French lavender given up the ghost?

[LavenderfortheBees]

Planted this two years ago and it did well last year. This year it put up a fair few new flower heads but now seems to have dried up and withered away with just a few clusters of green leaves remaining.

I was at a nursery earlier and their limited amounts of French lavender were also looking a bit ropey. I have several other varieties of English and white javelin lavender in the garden and they are all thriving.

Any ideas? Is it worth trying to save or should I just dig it up and try again?

Always worth trying to save it.

Give it a good soaking. Clip the dead stuff out and leave it for a week. I wouldn't feed it though, lavender is quite frugal and doesn't normal need fertiliser.

Ours is the same - I generally find I have to replace it every few years. I think part of the problem is that because it keeps on flowering well into the Autumn I'm not as disciplined about cutting it back at the end of the season as I am with the English lavender, and I think that probably doesn't do it any good long term.

I'd just have it out and put a new one in.

French lavender isn't that great to be honest, it's not very hardy and doesn't do all that well in the UK climate. You are much better off going for an English lavender such as 'Hidcote' or similar.

We have very heavy clay soil and French lavender doesn't thrive in it.