Lavender

[didireallysaythat]

Last year I bought 12 or 24 mini lavender plugs. I nursed them on, potted on a couple of times (they were in an unheated greenhouse) then I potted into 1 litre pots and put them outside.

3/4 are now dead. When I was putting them on the compost pile today, it's clear they didn't grow on from their last potting on.

Should I have used gritty compost ? I'm wondering if they sat in water.... I leave in East Anglia so a lot of rain compared to other places.

I'm tempted to buy another dozen but I don't want to be a serial killer of lavender !

Lavender likes sun and well-drained soil, so it's possible that too much water was the problem, particularly if the pots didn't have drainage holes or were sat in saucers. Yes, mix in some horticultural grit when you're planting oout the next lot.

However, it does not like becoming completely dessicated either- I mention this because the danger with things in pots is that they dry out much faster than the soil.

Are you buying small plug plants from places like Thompson and Morgan? I've found them to be a bit hit-and-miss for things like lavender. You might be better off buying larger and slightly more expensive and established plants - Lidl and Aldi should have these in soon.

Shove yes they were Thompson and Morgan. 8 lived and are healthy 1 litre plants. The other 16 died, I think because the sitting in water. But for £4 that's OK.

I get to Aldi about once a year and we don't have a Lidl. I don't know if they say on their website when they will have plants - I should check.

If you have 8 healthy ones, why not do some cuttings for the rest? It's probably nearly as quick as getting more plug plants.

How to here: www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/projects/creative-projects/how-to-take-lavender-cuttings/176.html

Shove - what a great idea ! When I take rosemary cuttings I've sometimes put them in water to get root growth going and then move to soil (I do the same with mint) but I assume lavender (and probably rosemary) would prefer going straight into gritty compost.

You can do it both ways - in water or in a pot. In the latter case, hormone rooting powder does help to get them to take.

Sometimes I use a jam jar and I put cling film over the top and then poke the stems through - it sort of keeps them spaced apart if you see what I mean. I have no idea if this is an approved method, it's just something I did to keep them neat!