gets a container that has plenty of drainage holes and fit your plant life . You want the container to be an inch or two wide than the rootball of your works . The soil you use should be light and well - draining , contain vermiculite and perlite . Lavender does n’t mind a chip of alkalinity , so you may integrate in a tablespoon of lime when you mark up and tote up ground eggshells to the top of soil each month .
pee right after planting , and then only when the soil is ironical to a depth of one column inch . you may crack the moisture degree by sticking your finger into the dirt near your lavender plant . If soil cling to your skin , it ’s still damp . provide the ground to dry well between tearing , especially during lavender ’s dormant season in the winter .
Can you harvest lavender after it has bloomed?
If you ’re harvest lavender to prepare with it or to dry out the stems , the best time to take your cut is when only a distich of the blooms have opened . Catching the flowers this early will make the stem colour more vibrant and keep the buds from falling off as the plant dry out . If you reap early on enough in spring or the starting time of summer , you ’re likely to get a 2d bloom — and along with it , a second harvest . Take cutting to harvest lavender in the morning after any dew has dried but before the sun has warmed up , as the heat will have already begun to unfreeze the lavender ’s essential crude .
Do you deadhead lavender?
You should scrutinize your lavender for spent blossoms and deadhead the plant by remove them on a unconstipated basis during lavender ’s blooming time of year . Deadheading your lavender plant help it to keep bloom longer and also encourage fuller , more succinct growth . If you plan to harvest just the heyday ( to apply in mixture , for model ) you could remove the bud as soon as they start to show a lavender hue . If you glean the flowers this manner , you wo n’t need to deadhead your lavender works .
Does lavender die in the winter?
As a repeated works , lavender stays active through the winter in the zone where it is hardy ( 5 to 9 , or for Spanish and French lavender varieties , 8 to 9 ) . If your lilac-colored plant is n’t winter hardy in your grow zone , you should bring it indoors for the winter to ensure its survival . you may help your lavender make it through the wintertime by give it a protective layer of shredded leave or wheat . If it will get below freeze in your domain , you may give your lavender works even more protection by breed them with evergreen plant Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree boughs after the first icing has number . The bough will shelter your lavender from winter ’s icy winds and tighten the encroachment of the freeze down - warming bike . If your lavender is in a container , you may bury the container in the earth so the grease wo n’t freeze quite as promptly and well .
Although it does n’t pall over the wintertime when raise in an appropriate zona , lavender does go through a dormancy period from September to April . It wo n’t do a wad of growing during this time and necessitate less piss to live on than it needs the rest of the twelvemonth . Some gardener may get enough rain to sustain outdoor lavender and wo n’t have to irrigate at all during winter . plant life should not be fertilize during their quiescency . you may take more about dormancy in plants in our article “ Dormant Plants : Your Top Questions , and Answers . ”
Does lavender keep bugs away?
Lavender does keep some microbe forth , but it entices others to spend clock time in your garden . The good news is that the bugs lavender keeps away tend to be unity people would rather avoid , while thebugs lavender bobbin in are good pollinators . Lavender ’s strong scent repels fleas , flies , mosquitoes , moth , and spiders . Planting lavender in your garden will aid to attract butterfly and bee . In fact , it ’s one of the plants that bee find most attractive .
Does lavender need feeding?
Lavender plant do n’t require much in the agency of fertilizer or supplements . gardener can add potash around the base of lavender industrial plant to encourage blooming and make flowers more graphic . Feeding with manure or a in high spirits - nitrogen fertilizer can have a negatively charged affect on lavender plant life , making them floppy and cockamamy .
Does lavender spread quickly?
Lavender plants are n’t know for circularize . A single plant can reach an average sizing of 20 to 24 inches tall by 20 to 24 inches wide-cut .
How do I prepare my soil for lavender?
You want to ensure the territory you use for lavender is well - draining , as like most plants , lavender does n’t do well in soggy soil . Conditions that are too sozzled can conduct to ascendent rot . Adding builder ’s Baroness Dudevant to the soil will help better its drainage , as will situating lavender industrial plant on top of a small mound in the garden bed . Lavender also prefer dirt to be slenderly alkaline , with a pH floor between 6.7 and 7.3 . If you are n’t certain of the pH horizontal surface of your grime , you could learnhow to prove grunge pHin this Gardening Channel article . Adding compost or hydrated lime can aid make soil more alkaline if need .
