Should I persevere with lavender?

[FridayBaby]

Beginner gardener. I have a south facing sun trap of a balcony and have tried potted lavender plants (bought from B&Q) for 3 years now (as I know they love sun) but each time they have died. I have used terracotta pots with pebbles and saucers for drainage and have watered plenty as advised on MN, whilst trying not to over water as I know lavender don't like. However I think there is always a problem with the roots as the water often just sleeps straight through the soil into the saucer. Not sure if this is normal or if there's a problem with the potting.

Anyway the 3rd lot have finally died and I think I sadly need to move on from trying lavender, unless anyone has any advice on where I've gone wrong?

If I do give up on lavender can anyone recommend an alternative colourful, fragrant potted plant which would suit a south facing balcony? I already have geraniums which have been great as long as they are frequently dead-headed and watered.

Thank you x

Good question. I can’t keep lavender alive either.

Weirdly, it's one of the few things I can't kill in the garden . Mine hates water and any attempt on my part to be nice to it. It lives in a rubbly sunny spot in the ground. It was the English version because I successfully killed French lavender in a pot.
Are you being too kind to it?

Same here. I have half a dozen pots of lavender in our courtyard and struggle to keep them alive. We asked a gardener who was tending the massive, glorious banks of lavender outside the village hall what to do and she said we were probably over watering. She said they like it dry, hot and sunny.
Courtyard isn't sunny all day, heat and sun we can't do much about, but we've more or less stopped watering and let them get what they need from rain and humidity. They're looking ok at the moment but they haven't been in very long and we've probably had more rain than they might like. Time will tell. Sorry can't be of much help I'm afraid.

How about Rosemary? I never used to have any success with lavender until I dug a lot of pea gravel into the soil. Wash it first to remove the sand, then plant in light ericaeous compost. I think, in pots, the lavender roots get congested and that forms a barrier to stop the water getting through. The lighter soil and the gravel opens it up.

Could it be windy as well as sunny?
Have you taken a look at the roots of the dead plants to see if there is anything obviously amiss. I don't know if lavender is particularly at risk from pests such as weevils for instance.

If geraniums thrive, maybe try some scented ones.

How high up you? Do you leave them to sit in water in the saucer? Water needs to be run off with lavender, they do not like having permanently wet roots, they will rot.

I’m crap at gardening but have massive success with lavender, and with no attention given to it either.
I put it down to the clay in our soil. It’s in a mostly shady spot that has sun on the morning and evening.

Are you able to get some clay? It might just help.

Mine hates water and any attempt on my part to be nice to it.

This for me too.

So essentially, lavender is the Grumpy Cat of plants .

My garden is over run with lavender. Everything else dies a tragic death.

I'm another crap gardener who has amazing luck with lavender .... but only in the ground, not pots.

The ones in pots look dead and straggly in no time but the ones in the ground (poor quality, stoney, shallow in places) flourish year after year.

I even managed to grow some from cuttings and I'm someone who even manages to kill spider plants!

Prop the plant pot up on something to keep it off the ground so the water runs away immediately. If it’s sat on a dish in the water this is probably the problem.

I've got loads of lavender in the garden which does brilliantly.

I think it falls into the category of treat it mean! It does well in crap soil and watered by the rain, so benign neglect.

I planted my first Lavender in soil this March and it’s looking very pleased with itself. Sorry I know that’s no help to OP. Its Lavender Angostofolia.

I have had really good success with lavender both French and English, but my technique is to plant and ignore.

So to clarify for those asking, the pots are sitting on large pebbles, which are on a saucer, so there is plenty of drainage. (Can't drain into the ground as we are on a balcony). The water does seem to seep through straight away and I can hear it trickling through the soil, as if the plant isn't actually absorbing any at all. (Well that's what was happening when it was alive).

I did start off by watering less, as advised online, however they kept drooping, and wise MNers said they would need more watering due to being in pots. They did used to perk tip after watering so I thought it was working, but sadly not.

Any other thoughts about suitable colourful plants that would suit balcony, and not geraniums?

Thanks x

How about Scarlet Emperor runner beans. Pretty and yummy.

Bellini on a balcony?

Yeah. You can grow runner beans in pots. I always do.

Petunias, Fuschia, lobelia, ground clematis, snap dragons. All are a good start.

Saeeet peas up and triangle trellis

Dahlias?

I'm not sure I'd bother with sweet peas. They are amazing, but when I used to have a courtyard garden with pots, they never got enough water or feed to make them really successful.

I had bad luck with lavender until this year. A keen gardener friend gave me a bag of sand and told me to replant it with a few good handfuls of it. Compost is far too good for this picky plant! The worse the quality of the soil the better. Anyway, my plant has flowered this year.