How do I take cuttings from lavender?
How do you prune woody lavender?
Pruning a woody lavender plant can assist revitalize it , encouraging more frequent blooms . First , sterilize the tool you ’ll use in pruning in a teaspoonful of bleach diluted in two cups of body of water . Do n’t lop away too much at once . The flora should have gullible leaf stay on when you ’re done . Also do n’t occupy about removing the chocolate-brown woody part until they ’re beat , as once a limb has gone woody , it wo n’t produce novel growth even if it ’s snip . dress branch back by one third or one half . It ’s a upright estimation to cut lavender twice a yr , once in February or March and once in September after flowering .
How do you stop lavender going woody?
you could stop your lavender plant from bend woody by engraft lavender in a location where it will boom : one with good drain . The most optimum spot for a lavender plant is a slope with well - draining , jolting dirt . Lavender should also only get calorie-free fertiliser in its first year . After that point , you do not require to fertilize lavender , and doing so may cause more woodiness .
How do you take care of lavender plants in the winter?
To help lavender plants make it through the winter , assure that they ’re plant in soil that drain well . you could serve ameliorate the soil ’s drainage by apprehend up the plant , adding sand to the soil , then replant to replace the plants . Mulch with a two - inch layer of sand or fine crushed rock to help declare in warmth and sink in wintertime rain . Stop water lavender plants as wintertime overture ; they ’ll get all they need from rain , since they do n’t necessitate as much hydration in the wintertime . If your lilac plants do n’t go dormant and instead continue to bring about flowers during the wintertime , preserve to glean as you did in other seasons . Especially inhuman weather or sullen rains that proceed for a foresighted time may want convey your lavender plants indoors ( or to an unheated terrace , shed , or otber location ) . If you do n’t have time to move lavender at heart during freeze or important rain , you may cover the plant with a cover to give them some trade protection .
How long do lavender plants live?
Lavender can know up to 15 years if it ’s cared for in good order .
How long does it take to grow lavender?
When you start by sowing lavender seeds , it can take between 90 and 200 days for lavender to grow to maturity .
How many times a year does lavender bloom?
The dissimilar multifariousness of lavender have dissimilar blooming periods , and a particular lavender works may not flower as much or as long as others like it do for a variety of reasons . However , Spanish lavender is capable of flowering up to three times a class . English lavender blooms in summertime and may bloom again if flowers are harvest in a well timed mode .
How often should lavender be watered?
Lavender should be water whenever the grunge lead off to dry out , but not kept soggy , as that can lead to root rot or shoot down the works . particularly in the first three months of emergence , before lavender is well established , check it every two or three days to see whether it require water .
Is lavender a sun or shade plant?
Some varieties of lavender execute well in gay position , while others may favor sun but can still manage some shade . Full sun is the default . Shade - tolerant varieties include English lavender ( Lavandula angustifolia ) , Gallic lavender ( Lavandula dentata ) , Gallic lacing lavender ( Lavandula multifida ) , and Spanish lavender ( Lavandula stoechas ) . All these types can handle some shade but do ask to get sun in part of the day to grow well . mottled nuance is a better bet than full subtlety for growing lavender plants .
What is the difference between English lavender and French lavender?
There are several thing that English and French lavender change on . English lavender is hardier than French , which can only handle up to Zone 8 . French lavender can grow big , up to three foot , while English caps off around two feet . French lavender ’s blush last longer , while English lavender produces the placeable impregnable smell ( Gallic lavender ’s aroma is lighter ) .
What is the hardiest lavender?
English lavender varieties tend to be more unfearing than Gallic and Spanish varieties , with the “ Munstead ” cultivar having the most cold hardiness .
Want to Learn More About Lavender?
Lavender is such a delicious and useful plant , there ’s a lot more to say about it . Here are three interesting websites you might savour .
The Old Farmer ’s farmer’s calendar coversHow to Care for Lavender in Winter
The Seattle Times coversTransplanting Lavender in the Home Garden
Southern Living coversHow to Harvest Lavender
Colorado State has great information aboutGrowing Lavender in Containers .
Here ’s a great PDF file if you ’re concerned inGrowing and Marketing Lavendercommercially .
